Waste Management and

Environmental Control

Shawaluddin Tahiruddin
Yosri Mohd Siran
Sime Darby Research Sdn Bhd

MPOB Intensive Diploma in Oil Palm

Management and Technology
7 July 2009
 Introduction

Rapid growth in oil palm industry

3.8 million ha, 370 oil mills with 76 million
tFFB capacity as at 2003
4.3 million ha, 401 oil mills with 89 million
tFFB capacity as at 2008
Changing trends in global consumers
Trade issues include health, labour,
environment
New requirement on sustainability - RSPO
Environmental issues affecting plantations
as well as oil mills
Focus on palm oil mill waste management
 Environmental issues

Plantations
Land use, land preparation and conservation,
water management
Chemicals usage herbicides, inorganic
fertilisers
Oil mills
Gaseous emissions boiler black smoke,
particulates, methane
Effluent discharge water pollution, odour
Scheduled wastes
 Simplified Flow Diagram of a Palm
Oil Mill
Fresh Fruit
Sterilisation Steriliser
Bunches (FFB) Condensate

Threshing Empty Fruit Bunch

(EFB)
Press Liquor Press Cake
Oil
Extraction

Sludge Oil Recovery Fibre/Nut Fibre

& Purification Separation

Shell
Kernel
Crude Palm Oil Extraction HC/CB
Waste
Palm Kernels
 Palm oil mill wastes
Empty fruit bunches (EFB)
Fibre
Shell
Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)
Steriliser condensate
Centrifuge/Decanter waste (sludge)
Hydrocyclone/Claybath waste
Factory wash water, boiler blowdown
Scheduled wastes (?)
 Characteristics of Palm Oil Mill
Effluent
Paramete Mean Range
r
pH 4.2 3.4 5.2
BOD 25000 10250 43750
COD 50000 16000 10000
TS 40500 11500 0
SS 18000 5000 78700
TVS 34000 9000 54000
Oil&Grease 6000 150 72000
AN 35 4 18000
TKN
All in ppm except pH 750 180 80
1400
 POME generation rate
Typical waste generation
rate
Centrifuge waste - 0.40 t/tFFB
Steriliser condensate - 0.20 t/tFFB
Hydrocyclone/Claybat - 0.05 t/tFFB
h - ???? t/tFFB
Washing/blowdown
Population equivalent
20 tFFB/h @ - 100000 persons
16h/day - 1750000 persons
350 tFFB/h @
16h/day
Waste Management Hierarchy and
Options
Prevention
Raw Materials
Selection
Improved Operation
Conservation
Process Modification
Reutilisation
Treatment
Reduction
Neutralisation
Disposal
Surface Water
Incineration
Land Application
Land Fill
 Prevention
Always the first option in waste
management
Development of new or modification of
existing processes
Raw material selection
Tighter operational control
Reutilisation within process
Possible cost saving exercise

Excess water
Oil spillage
 Treatment
Objectives of treatment:
Reduction in volume of waste discharged
Reduction in polluting capacity of waste to
be discharged
Compliance with applicable
environmental legislations:
Environment Quality Act 1974
Environment Quality (Prescribed Premises) (Crude
Palm Oil) Regulations, 1977
Environment Quality (Clean Air) Regulations, 1978
 Watercourse discharge
standards
Standard Standard Standar Standard Standar Standar
Parameter A B dC D dE dF
1/7/78 1/7/79 1/7/80 1/7/81 1/7/82 1/7/84
BOD, mg/l 5,000 2,000 1,000 500 250 100
COD, mg/l 10,000 4,000 2,000 1,000 - -
Total Solids, mg/l 4,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 - -
Suspended Solids, 1,200 800 600 400 400 400
mg/l
Oil&Grease, mg/l 150 100 75 50 50 50
Ammoniacal 25 15 15 10 150* 150*
Nitrogen, mg/l
Total Nitrogen, mg/l 200 100 75 50 200* 200*
pH 5.0 9.0 5.0 9.0 5.0 5.0 9.0 5.0 5.0
9.0 9.0 9.0

*On filtered sample

Treatment methods

Physical treatment
Chemical treatment
Biological treatment
 Physical treatment

Screening Sedimentation
Distillation Ion exchange
Reverse osmosis Ultra filtration
Wet oxidation Activated carbon
Flotation Incineration
Chemical treatment

