How to process waste in palm oil mill

The production process of palm oil mill will bring many waste such as palm kernel shells, empty fruit bunches and palm oil mill effluent. There is a challenge for these waste treatment.

1. Palm Kernel Shell (PKS)   

As traditional waste treatment methods, palm-pressed fibers and shells are usually used as fuel for steam boilers. The steam is used for turbine power generation. These two solid fuels are capable of generating enough energy to meet the palm oil plant's consumption needs.  

1. Empty Fruit Strings (EFBs)   

Compared with palm kernel shells and fibers, empty fruit bunches can be burned; they can also be shipped directly to palm orchards for fertilizer use.  

2. Palm Oil Plant Effluent Treatment (POME)   

 In a traditional palm oil plant, processing one ton of fresh fruit bunches will produce 600-700 kg of effluent. Anaerobic digestion is a relatively common method of effluent treatment in the industry. Effluent from palm oil plants can be converted into biogas by anaerobic digestion, which in turn can be generated by gas turbines and gas engines.

At present, shells and fibers are used for energy generation inside the plant, but empty fruit strings are used for fertilizer or thrown away. The palm oil industry has great potential to generate large amounts of electricity and export it to the public grid.