Upgrade PKS with Torrefaction

Application of the tax on PKS (Palm Kernel Shell) based on the Minister of Finance Indonesia No 67/2010 on stipulation of export goods subject duties (Bea Keluar/ BK) has made the selling price in the international market or the export market to be high. The amount of export duties and export taxes which value is currently around US $ 15 / ton, making a number of parties thought to do the processing of the PKS. Enforcement of the above regulations is also intended to encourage the growth of domestic industry. PKS categorized as raw materials, thus further processing into a solution to it. The selling price of PKS from Indonesia less competitive, when compared before, because it becomes much more expensive.

The use of palm shells (PKS) today especially for fuel of large scale power plant. And in particular Japan and Korea are much in need of the PKS. The need also tends greater for the next few years. Japan, especially in the next 1-2 years the need is predicted to increase sharply as the operation of power plants using biomass and part of PKS as a mixture (co-firing) with coal.

 Torrefaction is biomass processing to increase the calorific value and improve its characteristics. With torrefaction the energy content in biomass increased by 20% and conversion rate reached 70%, or nearly three times the carbonization conversion were an average of 25%.  In addition to the torrefaction then torrefied PKS product will be hydrophobic so that it does not absorb water / moisture.  This will make it easier in terms of handling and storage. Furthermore, by compaction (densification) into pellets torrified PKS, the density also will increase, as well as the energy content per volume of it. Pelleting torrified PKS will save significant transportation costs from the manufacturer to the user. JFBC technology is able to perform continuous torrefaction process, with a production capacity up to 140 tonnes per day of torrified PKS.

Trilema of Energy, Economy and Environment

The big problem facing the world today is energy, economy and environment. All three are interrelated and influence each other. Solving the problem or solution to it can only be done in a comprehensive way, not partial, so that the sustainable development is possible.  That's bad idea when we just focusing on one aspect so the two other aspects are neglected thus enabling larger problem.

By the time the use of renewable energy will continue to increase of its role and will be the primary energy source at a time. This is inline with the public awareness of community for living environmentally and sustainable that continues to grow. Various regulations began to be developed and implemented to accelerate it.

Various scenarios were created for the implementation at application level. Processing biomass waste, organic waste and plastic waste and scrap tires with continuous pyrolysis technology is the best scenario to overcome Trilemma facing today.

Nutrient Management for Palm Oil Plantation

Nutrient management is one of the major cost components for a palm oil plantation. This is due to the inherently poor fertility of most tropical soils and the intensive extractive nature of plantation agriculture. Biochar offers the possibility for a revolution in nutrient use efficiency in tropical agriculture along with many other proven soil and water holding benefits.

Why biochar?

Many advantages of biochar applications to improve the soil fertility. Biochar production process also uses a thermal process that faster and also more affordable in investment than the biological process, that's common called fermentation. Saving estimation of fertilizer use could save up to 50% with the use of biochar, that means increase the fertilization efficiency due to the application of biochar.

 

How to produce biochar?

 

To produce the best biochar in quality and quantity, the best technology is continous slow pyrolysis process. The biomass waste that is generated by palm oil mill every day is a potential raw material for the production of biochar. Syngas, biooil and heat are other products from continous slow pyrolysis technology for energy applications or other.

"Carbon Farming" for Palm Oil Plantation part VI: Think Sustainability, Think Biochar

When we think about the sustainability of palm oil, we would think about the sustainability of palm fruit production and that means thinking about the management of the plantation itself. And talk about the management of palm oil plantations mean can not be separated bymaintaining soil fertility. Efforts to maintain the fertility of the soil is an ongoing effort as the palm oil plantation business. Biochar is one of the excellent material in maintaining soil fertility.

Biochar from JF BioCarbon

Biomass wastes that are highly abundant in palm oil is a potential feedstock for biochar production while continous slow pyrolysis technology will continue also produced green energy for processing in the palm oil mill. A business that zero waste in its operations that sustain the production of palm trees. Thinking about the sustainability of palm oil plantations means thinking about biochar.

"Carbon Farming" for Palm Oil Plantation Part 3: Economics of Technology Implementation

photo is taken from here

Basically, the conversion of biomass to the various technologies will face the final question about how much the economy in the form of investment and how much value added is generated. In many cases in Indonesia many biomass thermal conversion technology like gasification have not found economical and finally the equipment does not operate (idle) and as a result are generally the technology is not well developed. In the case of gasification which produce electricity, cost components that greatly affect their economic  is the price of raw materials, equipment investment and the selling price the electric. In fact most gasification in operation condition because the gasification groove is used for own use.

While many tools are being prepared for economical aspect of biomass thermal conversion technology, the continuous slow pyrolysis plant for own-use in palm oil mill will give a huge advantage for being able to meet the energy needs and improve the soil fertility of their plantation. For the implementation of continous slow pyrolysis technology, ultimately the question that arises again is its economic factor "how big an investment for equipment / unit / technology" and "how much value added generated". Check out our presentation to help you make a decision.