Precipitation
Flocculation
Neutralisation
Biological treatment

Anaerobic digestion
Aerobic digestion
Facultative digestion
 Anaerobic Digestion
First phase
i. Insoluble Organic Matter Soluble Organic Matter
Hydrolysis (Monosacharides, Glucose,
Glycerol, Long Chain Fatty
By Enzymes Acids, Amino Acids, etc)

ii. Soluble Organic Matter

Acidification Volatile Acids + H2O + CO2
By Acid Bacteria (Acetic, Propanoic Acids,
etc)
Second phase
iii. Volatile Acids
Methanation
By Methane Bacteria CH4 + CO2
Features of anaerobic digestion

Ideal for treatment of strong wastes

Requires less power than aerobic
system
Generates less solids than aerobic
system
Produces methane source of energy
Sensitive to changing environment
 Aerobic digestion

Convertible soluble BOD materials and

Oxygen

BOD + Oxygen Insoluble carbonaceous

Microorganisms matter + CO2 + H2O +
Microorganisms + Energy
Aerobic digestion requirements

Substrate must be biodegradable and

non-toxic
Source of dissolved oxygen must be
present
Microorganisms must be capable of
metabolising the waste
Trace biological nutrients must be
present
 Facultative process

Combination of two biological processes

Aerobic conditions at top layer
Anaerobic conditions at bottom of pond
Depth of pond at 2.0 3.0 metres
Able to further reduce BOD although
overall efficiency lower than anaerobic
process
BOD reduction to 300 400ppm possible
Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP)
design considerations
Nature of processes and types of waste
produced
Relevant environmental legislations
Land space availability and
requirements
Technology available
Capital and operating costs
 ETP system and designs
Combination of physical and biological
processes
Designs to cater for DOE licence specifications
Watercourse discharge or full land application
Hybrid watercourse discharge and land application
Two common designs
Ponding
Tank digesters
Tertiary treatment for sensitive areas BOD
below 20ppm
 Ponding system
From Sludge Pit

4 days Raw Effluent

Pond

1 day Acidification
Ponds

50 days Anaerobic
Ponds
Land Application

30 days Facultative
Ponds

Recycle to oil mill/

10 days Algae/Aerobic Watercourse Discharge/
Ponds Field Irrigation
 Ponding system

Low capital costs

Concrete/lined ponds
where necessary
Requires large land
area
Poor operational
control
 Tank digesters
Anaerobic Digesters
20 days

Sedimentation Pond
1 day
Raw Effluent

To Estate

Acidification Pond
1 day MLSS
Recycle
Water Pond

Aerobic Pond
To Estate 20 days
Sedimentation
Tank
 Tank digesters

Tank digesters for

anaerobic stage
High capital costs
Less land area
required
Better operational
control
Covered tanks for
methane gas
collection
 Alternative methods
Sequencing batch reactor (SBR)
Combination of high-rate anaerobic/aerobic
processes, operated batch-wise in sequence
Bioreactor using bionet or other media
types
Combination of high-rate anaerobic/aerobic
process, fixed organisms bed
Capable of meeting 20ppm BOD discharge
standards
Higher capital and operating costs, less land
area requirements
 GHBOD20 system
Feed
Clarifier

Tank A Mixing Tank E Tank F

chamber

Tank B
Sand
filter
Tank C Tank D Final discharge
BOD <20ppm
 GHBOD20 system

System operates Unit operations in tanks,

continuous basis polished with sand filter
Handles POME after Capable of meeting
anaerobic process 20ppm BOD discharge
standards
 GHBOD20 system performance
RAW FINAL RAW FINAL
EFFLUENT DISCHARGE EFFLUENT DISCHARGE
MONTH BOD (ppm) BOD (ppm) MONTH BOD (ppm) BOD (ppm)
Nov
02 28700 87 Sep 03 50800 37
Dec
02 35400 16 Oct 03 36200 12
Nov
Jan 03 41200 20 03 28500 11
Feb Dec
03 43400 20 03 35500 18
Mac
03 28300 34 Jan 04 39500 12
Apr
03 39100 20 Feb 04 25344 11
 Disposal
Total recycle, re-use approach rather
than disposal
Economic benefits through appropriate
recycling and reutilisation of waste
Surface water
Irrigation, factory washing
Land application
EFB, treated POME
Land fill
Shell, boiler ash, clinkers
 Types and composition of POME
Type of POME BOD N P K Mg
ANAEROBIC
EFFLUENT 1300 900 120 1800 300
Digested in stirred
tank 450 450 70 1200 280
Digested in 191 320 42 1495 258
pond/lagoon
-Supernatant
1000-3000 3552 1180 2387 1509
-Supernatant+10%slu
rry
Digested in tank
-Bottom slurry
100 52 12 2300 539
AEROBIC EFFLUENT 150-300 1495 461 2378 1004
Aerobic pond
-Supernatant - 45000 12000 15000 12000
-Bottom slurry
All in ppm

