Methane capture and clean development mechanism project for the sustainability of palm oil industry in Malaysia

Anaerobic treatment with methane capture for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project is currently the most promising treatment method for palm oil mill effluent (POME). With CDM, Annex 1 countries could achieve their greenhouse gases (GHG) emission reduction target, promoting environmental-friendly and sustainable development projects and providing substantial local economic and social sustainability and demonstrate and disseminate new and modern bio-energy technology with lower investment costs and risks by establishing partnership with host countries like Malaysia. As at end of March 2009, there were 12 methane recovery CDM projects in Malaysia registered with the Executive Board (EB) of United Nation Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which expecting to contribute an annual average of 612,097 tonnes of CO2 equivalent of certified emission reductions (CER). Although this is small despite the huge potential available, the trend is growing. Therefore Annex I countries should urgently take this opportunity to be actively involved in this new business opportunity for the sustainability of the palm oil industry

Comparative Study of Carotenoids Content in Ripe and Unripe Oil Palm Fresh Fruit Bunches

Currently Elaies Guineensis or oil palm is the most widely planted commodity crop in Malaysia and has a very large impact to the country’s economy. At the same time, the industry also produces huge amount of oil palm waste materials such as Unripe Fresh Fruit Bunche (FFB). Each year million tons of Unripe FFB could not be processed in the mill and were disposed-off and thus posed additional threats to the environment. The objective of this study was to recycle the Unripe FFB and compared the carotenoids content with the Ripe FFB. Carotenoids is the natural chemical compounds which gives palm oil its orange red color. The compound is good for human health as it can strengthen body immunity system and act as antioxidant The experiment was conducted by collecting fruits from three (3) samples of Ripe FFB and Unripe FFB. The selected fruits were then sterilized, and Crude Palm Oil (CPO) was extracted. The analysis of oil samples was conducted using Near Infrared Spectroscopy Diode Array (NIRS DA) 1650. Result for the carotenoids showed that mean for the Ripe FFB was 968.07 ppm and for the Unripe FFB was 927.37 ppm. The Free Fatty Acids (FFA) were 22.08 and 14.47 respectively which indicated that the fruits were badly bruised during the processing. This study showed that the carotenoids content in Unripe FFB is comparable with the Ripe FFB and thus it can be concluded that Crude Palm Oil (CPO) from Unripe FFB can be used for carotenoids extraction instead of rejected or disposed-off to the environment

Comparative Study of Carotenoids Content in Ripe and Unripe Oil Palm Fresh Fruit Bunches

Currently Elaies Guineensis or oil palm is the most widely planted commodity crop in Malaysia and has a very large impact to the country’s economy. At the same time, the industry also produces huge amount of oil palm waste materials such as Unripe Fresh Fruit Bunche (FFB). Each year million tons of Unripe FFB could not be processed in the mill and were disposed-off and thus posed additional threats to the environment. The objective of this study was to recycle the Unripe FFB and compared the carotenoids content with the Ripe FFB. Carotenoids is the natural chemical compounds which gives palm oil its orange red color. The compound is good for human health as it can strengthen body immunity system and act as antioxidant The experiment was conducted by collecting fruits from three (3) samples of Ripe FFB and Unripe FFB. The selected fruits were then sterilized, and Crude Palm Oil (CPO) was extracted. The analysis of oil samples was conducted using Near Infrared Spectroscopy Diode Array (NIRS DA) 1650. Result for the carotenoids showed that mean for the Ripe FFB was 968.07 ppm and for the Unripe FFB was 927.37 ppm. The Free Fatty Acids (FFA) were 22.08 and 14.47 respectively which indicated that the fruits were badly bruised during the processing. This study showed that the carotenoids content in Unripe FFB is comparable with the Ripe FFB and thus it can be concluded that Crude Palm Oil (CPO) from Unripe FFB can be used for carotenoids extraction instead of rejected or disposed-off to the environment

Accelerated Start-up of a Semi-commercial Digester Tank Treating Palm Oil Mill Effluent with Sludge Seeding for Methane Production

The modern closed digesters are becoming more popular for treating palm oil mill effluent (POME) and are currently being installed nationwide in Malaysia to replace the conventional open lagoons and tanks treatment system. This paper describes an accelerated start-up of the 500 m semi-commercial anaerobic digester 3 treating POME and methane gas recovery for clean development mechanism (CDM) project. Results showed that by direct seeding through the transfer of the sludge from either top or bottom of the open digester tank, the start-up period was significantly shortened. The bottom seed sludge transfer led to interesting results including a 24 day start-up period, stable pH condition (pH 6.8-7.2), high COD removal efficiency (>90%), satisfactory VFA to Alk ratio (<0.3), satisfactory biogas production of nearly 1.8 kg/m /d) and methane 3 composition of 50 to 60%. The presence of high amount of methanogens in the seed sludge significantly reduced the need for a long acclimatization period and the digester could be fed with POME within less than a day after the seed sludge transfer process was completed. Close examination using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) revealed abundant amount of bacteria and methanogens, in particular Methanosaeta sp., in the seed sludge samples, which are very important for successful acidogenesis and methanogenesis processes

Kinetics of tapioca slurry saccharification process using immobilized multi-enzyme system enhanced with Sg. Sayong clay / Siti Noraida Abd Rahim, Alawi Sulaiman and Nurul Aini Edama