Biochar Based Slow Release Fertilizer And Soil Quality Improvement In Indonesian Palm Oil Plantation

Photo taken from here

Expansion (extensification) of palm oil plantation in Indonesia increasingly encouraged to pursue non-oil commodities. The allocation or designation of land for oil palm plantations should be done with careful consideration and comprehensive, so it does not upset the balance of the environment. This factor which highlighted a lot of environmentalists, and the user market oil products from Indonesia. Another factor that I think needs to be considered is the productivity of the oil palm plantation itself. With good farming techniques or start intensification then I am sure Indonesia will increase the productivity of palm oil.

Compared to Malaysia with palm plantation productivity 3.5 tons of CPO per ha, while Indonesia only 2.5 tons of CPO ha per year. Due to differences in the productivity of Malaysia's vast palm plantation only 61.5% of the area of ​​Indonesia but is capable of producing up to 17 million tons of CPO or 85.3% of Indonesia's CPO production. In this case, Indonesia needs to learn from Malaysia. Currently, the land has been planted with oil palm in Indonesia has 7.8 million ha, about 16.5% of the farms and plantations or 8.3% of the total forest area. There are still 7 million ha of arable land palm, a great opportunity to increase the production of CPO and its derivatives. Trade policy of developed countries that want to kill off Indonesia palm oil industry as edible oil industry afraid to compete with palm oil needs attention is important for the government for the betterment of the palm oil industry in Indonesia. All of the government, NGOs and industry have one vote for this.

Increased productivity is one of them with a good fertilization and using quality fertilizer. If you see activity on the production of CPO will be a lot of waste biomass produced can be used to meet energy needs and CPO mill byproduct of biochar. As a porous material that has the ability as adsorbent, biochar able to hold nutrients and water for longer, so that it can act as a slow release fertilizer. When all the oil mill biomass waste can be converted into energy and fertilizer byproducts biocharnya to the oil mill has reduced global warming (carbon neutral fuel with biomass and carbon negative with biochar application) and absolutely zero waste. This obviously also be a solution to the negative campaigning of oil palm plantations in Indonesia. Reliable continuous pyrolysis technology appropriate to the scale of the pool is a necessity. JF BioCarbon will able to answer it.

Judging from the condition of the global climate, carbon balance balance between the expansion of palm oil plantations, the carbon released when the process of biochar production by pyrolysis and carbon sequestration from the atmosphere by biochar. Optimization of the three will give the best results for the environment, human welfare and ecosystem.

Three Motivations For Biomass Thermal Conversion

At least, three motivating factors on biomass thermal conversion, like is mentioned below :

A.    Renewability Benefit
Fossil fuel like coal, oil and gas are good and convenient source of energy, and they meet the energy demands of society very effectively. However, there is one major problem: Fossil fuel resources are finite and not renewable.Biomass on the other hand, grows and is renewable. A crop cut this year will grow again next year; a tree cut today may grow up within a decade. Unlike fossil fuel, then, biomass is not likely to be depleted with consumption. For this reason, its use, especially for energy production, is rising fast.

We may argue against cutting trees for energy because they serve as a CO2 sink. This is true, but a tree stops absorbing CO2 after it dies. On the other hand, if left alone in the forest it can release CO2 in a forest fire or release more harmful CH4 when it decomposes in water. The use of a tree as fuel after its life provides carbon-neutral energy as well as avoids greenhouse gas release from deadwood. The best option is new planting following cutting, as is done by some pulp industries. Fast-growing plants like switch grass and Miscanthus are being considered as fuel for new energy projects. These plants have very short growing periods that can be counted in months.

B.    Enviromental Benefit
With growing evidence of global warming, the need to reduce human-made greenhouse gas emissions is being recognized. Emission of other air pollutants, such as NO2, SO2, and Hg, is no longer acceptable, as it was in the  past. In elementary schools and in corporate boardrooms, the environment is a major issue, and it has been major driver for biomass thermal conversion such as pyrolysis for energy production. Biomass has a special appeal in this regard, as it makes no net contribution to carbondioxide emission to the atmosphere.

Regulations for making biomass economically viable are in the place in many countries. For example, if biomass replace fossil fuel in a plant, that plant earns credit for CO2 reduction equivalent to what the fossil fuel was emitting. This credits can be sold on the market for additional revenue in countries where such trades are in practice.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions
When burned, biomass release the CO2 it absorbed from the atmosphere in the recent past, not millions of years ago, as with fossil fuel. The net addition of CO2 to the atmosphere through biomass combustion is thus considered to be zero.

Sulfur Removal
Most virgin or fresh biomass contains little to no sulfur. Biomass-derived feedstock such as municipal solid waste (MSW) or sewage sludge does contain sulfur, which requires limestone for capture of it. Interestingly, such derived feedstock also contains small amounts of calcium, which intrinsically aids sulfur capture.

