EFFICIENT PRODUCTION OF COMPOST FROM OIL

PALM WASTE
Abner Johan S. and H.L. Foster

INTRODUCTION METHODS
Huge quantities of POME(162,000 m3) and EFB
A trial was carried out at Begerpang oil mill of PTPP
(56,000 tonnes) are produced annualy by a 45 tonne
London Sumatra Indonesia, North Sumatra to find out
FFB/hour capacity mill operating for 20 hours daily
the most efficient system for composting oil palm
with an input of 270,000 tonnes FFB per year.
wastes. The composting systems tested in the trial
Conventionally EFB has been applied directly as a
utilize 100% of the EFB and POME from the mill. The
mulch but this also has some disadvantages including
system assumes the palm oil mill standard calculation
high transportation and distribution costs, long
for EFB and POME to FFB of 22% and 65% (liquid
degradation time and the harboring of pests.
effluent/sludge 45% and liquid condensate 20%
respectively).
Problems also arise when POME is treated in ponds, A split plot design with 3 replications was used in this
such as the undesirable release of green house trial. The windrows were main plots which tested 3
methane gases, overflow of the effluents into rivers, turning methods (before, after and both before and
gaseous losses of N nutrient and high maintenance after POME application) and 2 rates of POME
expenditure. Considering the existing problems of the application (100 litres per day over 30 days and 150
EFB application and POME treatment, the composting litres per day over 20 days applied per 1 tonne fresh
of EFB and POME is an attractive solution since it EFB). Two sub-plot treatments investigated the effect
reduces the volume and concentrates the nutrient of covering and not covering the windrows with a
contents. geotextile membrane in both dry and wet seasons
(having an average of 57 mm and 234 mm
rainfall/month respectively)

EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT FREQUENCIES OF TURNING, DIFFERENT RATES OF POME AND COVERING ON FINAL NUTRIENT CONTENT
OF COMPOST AND ON NUTRIENT LOSSES DURING COMPOSTING

Generally, after 4 days in the composting phase the temperature of the windrow reached more than 60oC in all treatments and then stayed relatively constant indicating satisfactory
decomposition throughout the test period. Treatments testing covers and rates of POME application had no significant effect on temperature, which was also similar in the wet and dry seasons.
Volume of the compost declined markedly during the test period, down to 50% on average after 30 days, but again treatments did not significantly influence this change.

Effect of season and turning before or after POME application on final nutrient content of compost
Turning
Turning the compost was carried out by a Nufab Industries trailed compost turner driven by a
Treatment %N %P %K
110 HP tractor fitted with a creeper gear. Obviously the use of this quite expensive equipment
should be minimized to reduce replacement costs, fuel and labour charges. The results of this POME
investigation showed that turning only twice a week was adequate to maintain the composting application Wet Dry Wet Dry Wet Dry
temperature and did not reduce nutrient retention compared with more frequent turning. season season season season season season
(Turning)
Furthermore on the turning days there was no advantage in turning both before and after
POME application, but turning only before was better than turning only after POME had been
Before & 1.61 1.94 0.251 0.299 3.49 3.77
added, particularly in the dry season. It would seem that nutrients are better absorbed by the
compost if it is turned immediately prior to POME addition. After
Before 1.63 1.95 0.247 0.289 3.37 3.84
After 1.58 1.88 0.234 0.275 3.31 3.65

POME application rate Effect of POME application rate on final nutrient content of compost
In this investigation the rates tested showed no significant interaction with method of turning or
whether the windrows were covered, but they showed a significant interaction with season. In %N %P %K
the dry season application of 100 litres POME to 1 tonne fresh EFB every day for 30 days
Treat,ment
caused no visible run-off and produced a compost significantly higher in N, P and K and with a Wet Dry Wet Dry Wet Dry
lower C/N ratio compared with compost produced from 150 litres POME applied to 1 tonne (Rate season season season season season season
fresh EFB over 20 days. The latter system produced visible run-off, which was also observed POME
with both rates of POME applied in the wet season.
The best POME daily rate is clearly 100 litres per tonne EFB in the dry season which is 100 Ltr 1.65 2.02 0.234 0.303 3.33 3.89
significantly better in retaining nutrients, whilst in the wet season as there was no significant
difference between the two rates tested, to maintain a uniform practice it would be better to use
the same rate as in the dry season. 150 Ltr 1.56 1.83 0.248 0.272 3.45 3.62

Covers E f f e c t o f c o v e ring windro ws o n nut rie nt lo s s e s during we t a nd dry s e a s o n

Use of covers is an obvious solution to reduce nutrient losses in the wet season, but if POME is % N ut r i ent Lo st
4 0 .0
applied every day then the covers have to be taken off and put on again every day, which is a
3 5. 0
very inconvenient and tedious practice. The results of this investigation show absolutely no
benefit of covering in the dry season, but they did significantly increase the final nutrient content 3 0 .0

of the compost in the wet season. 2 5. 0

K nutrient losses are largely proportional to the time of composting, so even without covering in 2 0 .0
the wet season a 30 day system will produce compost higher in K than covered systems having 15. 0
a longer composting period. Whether to use covers depends partly on the length of the wet 10 . 0
season, but generally the relatively small benefit of using covers seems not enough to
5. 0
compensate for the trouble and expense of both taking them off and putting them on daily.
0 .0
Wet season Dry season Wet season Dry season Wet season Dry season
(Nitrogen) (Phosphorus) (Potassium)
Not Covered Covered
Quality of compost
The compost produced in the dry season after 30 days with the optimal treatments found in this investigation, had a volume approximately half the original EFB, a nutrient content on a dry matter
basis approximately 2% N, 0.3% P, 4% K and 0.5% Mg plus a C/N ratio of around 26. Such material is a very suitable organic fertiliser for oil palm and field trials are currently being carried out by
PTPP London Sumatra Indonesia Tbk to establish optimal application rates.

CONCLUSIONS
1. Turning the compost before POME application only twice per week was found to be optimal.
2. Only around 10% of N and P and 25% of K was lost during composting in the dry season, but as much as 30% of N and P and 35% K was lost in the wet season.
3. In the dry season daily application of 100 litres POME to 1 tonne fresh EFB over 30 days gave a significantly higher nutrient content of N, P, K and a lower C/N ratio compared to
daily application of 150 litres POME aver 20 days. In the wet season there were no significant differences in final nutrient content of the compost due to POME rates, so the lower
daily rate found optimal in the dry season would generally seem to be the best option.
4. Covering the compost had no significant effect on nutrient losses in the dry season, but significantly reduced nutrient losses in the wet season, particularly of K. However even with
covering, losses of the major nutrients were still around 20% in the wet season. The moderate benefit of using covers in the wet season is not considered sufficient to compensate
for the considerable effort and expense in putting them on and off daily.

PT. PP. LONDON SUMATRA INDONESIA TBK

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