Experimental Study of Oil Palm Biomass Waste Mixture for Energy Potential

Malaysia is one of the largest producer and exporter of palm oil country. Oil palm industry plays a major role in the economic development of the country. As a result, palm oil waste generated is increased. Among the waste generated, palm oil mill effluent (POME) is considered the most harmful waste to the environment if discharged untreated. The sludge from POME is a source of pollutant and results in bad odours. At the same time, the oil palm fronds are pruned regularly but have little use and left on the ground in a huge quantity for natural decomposition which is a slow and uneconomical process. Considering their large and consistent supply, oil palm fronds and POME sludge mixture as an alternative biomass fuel could be a promising source of energy. In this research, an attempt has been made to convert these residues into biomass fuel. The feasibility of POME sludge and oil palm fronds mixture as an alternative biomass fuel is studied. The study is conducted by developing experimental testing for the biomass fuel in briquette form and the performance of each sample with different weight percentage is investigated via standard tests. These biomasses are converted into a compressed form of briquette through a simple briquetting process. The experiments conducted on the briquettes are ultimate analysis, calorific value test, burning characteristics test, dimensional stability test, crack analysis and durability test. Ultimate analysis is carried out to determine the contents of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulfur. The energy content in the biomass fuel is determined by using bomb calorimeter. The objectives of burning characteristics test are to test the briquette’s ignitability and time taken to burn to ashes. Durability, stability and crack analyses are also performed experimentally to evaluate the transport, handling and storage characteristics of the briquettes. Experimentally, it is found that POME sludge and oil palm fronds mixture as an alternative biomass fuel is feasible.