PALM OIL MILL BIOGAS UPGRADING PROJECT
The palm oil industry is one of the leading industries in Malaysia with yearly production of over 13 million tons of crude palm oil.
Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is the highest feedstock contributor for biogas plants in Malaysia.
One palm oil mill is capable of producing 1,000 – 4,200 tons of biomethane per year and capable of fuelling 1,300- 3,300 cars per year depending on the size of the project.
PRODUCTION PROCESS
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Anaerobic digestion
Organic matter in palm oil mill effluent (POME) and landfill waste breaks down without oxygen to produce biogas.
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Upgrading
The biogas is purified by separating methane (CH₄) from carbon dioxide (CO₂) and impurities, producing biomethane.
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Compression and supply
The biomethane is compressed into Bio-CNG and supplied to industrial and transport users as a replacement for natural gas.
REFERENCE
A privately owned palm oil mill has built a new anaerobic pond equipped with methane trapping system with a methane upgrading plant
● Generating 2,000m³/hr
Its anaerobic pond is to generate biogas about 2,000m³/hr. The methane upgrading plant will then purify the biogas and produce biomethane.
● Supply Biomethane to local gas distributor
The project owner had signed a Gas Supply Agreement (GSA) with a buyer to supply a minimum of 200,000MMBtu of bio-methane per year for a period of 15 years. This gas will then be distributed to industries within the Kluang area.
●The system removes approximately 95 per cent of the methane otherwise released from open effluent ponds. For a medium-sized mill this equates to between 30,000 and 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year, depending on throughput and effluent load.