Dried sludge cake

 Utilisation of POME
High source of plant nutrients
Various methods of application
Flat beds/Long beds
Furrow irrigation
Tractor-tanker system
Sprinkler irrigation
Generally improved palm performance
and soil properties observed
No contamination of ground water and
waterways
 Composting
New way of managing both POME and EFB
Shredded EFB mixed with POME at 1:3 ratio
(100% utilisation)
Use of inoculum to speed up
decomposition
Compost heaps (windrows) turned
periodically
Process completed within 10 weeks
Closed composting system preferred
Ease of storage and application
Application rate at 50kg per palm per year
 Composting
process
EF
B Shredded EFB

Turning compost pile

Compost piles Spraying POME

 Compost nutrient content

Sample % on dry matter

No
N P K Mg Ca

1 0.87 0.11 2.40 0.23 0.27

2 1.28 0.16 3.03 0.46 0.52
3 1.26 0.14 1.08 0.42 0.62
4 1.47 0.23 2.25 0.91 0.76
Target 2.60 0.39 2.50 0.59
Clean Development Mechanism
(CDM)

Projects to reduce Green House Gases (GHGs)

Part of Kyoto Protocol, applicable to Annex 1
(industrialised) countries
Methane 21 times more harmful than carbon
dioxide
Reduction in green house gases estimated
through measurements and computation
Certified Emission Reduction (CERs) sold to
buyers from Annex 1 countries
Clean Development Mechanism
(CDM)

Reduction in methane generation and emissions

Avoid anaerobic process
Use of raw POME as part of composting process
Composting process carried out in aerobic conditions
Utilisation of methane generated
Use of biogas to generate power gas
turbine/engine
Additional power for local consumption
Additional revenue stream for palm oil mill/estate
 Boiler emissions
EQ (Clean Air) Regulations 1978
Smoke density conforming to Ringlemann
Chart #2 (40% obscuration on smoke
density meter)
Particulate emission of less than 0.4g/Nm3
- periodic boiler stack sampling
Close monitoring of boiler firing and
fuel bed racking
Smooth oil mill operation necessary
Use only fibres where possible
Improved design of multicylones,
scrubbers
 Scheduled waste
Three regulations on scheduled waste under
Environmental Quality Act 1974
Environmental Quality (Scheduled Waste) Regulations
1989
Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises) (Scheduled
Waste Treatment and Disposal Facilities) Regulations
1989
Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises) (Scheduled
Waste Treatment and Disposal Facilities) Order 1989
Common types of scheduled wastes
Spent oils, solvents, lubricants, grease, pesticides etc
Proper handling, storage, inventory and disposal
Standard containers for storage and transportation
Records of waste generated, treated and disposed
 Monitoring and control
POME
Daily monitoring of ETP control parameters
Monthly analysis of discharge
Quarterly submission to DOE
Boiler emissions
Daily recording of smoke density
Periodic submission to DOE on boiler stack
sampling for particulates
Scheduled waste
Maintenance of inventory records
 Environment Management
Systems
Implementation of ISO 14001:1996
Environmental Management System to
demonstrate compliance and continual
improvement
Systematic approach with emphasis on self-
regulation
38 palm oil mills out of 291 factories certified to
ISO14001:1996 in Malaysia
May need to include food safety procedures to
satisfy consumer expectations
 Conclusion
Waste management is an integral part
of palm oil industry
A systematic, holistic approach is
required instead of end-of-pipe
treatment of wastes
Industry needs to take advantage of
opportunities in waste management for
higher productivity, cost reduction and
image enhancement
 Total recycling in oil palm plantation

Biomass Shell, Fibre

FFB
Oil palm Palm oil CPO
plantation mill Kernel
EFB

POME
Compostin
g plant Final
Discharge
Effluent
treatment
Digested POME plant