Biogas From POME _ BioEnergy Consult

Leave a comment

Tag Archives: Biogas from POME

POME as a Source of Biomethane

By Jort Langerak | September 1, 2015 - 11:34 am |

During the production of crude palm oil, large

amount of waste and by-products are

generated. The solid waste streams consist of

empty fruit bunch (EFB), mesocarp fruit fibers

(MF) and palm kernel shells (PKS). Reuse of

these waste streams in applications for heat,

steam, compost and to lesser extent power

generation are practised widely across Asia. This

article will focus on the more underutilized

liquid waste stream, known as POME or Palm Oil Mill Effluent, which is generated during the

palm oil extraction/decanting process and often seen as a serious environmental issue.

Therefore, discharge of POME is subject to increasingly stringent regulations in many palm

oil-producing nations.

Anaerobic Digestion of POMEPOME is an attractive feedstock for biomethane production and is abundantly available in all

palm oil mills. Hence, it ensures continuous supply of substrates at no or low cost for biogas

production, positioning it as a great potential source for biomethane production. (Chin May Ji,

2013). POME is a colloidal suspension containing 95-96% water, 0.6-0.7% oil and 4-5% total

solids, which include 2-4% suspended solids. Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) generally

ranges between 25,000 and 65,714 mg/L, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) ranges between

44,300 and 102,696 mg/L. Most palm oil mills and refineries have their own treatment systems

for POME, which is easily amenable to biodegradation due to its high organic content. The

treatment system usually consists of anaerobic and aerobic ponds. (Sulaiman, 2013).

Open pond systems are still commonly applied. Although relatively cheap to install, these

system often fail to meet discharge requirements (due to lack of operational control, long

retention time, silting and short circuiting issues). Moreover, the biogas produced during the

anaerobic decomposition of POME in open pond systems is not recovered for utilization. The

produced gas dissipates into the atmosphere where it causes adverse environment effects (due

BIOENERGY CONSULTBIOENERGY CONSULTPowering Clean Energy FuturePowering Clean Energy Future

Translate »

Biogas from POME | BioEnergy Consult http://www.bioenergyconsult.com/tag/biogas-from-pome/

1 of 9 1/2/2016 11:02 PM

to the fact that CH is a twenty times stronger greenhouse gas then CO (Chin May Ji, 2013).

Biogas captured from POME can be carried out using a number of various technologies

ranging in cost and complexity. The closed-tank anaerobic digester system with continuous

stirred-tank reactor (CSTR), the methane fermentation system employing special

microorganisms and the reversible flow anaerobic baffled reactor (RABR) system are among the

technologies offered by technology providers. (Malaysian Palm Oil Board, 2015). Gas production

largely depends on the method deployed for biomass conversion and capture of the biogas,

and can, therefore, approximately range from 5.8 to 12.75 kg of CH per cubic meter of POME.

Application of enclosed anaerobic digestion will significantly increase the quality of the

effluent/ discharge stream as well as the biogas composition, as mentioned in table below.

Table: Performance comparison between open and closed digester systems

Parameters Open digester

system

Closed anaerobic

digester

COD removal efficiency (%) 81% 97%

HRT (days) 20 10

Methane utilization Released to

atmosphere

Recoverable

Methane yield (kg CH /kg

COD removed)

0.11 0.2

Methane content (%) 36 55

Solid discharge (g/L) 20 8

*This table has been reproduced from (Alawi Sulaiman, 2007)

A closed anaerobic system is capable of producing and collecting consistently high quality of

methane rich biogas from POME. Typical raw biogas composition will be: 50-60 % CH , 40-50 %

4 2

4

4

4Translate »


2 of 9 1/2/2016 11:02 PM

CO , saturated with water and with trace amounts of contaminants (H S, NH , volatiles, etc.).

Potential in Southeast AsiaThe amount of biomethane (defined as methane produced from biomass, with properties close

to natural gas) that can be potentially produced from POME (within the Southeast Asian region)

exceeds 2.25 billion cubic meter of biomethane (on a yearly basis). Especially Indonesia and

Malaysia, as key producers within the palm oil industry, could generate significant quantities of

biomethane. An impression of the bio-methane potential of these countries including other

feedstock sources is being highlighted below (VIV Asia, 2015).

Indonesia (4.35 billion m of biomethane):

25 billion m of biomethane from Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME).

