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Anaerobic co-digestion produces biogas from Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) and Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB). However, EFB has high lignin content, a limiting substance in the co-digestion process. Two samples were controls, with CTRL1 mono-digesting of POME and CTRL2 co-digesting with untreated EFB. NaOH solution at 0.1% was used to presoak EFB to obtain an alkaline condition. The EFB was then treated hydrothermally in an autoclave at 150 °C, 180 °C and 200 °C (HT150, HT180 and HT200). Next, the pretreated EFB was added to POME and fermented anaerobically under mesophilic conditions (27-30 °C) for 21 days. It was concluded that the delignification of EFB was best achieved at 180 °C with a decrease in lignin of 33.95% and an increase in biogas production of 202.32%, compared to CTRL1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Anaerobic Co-Digestion (ACD) of POME and EFB is widely applied to produce biogas by converting Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). However, the lignin content in the EFB hinders the performance of the anaerobic bacteria. Therefore, this paper proposes EFB delignification by effective microorganisms (EM). Shredded EFB was delignified using EM solutions of 1.96%, 3.85%, and 5.66% v/v (EMD196, EMD385, EMD566). Five Erlenmeyer flasks were mesophilic anaerobic digesters for 21 days. The first two acted as controls, with and without co-substrate (CTRL1 and CTRL2). Another three co-digested by adding the delignified EFB. Compared to CTRL1, EMD566 showed the highest increase in performance, with a gain in cumulative biogas production at 137.21% and methane content at 4,328%. EMD566's reduction of COD and total solids (TS) improved by 25.09 and 4.98%. It can be concluded that EMD566 is the most promising in enhancing biogas production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, Malaysia and Indonesia are the biggest palm oil producer in the world. However, the oil extraction rate (OER) for palm oil mills in both countries is below the potential yield of palm oil fresh fruit bunch. The OER for palm oil mills in Malaysia is less than 21% for almost 40 years. Increment of the OER by 1% may contribute significantly to the world palm oil industries. In this study, a simple dry method was employed to increase the OER of the palm oil. The fresh fruit bunch (FFB) of palm oil tree was dried for 24 hours. The dried palm fruit was detached and the mesocarp was separated from the kernel using a knife. The oil from the sliced mesocarp was extracted using bench top screw press. The CPO obtained, later was characterized for free fatty acid content (FFA), moisture content, carotene and deterioration of bleach ability index (DOBI) number. The single FFB OER calculated in this study was 23.1%. All but the DOBI index were within the standard criteria of the CPO. In conclusion, this study showed that this dry method was able to increase the OER for palm oil mills. Furthermore, since steam was not in used, this method may reduce the carbon footprint and pollutant from palm oil industries in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The palm oil industry is one of the most important agro-based industries in Malaysia, with more than 400 palm oil mills nationwide. These mills are generally self-sustained in energy by converting empty fruit bunch (EFB), palm mesocarp fibre (PMF) and palm kernel shell (PKS), into energy. However, palm fuel burned in boilers have caused severe air pollution problems due to improper boiler operation and inefficient air pollution control systems. This results in emission of bottom ash particulates from multicyclone and electrostatic precipitator (ESP) hopper after combustion. This paper discusses the characteristics of palm fuel, namely PMF, PKS and EFB, based on proximate analysis, gross calorific value, ultimate analysis and element composition. Morphology of bottom ash emitted from multicyclone and ESP was also examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM). EFB was found to have the ' highest moisture content of 63.1% among others, while mixture of PMF and PKS had the highest volatile matter of 54.5% and fixed carbon of 18.5%. PMF has the highest calorific value of 2993 kcals/kg among others. The bottom ash from multicyclone and ESP exhibited particulate sizes ranging from 18.4 to 68 µm and 10.9 to 44.6 µm, respectively. These were considered as preliminary results which require further future research. The outcomes of this study are useful for mitigation of fine particulate emission from air pollution control system in the palm oil mill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of hydraulic retention time (HRT) on treating domestic wastewater of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) was investigated in the pilot plant bio-continuous stirred tank reactor (Bio-CSTR) 1 m3. The bio-CSTR was operated at mesophilic condition and under two HRT conditions (33.3 days and 100 days) aimed to evaluate biogas productivity and operational stability. The pilot plant system was started with cow manure in the beginning, and its combination of POME, cow manure, and urea-DAP as micro