Upgrading of Empty Fruit Bunches to Solid Fuel Using Hydrothermal

Treatment and Torrefaction

Dicka Ar Rahima,b), Dennie Pohan a), Mi Yan b) and Herri Susanto a,#)
a)
Chemical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung-40132, Indonesia
b)
Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, PR China
#)
corresponding author: herri@che.itb.ac.id

Abstract
In 2018, Indonesia produced 35 million ton crude palm oil (CPO). In the CPO production, a
large amount of empty fruit bunches (EFB) almost the same with the CPO production. EFB may
be considered as a solid fuel in power plant boiler after treatment to overcome its inferiorities
such as: low bulk density, high moisture content, low heating value, poor grindability,
hydrophilic nature and high alkali content. Hydrothermal treatment (HT) and torrefaction (TR)
of EFB to improve its weakness has been studied experimentally, based on: heating value,
ultimate and proximate analysis, ash content, fouling index. These methods were carried out at
the temperature range of 200-300ºC and the residence time 60 minutes. As expected both
methods resulted significant improve on the physicochemical properties of biochar (solid
product). HT gave biochar having higher quality than that from TR. Higher heating value of
biochar from HT was higher than that from TR, i.e. 29.3 vs 26,3 MJ/kg oven dry basis
respectively. HT at 200oC has been considered as an optimum condition since it produced
biochar with a mass yield of 75% and energy efficiency of 78%. Moreover, HT at 200 oC resulted
the decrease in the ash content of 3.4% which was expected to improve the ash melting
properties during the combustion or gasification.

Keywords: biochar, proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, ash melting properties