CONVERTING POME TO BIO-LNG PROJECT VERTIGO TO

INCREASE NATIONAL LNG PRODUCTION

Oil and gas companies in Indonesia have not already found new sources
of natural gas, especially producing LNG. LNG production in Indonesia is 25.900
mmBTU Domestic need of LNG is 13.650 mmBTU and is predicted to rise 4.8%
annually. So, Indonesia at 2026 is threatened to import LNG for its domestic
needs. The existence of these problems encourage attention to alternative energy
as a source of raw material for LNG production. From the statistical data in 2014,
1600 companies are involved in oil palm processing and produce 18.4 million
tons of palm oil. Processing 1 ton of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) of oil palm produce
300-600 kg of liquid waste or palm oil mill effluent (POME).
This plant is operated treating POME to bio-LNG. The content of POME
is lignocellulose, treated with multiple processes generating products. There are 2
moduls converting POME to bio-LNG. The first modul of this process is forming
methane from POME comprises delignification, fermentation, acetogenation, and
methanation. The second modul is purification and forming methane to bio-LNG.
The average price of bio-LNG is USD $ 3.89/MMBTU, which is lower
than LNG price of USD $ 4.5/MMBTU. LNG price is high due to towering
domestic demand, but is not matched by production supply. Thus, the target
market of the LNG product is energy companies in Indonesia which focuses on
the production development. Compared with LNG, bio-LNG is a renewable fuel
that has some advantages encompassing emissions of NOx reduction, greenhouse
effect reduction, and cost of fuel up to 20-30% cutback. Bio-LNG industry can
contribute to the revenue-producing industry POME, which currently POME is a
waste that damages environment and disturbs human settlements can be a product
with high economic value.
Keywords : Bio-LNG, Methane, POME, VERTIGO.