Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)Palm oil mill effluent (POME), refer to the effluent from the final stages of

palm oil production

It includes various liquid, dirties, residual oil and suspended solids

BOD ranges from 25000 to 35000 mg/L

POME generated from sterilization condensate, fruit washing water, fiber cyclone drain off ,

boiler blow down and decanter drainComposition:

Water : 93- 95%Solid: 3-4%Oil- 0.5- 2%

Wastewater TreatmentFPESB Bidor used the specific system for their wastewater treatment.

They used a series of anaerobic ponds followed by aerobic pond

This system consists of a series of ponds connected in series for different purposes. The effluent after oil trapping is retained in an cooling pond for

about two or three days

The resulting effluent is then treated in an anaerobic pond with hydraulic retention time of 30- 80 days.

This digested liquid is further treated in a series of facultative ponds until it reach the polishing pond before discharge. The BOD at the discharge point is

expected to be below than 100 mg/L. The total retention time can be from 90- 120 days.

Wastewater Treatment Layout

Function for each treatment pondCooling Pond •The optimum temperature

for anaerobic treatment is 37°C.•The pond depth should not exceed 1.5 m otherwise the cooling efficiency decreases. The hydraulic retention time of the cooling pond should be at least 1 day.•pH at exit should be 6.7 min

Mixing Pond

Anaerobic Pond •Sludge formation happen here•COD reduce when flowing from one pond to another•Needs regular desludging. •Inlet & outlet should be made to facilitate uniform flow across the pond.• Pond depth should be 3 - 5 m •pH control 6.7 - 7.4• Minimum retention 45 days• Temperature range 37 ~42

Aerobic Pond •Aerobic ponds are necessary to further reduce BOD concentration in order to effluent that complies with standard.•The COD in the outlet from the anaerobic pond is around 13,000 - 15,000mg COD/litre. So in order to reduce the BOD level, aerobic pond is needed

Polishing Pond

Desludging Pond

Air EmissionAir emission from the oil palm mills are from the

boilers and incinerators and are mainly gases withparticulates such as tar and soot droplets of 20-100

microns and a dust load of about 3000 to 4000 mg/nm.Incomplete combustion of the boiler and incinerator

produce dark smoke resulting from burning a mixture of solid waste fuel

Air emission are biogas released by POME in the ponds during anaerobic digestion and boiler ash. The

biogas is a mixture of mainly methane and carbon dioxide.

Other waste that generated from the palm oil mill

Empty fruit bunches: Empty bunch is a solid waste product of the oil palm milling process and has a high moisture content of approximately 55-65% and high silica content, from

25% of the total palm fruit bunch

Decanter CakeDecanter cake is the solid waste produced from palm oil milling company after

decanting the palm oil mill effluent

Mesocarp Fiber and ShellThe mesocarp fiber and shell materials are used as solid fuel feedstock for steam

generation and electricity. The steam generated is used for the mill operation. Palm oil mills, in general, are self-sufficient in energy generation due to the voluminous solid fuel feedstock available