Nitrogen Removal
A combustion system firing fossil fuel can oxidize the nitrogen in fuel and in air into NO, the acid rain precursor, or into N2O, a greenhouse gas. Both are difficult to remove. In a pyrolysis system, nitrogen appears as either N2 or NH3, which is removed relatively easily in the syngas-cleaning stage.
Nitrous oxide emission results from the oxidation of fuel nitrogen alone. Measurement in a biomass combustion system showed a very low level of N2O emission (Van Loo and Koppejan, 2008, p.295)

Dust and Other Hazardous Gases
 Highly toxic pollutants like dioxin and furan, which can be released in a combustion system, are not likely to form in an oxygen-absenced pyrolyzer. Particulate in the syngas is also reduced significantly by multiple gas clean up systems.

C.    Sociopolitical Benefit

The sociopolitical benefits of biomass are substantial. For one, biomass is locally grown resource. For one, biomass is a locally grown resource. For a biomass-based power plant to be economically viable, the biomass needs to come from within a certain distance from it.  This means that every biomass plant can prompt the development of associated industries for biomass growing, collecting, and transporting.
Some believe that a biomass fuel plant could create up to 20 times more employment than that created by a coal-or oil-based plant (Van Loo and Koppejan, 2008, p.1).  The biomass industry thus has a positive impact on the local economy.

Another very important aspect of biomass-based energy, fuel, or chemicals is that they reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels. The volatile global political landscape has shown that supply and price can change dramatically within a short time, with a sharp rise in the price of feedstock. Locally grown biomass is relatively free from such uncertainties.

New Uses of Charcoal Increasing in Japan

The consumption of carbon in Japan increased from 38,800 t (meric ton) in 1985 to 192,000 t in 1999. In 1999, 27% of the consumption, Or 50,835 t, was used for purposes other than fuel, as shown in Figure below. The highest proportion usage, i.e. 30.6%, was in the agricultural land, mainly as soil amendment. The second highest, i.e., 22.3%, was in the livestock industry, where charcoal powder was mixed with litter or animal feed for deodorization. Other uses were in the humidity control of houses, water purification other than by activated charcoal, as a reducing agent or a decolorant in industries, etc. Thus, the use of charcoal with various characteristics is currently diversified in Japan.

Marketing of the new uses of charcoal besides fuel in Japan in 1999. Source : association of the of the new uses of charcoal in Japan (2001)

 To meet the demand of course reliable pyrolysis system will be used for this. With plant capacity begin 60 ton/day up 200 ton/day INPUT and abundant biomass feedstock available especially in Indonesia and South East Asia region, we ready as your partner to make your dream come true.

Entering the Second Generation Biofuel With Pyrolysis

The first generation biofuels are characterized by the production of biodiesel and bioethanol from food feedstock will soon be abandoned, it is because of fears of biofuel feedstock competition with human food needs. Conditions that encourage the birth of a second generation biofuels using biomass (non-food) as a raw material. Pyrolysis is a technology to produce second generation biofuels. The potential of biomass is abundant in Indonesia and on the other side of the energy needs that can not be fulfilled so that the pyrolysis of this application will be very promising.

Industrial-scale pyrolysis technology that can produce biofuels to meet the energy needs of Indonesia's current needs. Our pyrolysis technology has specific advantages that can work on torrefaction mode (mild pyrolysis) with torrefied wood products / torrefied biomass and the pyrolysis mode (slow pyrolysis) with the primary product BioCarbon (charcoal). Both products, wood & BioCarbon torrefied has many uses as a superior fuel and it takes a variety of industries for various applications. In both these processes will also be produced biooil and syngas, which can also be used for fuel or raw material of various chemical industries. To get a more detailed overview of this technology following our presentation or here.

Biochar activity in Southeast Asia Promote The Growth Of Biochar Industry

A variety of literature, research, seminars, training and trials around the world have proved that the biochar or agrichar; charcoal produced from the pyrolysis process provides great benefits for soil fertility so that crop productivity will increase. Japan is one country that is known users biochar to agricultural land for decades. This makes some parts of Southeast Asia are also affected to use biochar to improve soil quality. Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and the Phillipines are a number of countries in Southeast Asia are trying to apply the biochar.

 

This activity provides an encouraging result because it gives a positive result and reduces pollution because it uses raw material of various types of waste biomass. The hope of this activity continues to increase the use of biochar on a larger scale and more sustainable. Indonesia and Malaysia as the largest CPO producers in the world would require an intensification in the agricultural field to improve soil quality in addition to the energy requirements for CPO and its derivative production processes so that is where the biochar industry using pyrolysis technology will be crucial. Industrial-scale continuous pyrolysis technology is easy to use would be needed for this.