2 billion m of bio-methane from Sewage Treatment Plant (STP).

9 billion m of bio-methane from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW).

Malaysia (3 billion m of biomethane):

1 billion m of biomethane from Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME).

2 billion m of biomethane from Sewage Treatment Plant (STP).

8 billion m of biomethane from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW).

The Asian Pacific Biogas Alliance estimates that the potential of conversion of biomass to

biomethane is sufficient to replace 25 percent of the natural gas demand by renewable biogas

(Asian Pacific Biogas Alliance, 2015).

To sum up, due to the high fraction of organic materials, POME has a large energetic potential.

By unlocking the energetic potential of these streams through conversion/ digesting and

capture of bio-methane, plant owners have the opportunity to combine waste management

with a profitable business model.

Co-Authors: H. Dekker and E.H.M. Dirkse (DMT Environmental Technology)

ReferencesAlawi Sulaiman, Z. B. (2007). Biomethane production from pal oil mill effluent (POME) in a

semi-commercial closed anaerobic digester. Seminar on Sustainable Palm Biomass initiatives.

Japan Society on Promotion of Science (JSPS).

Asia Biogas Group. (2015, 08 15). Retrieved from Asia Biogas : http://www.asiabiogas.com

Asian Pacific Biogas Alliance. (2015). Biogas Opportunities in South East Asia. Asian Pacific

2 2 3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

Translate »


3 of 9 1/2/2016 11:02 PM

1 Comment

Biogas Alliance/ICESN.

Chin May Ji, P. P. (2013). Biogas from palm oil mill effluent (POME): Opportunities and

challenges from Malysia’s perspective. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews , 717-726.

Malaysian Palm Oil Board. (2015, 08 26). Biogas capture and CMD project implementation for

palm oil mills. Retrieved from Official Portal Of Malaysian Palm Oild Board:

http://www.mpob.gov

Sulaiman, N. A. (2013). The Oil Palm Wastes in Malaysia. In M. D. Matovic, “Biomass Now –

Sustainable Growth and Use”. InTech.

VIV Asia. (2015, 08 26). The international platform from feed to food in Asia. Retrieved from

http://www.vivasia.nl

Note: This is the first article in the special series on ‘Sustainable Utilization of POME-based

Biomethane’ by Langerak et al of DMT Environmental Technology (Holland)

Tagged Anaerobic digestion, Bioenergy, Biogas, Biogas from POME, biomethane, BOD, COD, digester, Indonesia, Malaysia,

Methane, palm oil mill effluent, Palm Oil Mills, POME, Southeast Asia

Properties and Uses of POME

By Salman Zafar | June 23, 2015 - 8:42 am |

Palm Oil processing gives rise to highly

polluting waste-water, known as Palm Oil Mill

Effluent (POME), which is often discarded in

disposal ponds, resulting in the leaching of

contaminants that pollute the groundwater and

soil, and in the release of methane gas into the

atmosphere. POME is an oily wastewater

generated by palm oil processing mills and

consists of various suspended components. This

liquid waste combined with the wastes from

steriliser condensate and cooling water is called palm oil mill effluent.

On average, for each ton of FFB (fresh fruit bunches) processed, a standard palm oil mill

generate about 1 tonne of liquid waste with biochemical oxygen demand 27 kg, chemical

oxygen demand 62 kg, suspended solids (SS) 35 kg and oil and grease 6 kg. POME has a very

high BOD and COD, which is 100 times more than the municipal sewage.

Translate »


4 of 9 1/2/2016 11:02 PM

POME is a non-toxic waste, as no chemical is added during the oil extraction process, but will

pose environmental issues due to large oxygen depleting capability in aquatic system due to

organic and nutrient contents. The high organic matter is due to the presence of different

sugars such as arabinose, xylose, glucose, galactose and manose. The suspended solids in the

POME are mainly oil-bearing cellulosic materials from the fruits. Since the POME is non-toxic as

no chemical is added in the oil extraction process, it is a good source of nutrients for

microorganisms.

Biogas Potential of POMEPOME is always regarded as a highly polluting wastewater generated from palm oil mills.