nutrition in the first week. Afterward feeding of fresh POME was set between pH 5.4 and 5.5 by mixed it with overflow and further adjusted it with commercial ash soda. The performance observation shows that at shorter HRT, the organic compound was not consumed optimally. This was indicated by low pH 5.1 at the bio CSTR system and the amount biogas produced reached 54.3 L. In addition, it was needed more amount of ash soda to adjust the feeding. Setting by extending the HRT was gradually increased the pH so that needed less ash soda to adjust the pH. The biogas produced was increased 11.3 times higher than that of biogas at short HRT. The effectiveness of POME usage was got by the more organic compound was decomposed that indicated by lower COD analyzed at overflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The palm oil industry forms the backbone of the Malaysian agricultural economy and is indexed as one of the National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs). Despite the rapid demand for palm oil, the labor shortage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has reduced harvest activity since the dependability on human labor is still high. Based on this scenario, the way forward to resolve the issue is through the implementation of mechanized equipment to assist plantation activities. However, the output rate based on the implementation of mechanized equipment in the Malaysian palm oil industry is still unclear. In this regard, this paper aims to develop a simulation model that mimics the operation of the mechanized equipment in the palm oil mill using a discrete event simulation (DES) approach. The related mechanized equipment has been considered in the simulation model to resemble the palm oil mill operation, namely clarification, extraction, sterilization, and stripping stations. As a result, it is found that the sterilization process contributes to the longest waiting time (122.89 seconds) and the highest number of waiting (3.04 tons). In contrast, stripping stations turn the lowest percentage of resource utilization. By improving the utilization of identified mechanized equipment, the dependability on human labor can be reduced gradually. Consequently, it will increase the harvest output known as Fresh Fruit Branches (FFB) yield and crude palm oil (CPO) production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition metal-based homogeneous/heterogeneous catalysts have been identified as a viable option for persulfate activation. However, metal leaching is unavoidable, leading to significant secondary contamination. Alternatively, nitrogen-doped biochar is considered a promising persulfate activator because it is environmentally friendly and low-cost. In this study, biochar-doped with nitrogen source urea was synthesized in a single-pot pyrolysis and used to activate peroxydisulfate (PDS). The nitrogen content of synthesized POME biochar was altered by adding different ratios of urea to the precursors. The catalytic application of biochar was then considered, including the feasibility of catalytic removal of methylene blue dye. This study was conducted based on 3 ratios of urea-doped biochar: 25:75, 50:50 and 75:25. The optimum pH, dosage of urea-doped biochar and concentration of PDS were subsequently determined. Based on the experimental results, the optimum conditions were identified as pH3, 8mM PDS concentration and 0.1g 75:25 biochar: urea ratio. Based on the optimized conditions, a removal rate of 92.6±0.9% was attained. The kinetic model for this degradation was found to be well fitted to the pseudo first-order reaction. This research provides an effective method for enhancing the N functionality of sludge-based carbocatalysts, as well for sludge recovery and reuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The palm oil business employs almost 20 million people, generates USD 21 billion in revenue, and plays a vital role in Indonesia's social economy. The Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) to Palm Oil Mills (POM) distribution system is one important aspect of fruit quality. Three steps are involved in getting Oil Palm FFB from the plantation to the POM. The first part of the procedure involves cutting FFB from the tree, the second stage involves gathering the fruit at a fruit collection point (FCP), and the third stage involves transporting the fruit to the palm oil mill (POM). As of now, the cost of the FFB transportation is still considerable, accounting for roughly 15% to 20% of the FFB pricing. The use of the Business Intelligence (BI) idea in the oil palm harvesting system is presented in this study as a foundation for creating web-based applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant growth with complex organic matter content can be enhanced by using oil palm by-products. These organic materials can maintain the water supply in the plant body. Therefore, in oil palm plantations with significant groundwater consumption, organic matter's the ability to sustain water availability. Caterpillars that devour palm leaves are among the numerous pests that threaten oil palm plantations. Predators of leaf-eating caterpillars use the holly rose flower (Turnera subulata) in oil palm farms as a