Mustafa Kamal Abdul Aziz

Biomass Characteristics Index: A numerical approach in palm bio-energy estimation

In order to give a clear insight of the energy output estimation from the biomass, a comprehensive study on the physical properties of the biomass: bulk density and moisture content is crucial. A Biomass Characteristics Index (BCI) is proposed to represent the relationship between bulk density and moisture content. A numerical framework is developed to determine the BCI. This index is used to estimate the biomass bulk density and moisture content before the calorific value calculation. The classification of biomass according to its specific BCI can forecast the related bulk density and moisture content. Therefore, it reduces the hassle and time constraint to get those values through conventional empirical method. This will increase the overall biomass operational management efficiency.

Optimizing palm biomass energy though size reduction

Solids oil palm biomass in the form of empty fruit bunches (EFB), palm press fibre (PPF), palm kernel shell (PKS), palm trunks and fronds has been identified as one of the main source of renewable energy with great potential in Malaysia. Recent development in the industry requires proper treatment of the palm biomass so that it generates clean energy. One of the treatment of palm biomass is size reduction since this will remove excess moisture and oil. It is vital to establish the correlations between size of palm biomass on moisture and the calorific values. By modeling and simulation, optimised blends of palm biomass consisting of EFB, PPF and PKS can be mixed to give the maximum power output. The physical and calorific properties of palm biomass were established through experimental work as well as plant data collected in this study. The simulated palm biomass blends through this study was validated with plant data from previous studies. Size reduction reduced moisture content significantly in the oil palm biomass namely EFB from 52 to 40 %. With size reduction, the calorific values of blends can increase by 34% and further improve the Net Energy Availability Value. The study suggests that an optimised blend from the oil palm biomass would further improve the calorific value. Through improved processing technology, the palm oil industry will continue to strive for sustainability development addressing both social and economic aspect simultaneously.

Numerical Methods to Estimate Biomass Calorific Values via Biomass Characteristics Index

The oil palm industry contributes a huge amount of valuable crude palm oil (CPO) as export commodity for Malaysia. It also produces a large quantity of biomass as plantation waste, which can be utilized as potential fuel sources. In order to shed light on the energy output estimation from the biomass, a comprehensive study on the physical properties of the biomass, i.e., bulk density and moisture content is crucial. A Biomass Characteristics Index (BCI) is proposed to represent the relationship between bulk density and moisture content. A numerical framework is developed to determine the BCI. This index is used to estimate the biomass bulk density and moisture content prior to the calorific value calculation. A regression graph is plotted to illustrate the relationship among those values with respect to different appearance or shapes of biomass. The result shows that the biomass of different sizes and shapes has its own specific BCI. The classification of biomass according to its specific BCI can be used to forecast the related bulk density and moisture content. Therefore, it reduces the hassle and time constraint to get those values through the conventional empirical method.

Green Extraction Process for Oil Recovery Using Bioethanol

In this chapter, a novel green extraction process known as solvent extraction–crystallisation–evaporation (SECE) is introduced. The SECE is meant to be a sustainable approach for oil recovery from palm oil milling and refining processes. It utilises bioethanol as the extraction solvent instead of hexane. SECE is demonstrated for the extraction of residual oil from spent bleaching clay (SBC, i.e. waste from the palm oil refining processes), as well as from various waste products in the milling process, e.g. mesocarp fibres, decanter cake, etc.

Residual oil recovery using bio-ethanol from spent bleaching clay and its characterization

Residual oil from oil palm refining waste, spent bleaching clay (SBC) was recovered through a pilot plant scale up solvent extraction process. To develop a green extraction and sustainable approach for recovery of oil, bio-ethanol was used as a solvent instead of hexane. The SBC was extracted in a round-bottomed jacketed vessel subjected to heat and two different pressures. Two consecutive separation processes was applied in this study, fractional crystallization followed by evaporation. The yields of residual oils extracted slightly under vacuum pressure were higher by 64% than those from the extraction at atmospheric pressure. The residual oil recovered by evaporation exhibited inferior qualities in term of free fatty acid (FFA). In contrast, the oil recovered by fractional crystallization shows superior FFA content to that of crude palm oil (CPO) which was suitable for food applications.

Utilization of felled oil palm trunk: Trunk sections storage on oil palm sap production

Oil palm trunk (OPT) is one of the biomass produce during replanting of palm tree and this is generated every twenty five years in a given plantation. The core of the OPT when mechanically squeezed produce sap, which can be used to produce bio-ethanol. In this study, four OPT was used and each OPT was chopped into four sections which were upper, middle 1, middle 2 and bottom. The sections were stored for 1, 15, 30 and 45 days before being mechanically pretreated to produce palm sap. The mass balance during the production was recorded which resulted in the decrease of the sap volume during trunk storage time from 304.98L to 85.74L.