However, reutilization of POME to generate renewable energies in commercial scale has great

potential. Anaerobic digestion is widely adopted in the industry as a primary treatment for

POME. Biogas is produced in the process in the amount of 20 m per ton FFB. This effluent could

be used for biogas production through anaerobic digestion. At many Palm-oil mills this process

is already in place to meet water quality standards for industrial effluent. The gas, however, is

flared off.

Palm Oil mills, being one of the largest industries in Malaysia and Indonesia, effluents from

these mills can be anaerobically converted into biogas which in turn can be used to generate

power through gas turbines or gas-fired engines. A cost effective way to recover biogas from

POME is to replace the existing ponding/lagoon system with a closed digester system which

can be achieved by nstalling floating plastic membranes on the open ponds

As per conservative estimates, potential POME produced from all Palm Oil Mills in Indonesia

and Malaysia is more than 50 million m each year which is equivalent to power generation

capacity of more than 800 GW.

New TrendsRecovery of organic-based product is a new approach in managing POME which is aimed at

getting by-products such as volatile fatty acid, biogas and poly-hydroxyalkanoates to promote

sustainability of the palm oil industry. It is envisaged that POME can be sustainably reused as a

fermentation substrate in production of various metabolites through biotechnological advances.

In addition, POME consists of high organic acids and is suitable to be used as a carbon source.

POME has emerged as an alternative option as a chemical remediation to grow microalgae for

biomass production and simultaneously act as part of wastewater treatment process. POME

contains hemicelluloses and lignocelluloses material (complex carbohydrate polymers) which

result in high COD value (15,000–100,000 mg/L). Utilizing POME as nutrients source to culture

microalgae is not a new scenario, especially in Malaysia. Most palm oil millers favor the culture

of microalgae as a tertiary treatment before POME is discharged due to practically low cost and

3

3

Translate »


5 of 9 1/2/2016 11:02 PM

Photo Gallery

Our Event

high efficiency. Therefore, most of the nutrients such as nitrate and ortho-phosphate that are

not removed during anaerobic digestion will be further treated in a microalgae pond.

Consequently, the cultured microalgae will be used as a diet supplement for live feed culture.

In recent years, POME is also gaining prominence as a feedstock for biodiesel production,

especially in the European Union. The use of POME as a feedstock in biodiesel plants requires

that the plant has an esterification unit in the back-end to prepare the feedstock and to

breakdown the FFA.

Tagged Anaerobic digestion, Biodiesel, Biogas, Biogas from POME, Biohydrogen, Bioremediation, COD, Indonesia, Industrial

Wastewater, Malaysia, Microalgae, Palm Biomass, Palm Oil Biomass, Palm Oil Industry, palm oil mill effluent, Properties of

POME, Southeast Asia, Uses of POME, wastewater, What is POME

Search OK

Translate »


6 of 9 1/2/2016 11:02 PM

Importance of Biomass Energy

Addressing India's Waste Management Problems

Synthetic Biology – A Catalyst to Revolutionize Biogas Industry

Biomass Sector in India - Problems and Challenges

Palm Kernel Shells as Biomass Resource

Popular Articles

Our Blog

Plastic Paradise or Parasite?

Waste Wanted

Generating Energy from Aquarium Guck

Codigestion: A Developing Trend and Market

Poo power – Five projects that turn sewage into fuel

Nicaragua biogas and coffe program help to mitigate climate change effects

Topics

Newest Articles

Peeping into the Future of Waste

Green SMEs: Catalyst for Green Economy

Solid Waste Management in Nigeria

Rationale for Solid Waste Management

Trends in Waste-to-Energy Industry

Translate »


7 of 9 1/2/2016 11:02 PM

Description of a Biogas Power Plant

Importance of Waste-to-Energy

Municipal Solid Wastes in Bahrain

Summary of Biomass Combustion Technologies

Waste to Energy Conversion Routes

Food Waste Management – Consumer Behavior and FWDs

Biomass Resources from Sugar Industry

Management of Construction Wastes

Importance of Biomass Energy

Biofuels from Lignocellulosic Biomass

Follow on Facebook

Follow on Google+

Translate »


8 of 9 1/2/2016 11:02 PM

Menu

Home

Services

Projects

Knowledge Bank

Contact

Subscribe

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Professional Groups

Biomass Energy

Waste Management Hub

BioEnergy Consult | Powered by Mantra & WordPress.

Translate »


9 of 9 1/2/2016 11:02 PM

Documents

Biogas From POME _ BioEnergy Consult