In this paper, immobilization of multi-enzyme using calcium alginate-clay beads for tapioca slurry saccharification process was carried out. The kinetics parameter and immobilization yield for alpha-amylase, glucoamylase, cellulose and multi-enzyme system were compared. The Michaelis constant, Km for free alpha-amylase, glucoamylase, cellulase and multi-enzyme were 2.0831,1.8326, 7.8592 and 3.5367 mg/mL, respectively. As for the immobilized system, the Km values were 3.1604, 2.1708, 9.2791 and 4.91176 mg/mL, respectively. The Km value for the immobilized multi-enzyme system was 1.39 times higher than free multi-enzyme system. This suggests that the immobilized multi-enzyme is a potential system for tapioca saccharification process due to affinity of enzyme to the substrate. For the immobilization yield, the yield for alpha-amylase, glucoamylase, cellulase and multi-enzyme were 51.19, 50.21, 40.68 and 53.71 %, respectively. The result showed the immobilized multi-enzyme had a higher yield compared to the single enzyme which could be explained due to the synergistic action of alpha-amylase, glucoamylase and cellulose enzymes. Therefore, it can be concluded that the use of immobilized multi-enzyme system had a very good potential for starch bioconversion into glucose

The Effect of Mixing on Methane Production in a Semi-commercial Closed Digester Tank Treating Palm Oil Mill Effluent

The performance of a semi-commercial closed digester tank treating palm oil mill effluent (POME) was studied at four different mixing regimes i.e natural mixing (NM), minimal horizontal mixing (MHM), minimal horizontal and vertical mixing (MHVM) and vigorous mixing (VM). The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency recorded satisfactory result at higher than 90% when subjected to the first three mixing regimes but reduced to the lowest of 85% when VM was applied. In the NM, MHM and MHVM experiments, the maximum total volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentration in the digester was recorded below the critical level of 1000 mg L . The MHM gave -1 the highest methane productivity at 1.4 m m d in comparison to NM at 1.0 m m d and MHVM 3 -3 -1 3 -3 -1 at 1.1 m m d. This indicates minimal mixing was required to provide good contact between 3 -3 -1 substrate and microorganisms inside the digester and to release the entrapped biogas at the bottom of the digester. The VM on the other hand was discovered to inhibit the methane production process as methane was not produced at the end of the experiment and total VFA concentration was also recorded high at 3700 mg L . The high total VFA concentration in the system may have disrupted -1 the syntrophic relationship between acidogens and methanogens and inhibited the methanogenesis

The Effect of Higher Sludge Recycling Rate on Anaerobic Treatment of Palm Oil Mill Effluent in a Semi-Commercial Closed Digester for Renewable Energy

Problem statement: A 500 m3 semi-commercial closed anaerobic digester was constructed for Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) treatment and methane gas capture for renewable energy. During the start-up operation period, the Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA) accumulation could not be controlled and caused instability on the system.Approach: A settling tank was installed and sludge was recycled as to provide a balanced microorganisms population for the treatment of POME and methane gas production. The effect of sludge recycling rate was studied by applying Organic Loading Rates (OLR) (between 1.0 and 10.0 kgCOD m-3 day-1) at different sludge recycling rates (6, 12 and 18 m3 day-1).Results: At sludge recycling rate of 18 m3 day-1, the maximum OLR was 10.0 kgCOD m-3 day-1 with biogas and methane productivity of 1.5 and 0.9 m3 m-3 day-1, respectively. By increasing the sludge recycling rate the VFA concentration was controlled below its inhibitory limit (1000 mg L-1) and the COD removal efficiency recorded was above 95% which indicated good treatment performance for the digester. Two methanogens species (Methanosarcina sp. and Methanosaeta concilii) had been identified from sludge samples obtained from the digester and recycled stream.Conclusion: By increasing the sludge recycling rate upon higher application of OLR, the treatment process was kept stable with high COD removal efficiency. The biogas and methane productivity were initially improved but reduced once OLR and recycling rate were increased to 10.0 kg COD m3 day-1 and 18 m3 day-1 respectively

Improved anaerobic treatment of palm oil mill effluent in a semi-commercial closed digester tank with sludge recycling and appropriate feeding strategy

Anaerobic treatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME) in a semi-commercial closed digester tank with sludge recycling was studied using different feeding strategies; one fixed at every three hour and another at every six hour. The organic loading rate (OLR) was increased step-wise and stopped once inhibition on methane production occurred. The chemical oxygen demand (COD), feeding rate, hydraulic retention time (HRT),OLR, and sludge recycling ratio were measured. Performance was based on the COD removal efficiency and methane yield, while stability was assessed in terms of total volatile fatty acids (VFA) accumulation, total VFA-to-alkalinity ratio (VFA:Alk) and food-to-microorganisms ratio (F/M ratio). The feeding strategies, at every three hour and six hour, gave satisfactory COD removal efficiency of higher than 90%, but the latter feeding strategy gave a more stable process with total VFA concentration recorded below 500 mg L-1 and VFA:Alk ratio of less than 0.3 at maximum OLR of 6.0 kgCOD m-3 d-1. The treatment period could also be extended up to 100 days without any obvious problems