habitat. Therefore, the effect of the type and dose treatment of oil palm by-products on the growth of Turnera subulata was observed to support sustainable water management in oil palm plantations. The research was carried out using a factorial design arranged in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) consisting of two components: the type of palm oil mill by-product (boiler ash, empty bunches, and solid) and the dose of a by-product (% volume) consisting of four dosages (0, 25, 33, and 50% volume). The research data were analyzed using variance at the 5% test level. A DMRT test at the 5% test level was conducted on the treatment that had a significant effect. The growth of Turnera subulata was most positively impacted by a solid application dose of 50% volume. Turnera subulata plants responded the least favorably to the application of empty bunches in any dose treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palm oil mill effluent (POME), a byproduct of the palm oil industry, has a number of issues that can have a severe influence on the environment. Water contamination has been exacerbated by issues such as inappropriate control of POME effluent discharge into natural water bodies and huge volumes of POME production from palm oil mills. It was discovered that there have been very few investigations on converting POME anaerobic sludge into beneficial products. Therefore, this research looks into the feasibility of converting the POME anaerobic sludge into a valuable product by evaluating its high heating value (HHV) and lignocellulosic content. Three essential analyses were used in this study. First is the ultimate analysis, to determine the composition of C, H, N and O in the POME anaerobic sludge. The second type of analysis is proximate analysis, which covers moisture content, volatile matter, fixed carbon, and ash content and the third is lignocellulosic analysis, which includes organic compound categorization. The results revealed that converting POME anaerobic sludge into bio-derived fuel was a very viable option to be considered. This is due to its low moisture and ash content, as well as high volatile matter and fixed carbon, indicating that POME anaerobic sludge contains significant HHV. It was also supported by reliable results from ultimate analysis of CHNO in POME anaerobic sludge and HHV value of 11.183 MJ/kg obtained from calculation which revealed that POME anaerobic sludge is promising to be used as feedstock in hydrothermal process to produce bio-derived fuel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy demand is increasing with the growth of the human population and the development of technology. In Indonesia, the supply of energy is dominated by fossil fuels which are not sustainable. To reduce the demand for fossil fuels, it is important to develop renewable energy technology and one of them is Biogas. Biogas can be produced from various biomass including Palm oil mill effluent (POME). The utilization of POME as raw material can potentially solve energy problems as well as environmental problems. Several studies have previously been done to produce biogas from POME, however, there is limited study on semi-continuous processes. Thus, in this study, the authors did an experiment to produce biogas from POME in a semicontinuous designed reactor and compared it with a batch process to evaluate and find a better condition to produce higher amount of biogas. In addition, biogas reactor discharge was analyzed and evaluated to be used as fertilizer. In this study, cow manure is used as starter. Biogas production started by preparing cow manure and water and set in the reactor until bubbles appeared in the slurry showing the presence of active microorganisms. The biogas production with a semi-continuous process was done by removing 1 L of biogas slurry from the reactor, then mixing 0.5L of the discharge with 0.5 of POME and recycling it every day. The result shows that the semi-continuous process gives a higher volume of biogas produced. In addition, there is only a small reduction in the number of N and K components after digestion that makes the biogas slurry discharge from POME is as potential as POME to be used as fertilizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wastewater pollution of soil and water is one of the most severe global dangers to our environment today. Palm oil mill effluent final discharge (POME FD), a by-product of the palm oil extraction process, is wastewater. Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is high-strength wastewater resulting from palm fruit processing. It is produced in considerable numbers in all oil palm producing countries. It is a significant pollutant responsive to microbial breakdown due to its high organic carbon, nitrogen, and mineral content. Due to its highly polluting properties, palm oil mill effluent (POME) requires effective treatment before discharge into watercourses. This paper proposes an electrocoagulation (EC) technique to minimize organic pollution in palm oil mill effluent (POME). The pH, COD and temperature values were analyzed after being treated by the electrocoagulation method. There are two sensors, temperature, and pH sensors, connected to Arduino UNO. The sensors help monitor the temperature value and pH value of the samples. The data collected by Arduino is then transferred to the serial monitor display. All the results can be monitored live on PC to analyze the treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coconut oil is one of the multi-purpose oils used in day-to-day life. Coconut oil has a greater demand in India and many other parts of the world. For a large scale industry, the supply of coconut kernel must be continuous, so as to reduce the downtime. Cutting the coconut in to exact round/required shape is one of the main parameter for oil production. When it is done in human hands, the shape of the coconut kernel is not according to required level. If the shape exceeds the desired limit, the dry coconut kernel becomes second grade. The main reasons for development of the project are to cut the coconut into exact round shape and to reduce the time consumed during the cutting process. The project is a simple, compact and cost effective dry coconut breaking machine for cold pressing oil mills to meet the demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power plants in Indonesia are still dominated by power plants that use fossil fuels to produce electrical energy. PTPN III PKS Sei Silau is one of the oil palm plantation companies that has not utilized palm oil waste as fuel for the Biogas Power Plant (PLTBg). This study carried out a technical-economic feasibility study to construct a biogas power plant with the aerobic digester method using a literature study and field data. The research results are methane gas production of 4,292,133.32 M3 CH4/year with the amount of methane gas produced from palm oil liquid waste to produce electrical energy of 21,195,909.76 kWh/year. Meanwhile, building a Biogas Power Plant requires an investment of $ 4,189,239.29, where the Payback Period value takes 4.17 years and with a Present Net Value (NPV) of $ 11,365,535. From these results, it can be concluded that the construction of PLTBg PKS Sei Silau is feasible; consideration of social and environmental impacts needs to be carried out for [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The depletion of energy sources' availability caused by high energy consumption led to the energy crisis in Indonesia. The government urges the need for energy savings of 20% and promotes the search for renewable energy sources to overcome energy problems. One of the potential renewable energy sources is palm oil mill effluent (POME). POME may be used to generate bioelectricity by the fuel cell. The fact that Indonesia is the largest producer of crude palm oil globally with a POME of 55-67% indicated the potency of POME as raw material for bioelectricity production. In this study, bioelectricity has been generated from POME as substrate and KMnO4 electrolyte solution in double chamber microbial fuel cell. The electrodes used are Aluminum (Al), Copper (Cu), and Zinc (Zn), while Lactobacillus bulgaricus acts as a biocatalyst to oxidize the POME. The purpose of this study is to determine the voltage, current, power, and power density from the redox reactions inside the fuel cell. This study concludes POME with 100% concentration may generate bioelectricity with a voltage of 1.52 Volts, current of 3.35 mA, power of 5.092mW, and maximum power density of 0.127mW/cm2, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The release of massive amount of methane gas into the atmosphere from the palm oil mill effluent (POME) treatment ponds has made many realize that the industry must be sustainable if its national and international market is to be safeguarded. Malaysian palm oil millers have been encouraged to implement biogas facilities in the mills to capture the methane gas and used it for power generation. However, different configurations of biogas capture technology and biogas utilization pathway currently adopted in palm oil mills may lead to a great variance of outcomes from both environmental and economic point of views. This situation could subsequently affect the selection and decision on an appropriate anaerobic digestion (AD) system among the palm oil industry players. The objectives of this study are 1) to evaluate the environmental and economic performance of Malaysian palm oil mills with current POME-biogas AD systems using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Environmental Life Cycle Costing (ELCC), and 2) to provide best management option of palm oil operations associated with feasible biogas configuration for a better decision making among the palm oil industry players using Eco-costs Value Ratio (EVR) model. Several methodologies were used in this study that included LCA, ELCC and EVR model. The four imperative steps in the LCA framework were conducted: goal and scope definition, Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) analysis, Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) and interpretation. As ELCC is known as the economic counterpart and complimentary to LCA, most of the steps remain unchanged except for the impact assessment. This step was covered by a financial appraisal through capital budgeting analysis, of which the future values for net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), benefit