Utilization of Palm Oil Waste into a Sustainable Resource

Economic development in the era of globalization has led to increased energy consumption in various sectors of life. Not only developed countries, but almost all countries, including Indonesia, have experienced it. One of the plantation crops that is very important for the agricultural and plantation industry is oil palm. One of Indonesia's mainstay commodities that is growing very rapidly is oil palm. To obtain optimal results from oil palm cultivation, three factors must be considered: the environment, the physical properties of the land, and the chemical properties of the soil or soil fertility.

The success of oil palm production produces the main product in the form of palm oil, but also produces abundant waste, such as empty bunches, fibers, shells and liquid waste. The challenges in managing this waste have encouraged various innovations to utilize it more productively and environmentally friendly.

TKKS, or Empty Oil Palm Bunches in Indonesia, are waste from palm oil factories that are very abundant. Every processing of 1 ton of Fresh Fruit Bunches (TBS) will produce 22-23% TKKS or as much as 220-230 kg of TKKS. This waste has not been utilized properly by most palm oil factories (PKS) and the community in Indonesia. Empty oil palm bunches are the largest waste produced by oil palm plantations. The number of empty bunches reaches 30-35% of the weight of fresh fruit bunches each harvest. EFB can be optimized by directly or indirectly using it as an organic material for oil palm plantations. Direct utilization is by utilizing EFB as a cultivation cover material to maintain soil moisture while indirectly composting it first before using it as an organic fertilizer. Empty oil palm bunches are rich in nutrients such as potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus, which are beneficial for soil fertility. The composting process of this waste produces organic fertilizer that can be reused in oil palm plantations, thus supporting a more sustainable production cycle. In addition to EFB being used as organic fertilizer, Empty Oil Palm Bunches can also be used as solid

 fuel in boilers. This utilization has an obstacle, namely the high water content of 60% and the pollution produced. TKKS has a calorific value of 15.82 MJ/kg (Iryani et al. 2011). The calorific value shows that TKKS can be used as fuel, but TKKS still has a low bulk density value, especially high potassium elements. Increasing the bulk density value of TKKS can be done by changing TKKS into biomass pellets. At this time, the demand for biomass pellets is increasing year by year. In the production of TKKS into packages, there are several factors that must be considered, such as high ash content and mineral content such as K, Na, Ca, Mg, Si, and P. These factors can cause detrimental effects on the combustion process of the boiler and produce low heat energy. Chloride and potassium content have a negative impact on the boiler, which can cause ash buildup and corrosion in the heating process of the boiler pipes. 

Another technology that can be used to utilize TKKS waste is pyrolysis technology. This technology has advantages such as bio-oil, bio-charcoal, and gas products, which can be an alternative solution for controlling the impact of environmental pollution. The pyrolysis method is a process of decomposition of material by temperature. The pyrolysis process begins at a high temperature and without oxygen. With the pyrolysis process, TKKS will experience bond breaking and form molecules of smaller sizes and structures. Biomass pyrolysis is generally the decomposition of organic material, producing solid material in the form of charcoal, gas, steam, and aerosol. Gas that can be condensed as a liquid material and stable at room temperature is a hydrocarbon compound known as biofuel or bio-oil.