cost ratio (BCR) and payback period (PBP) of the interest palm oil mills were analyzed. The acquired information from palm oil mills was collected through a specific data collection sheet. Results obtained from LCA and ELCC were used for EVR model. From the environmental point of view, a total of 11 impact categories have been determined in palm oil mills. Of these, respiratory inorganics, climate change and fossil fuels depletion are identified as the most significant impact categories. The contributing factors to these impact categories are primarily derived from the application of chemical fertilizers in plantations, highly energy (diesel)-dependent transportation and machinery both from plantations and palm oil milling processes, and activities of chemical fertilizers production including transportation of the manufactured fertilizers and fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) from plantations to mills. From the economic perspective, the results show that palm oil mill with POME-biogas AD tank to grid connection configuration is financially more viable; greater profitability with shorter PBP. From the eco-efficiency analysis perspective, the results have revealed that palm oil mill with POME-biogas AD tank to grid connection configuration has the lowest EVR of 0.08 among the assessed palm oil mills, whereas mill with POME-biogas AD tank to co-firing configuration has the highest EVR value of 0.31. Eco-efficiency of the palm oil mills could improve when green procurements in oil palm plantations are taken up seriously and palm oil milling is revolutionized with advanced technologies. Findings of this study have shown that the selected Malaysian palm oil mills are indeed eco-efficient in terms of environmental and economic aspects. Amongst the different biogas capture and utilisation technologies adopted, palm oil mill with POME-biogas AD tank to grid connection configuration exhibits the highest eco-efficiency. It is recommended to adopt such biogas configuration in a mill which shows positive impact to the palm oil industry in terms of a long-run environmental protection and economic safeguards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of boiler feedwater and boiler water has a significant impact on the efficiency and productivity of the boilers. It is due to the corrosion and formation of scale in the boilers which are contributed by the high concentrations of pollutants in the boiler water. Therefore in this study, data-driven techniques using Statistical Process Control (SPC) has been utilized to monitor the quality of the parameter of the boiler and boiler feedwater for palm oil mills in the State of Perak, Malaysia. The data was collected from 39 palm oil mills from the year 2017 to 2019. Data-driven analysis methods of the data collected were carried out for the parameter namely chloride, sulfite, phosphate and cycle of concentration (COC) profiles in the boiler. There are four (4) box plot profiles were produced for parameters investigated. From the results of the analysis, one parameter that is being investigated which is chloride is not within the recommended ASME guidelines where the median is beyond the recommended limit. This behaviour also reflects to other parameters as well which is beyond the recommended limit of ASME guidelines. Therefore, proper monitoring and treatment of boiler feedwater are needed to ensure the quality of the boiler water parameter is following the ASME guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photocatalytic of POMSE able to further degrade organic compounds by utilizing suitable semiconductor catalyst, to be excited by UV rays, to form hydroxyl radicals (OH). This paper reports on the photocatalysis of palm oil mill secondary effluent (POMSE) over 15wt%Ni/CaO and 20wt%Ni/CaO catalysts. Calcium Oxide (CaO) was extracted from chicken eggshell, thus promoting waste recycle. The reaction was carried out in a 30 ml reactor, with UV lamp (120 watt) as the light source, employing contant temperature of 298 K and reaction time of 2, 3 and 5 hours. TPC analyses demonstrated the calcination profiles of uncalcined catayst and revealed reaction temperature of 1073 K was ideal for the catalyst calcination. In addition, Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) kinetic model was used to identify the activation energy of 15wt%Ni/CaO (65.96 kJ mol−1) and 20wt%Ni/CaO (86.86 kJ mol−1). With the lower activation energy value, 15wt%Ni/CaO predicted to achieve higher POMSE photocatalysis conversion. The FTIR analyses identified the existing functional groups of the catalyst. Meanwhile, the COD of raw POMSE was 4600 mg/L. From the COD value of raw POMSE, the photocatalysis of POMSE demonstrated decreasing trend for both catalysts. Accordingly, the 15wt%Ni/CaO and 20wt%Ni/CaO catalyst achieved highest POMSE conversion of 2550 mg/L and 1870 mg/L at highest reaction time of 5 hours. Similar pattern was observed in the UV/VIS analyses of melanoidin degradation where 8.85% and 10.71% for 15wt%Ni/CaO and 20wt%Ni/CaO, respectively. Hence, this study found that high Ni/CaO catalyst loading and photocatalysis reaction time demonstrated efficient POMSE conversion and melanoidin degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study on the extraction of silicon dioxide (silica) based on biomass was carried out successfully. The biomass used in this study was the palm shells and fibre. The study started with the preparation of bottom ash waste extraction and then continued with the sodium silicate solution from bottom ash waste and the preparation of precipitated silica. The preparation of precipitated silica was carried out with bottom ash dissolved with (1 N, 3 N or 4 N) of NaOH, heated at a temperature of 105 °C, precipitation of silica sol-gel with 3 N H2SO4 to pH=7 with an ageing time of 18 hours. Based on the FTIR characterization test of palm oil shells and fibre, the silica has the absorption peak at wave number 2,901.39 cm−1; 2,167.18 cm−1; 2095.38 cm-1; 1,642.30 cm−1 and 1,408.37 cm−1 that indicated the presence of stretching vibrations of the hydroxyl (-OH) functional group of water (H-O-H) silanol functional group (Si-OH). The absorption peak at wave number ±1100 cm−1 indicated the presence of the strongest bond of the siloxane functional group (Si-O-Si). The absorption peak was 786.24 cm-1; 634.43 cm−1 and 609.85 cm−1 indicated the presence of stretching and bending vibrations of the Si-O functional group of the siloxane (Si-O-Si) functional group. From this NaOH, the highest weight was obtained at NaOH 4 N, 36 grams of precipitated silica from 50 grams of bottom ash was produced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to develop conceptual models of digital contract management for the independent smallholder oil palm agro-industrial supply chain performance system. Current limitations on price transparency among the palm agro-industry supply chain actors result in large disparities in the profits of the actors in the independent supply chain network. Another problem is the significant difference between the prices set bi-weekly by the government and those received by independent smallholders which range from 15% up 50% during last two years observation. The method for this study (1) starts with a gap analysis, (2) develops business process analysis using BPMN and (3) designs system requirements using UML. The results obtained from this research will (1) bridge the price transparency between the actors in the independent palm oil supply chain, (2) make contract management more transparent, (3) increase the partnership of farmers, cooperatives and palm oil mills to ensure equality of independent oil palm supply chain actors from upstream to downstream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TiO2−MgO catalyst was synthesized by the sol-gel method and used in biodiesel production from palm oil mill effluent (POME). POME biodiesel was made through a two-stage reaction; esterification using sulfuric acid as the first step and transesterification using TiO2−MgO catalyst as the second step. The esterification reaction showed that the free fatty acid content of POME was reduced from 25.72% to 1.17%. The optimal conditions for the transesterification process were observed at a reaction time of 3 hours, a temperature of 60 °C, with a ratio of TiO2−MgO catalyst (1:3). Under these conditions, the oil conversion reached 30.84%. GC-MS analysis showed seven free fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) from the synthesized biodiesel. The FAME confirmed were methyl hexadecanoic, hexadecanoic acid, methyl 8,11-octadecadienoic, methyl 7-octadecenoic, methyl octadecanoic, methyl 10-hydroxy-hexadecanoic, and 2-ethylcridin-1,1,1,3,5,5,5 heptamethyltrisiloxane. The physicochemical properties of biodiesel were determined using ASTM-6751 standards. All physicochemical parameters of POME biodiesel evaluated were compatible, according to ASTM-6751 standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palm oil mill effluent is a by-product of processing oil palm bunches into crude palm oil. The effluent contains material organic that causes problems for the environment. The adsorbent is used to minimise the organic material content. One of the potential materials for adsorbents is palm fronds because they contain lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose. The aim of the research was to determine the contact time and optimum pH to decrease COD and BOD levels in palm oil industrial wastewater. Activated charcoal from palm fronds was obtained from the carbonization process at a temperature of 300°C for 1 hour, then activated using 1 M ZnCl2. The quality standards of the activated charcoal are according to SNI 06-3730-1995. The optimum contact time occurred at 50 minutes with the percentage decrease in COD and BOD levels of 70.83% and 63.11%, respectively, while the optimum pH was reached at pH 7 with a decrease in the percentage of COD and BOD levels of 69.57% and 67.87% respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uses of microorganisms in bioremediation have gained great attention, mainly on its enzyme activity. The pH is a crucial factor in bioremediation process through the enzymatic activity of microorganisms that mainly convert the harmful substances into the harmless one. It's important to cultivate the microorganisms in a substrate with suitable pH to support its growth and to control the metabolic mechanism in the cell. In this study, the first step was to extract of crude enzyme. Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) with different pH (3,5,7 and 9) was used as substrate for amylase production and the amylase activity was calculated according to the DNSA (3, 5 dinitro salicylic acid) method. Best pH for amylase production that may have potential in industrial application was found to be pH 9 on the day 3 with (2.6828 U/mL). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) from Spirulina platensis is interesting since it could accumulate PHB by employing sunlight and organic carbon as the source of energy, compared to bacteria. To make it more feasible, the growth could be done on wastewater to reduce commercial fertilizer, while in other hand, C-phycocyanin (CPC) from the biomass can be exploited by modifying the environmental factors. This research was proposed to utilize palm oil mill effluent (POME) as medium growth and investigate the irradiation time of UV-C to produce PHB and CPC. Research was done in a stepwise two experiments, which explore POME fractions (0-70%) and UV-C irradiation time (0-30 min). Results showed that 3 min irradiation time and 50% POME could stimulate S. platensis to produce 22 mg/L and 47 mg/L, PHB and CPC production, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) treatment was investigated to demonstrate the potential use for palm oil mill effluent (POME) treatment in terms of biogas production and chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total solids (TS) reduction. The treatment was undergone by applying the different input voltage of 15, 20 and 25 kV for 3 hours of reaction time with a frequency of 50 Hz in a DBD glass reactor. The experiment was carried out at room temperature and under normal air pressure. The results showed that the biogas concentration increased with the increase of input voltage. The concentration of hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide increased from the initial values by 85%, 10%, 33% and 99%, respectively, for the input voltage of 15 kV. Biogas concentration also increased with the prolonged reaction time, indicated that more energy was supplied to convert the organic pollutants to form biogas. The high reduction of pollutants in POME was achieved to 48% for COD and 42% for TS when the input voltage increased to 25 kV. The low reduction of COD and TS was probably caused by the high pH value of POME used in this study, resulting a poor degradation and agglomeration of COD and TS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of the application of clean production in one of the oil palm industries in Nagan Raya district has been carried out. The company produces palm oil and palm kernel oil. The application of clean production has the aim of increasing productivity by providing a better level of efficiency in the use of raw materials, energy, water, and encouraging better environmental performance. The method used is a descriptive method with interviews, observations that become primary data, primary data is analysed to obtain a causal relationship. Data analysis is carried out on the data obtained in the field and overcome by implementing clean production actions based on these problems. The results show that the problems that occur at each production process station can be overcome by implementing clean production techniques (good house-keeping techniques, in the form of good operating procedures and implementation of standard operating procedures that need to be carried out optimally, re-recovery) and improving the employees' knowledge of clean production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The palm oil industry is a major source of water pollution in Southeast Asia. Its wastewater normally contains a complex mixture of organic matter and is high in chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand and suspended solids. Thus, this study aims to screen the phytotoxic effects of different concentrations of palm oil mill effluent (POME). The phytotoxicity of POME was studied using mung beans (Vigna radiata), whereby the seedling growth and germination were monitored. In this study, mung beans were allowed to germinate under hydroponics conditions in different concentrations of POME solution. The relative root length, shoot length, percentage of germination and the germination index were evaluated. After 5 days of germination, results from phytotoxicity analysis suggest that the seedling growth declined with the increase in concentration of POME solution. POME at a concentration of 100% (v/v) has resulted in the worst seedling growth condition with 60% of seed germination, null shoot length, root elongation at 1.02 cm, wet biomass at 0.19 g and the lowest germination index at 7.98%. Mung beans might have experienced stress conditions due to the excessive amount of complex and highly biodegradable organic matter and pollutants in POME which stunted the growth of plants. Overall, phytotoxicity assessment of POME using V. radiata as a plant receptor is such a simple technique and applicable to evaluate the effect of chemical pollution of effluent on seed growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]