Mengatasi krisis iklim melalui inovasi tiga generasi teknologi bioenergi sawit yang berkelanjutan dan ramah lingkungan
Why does palm bioenergy become a solution for global climate change mitigation?
Global warming continues to increase due to rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into Earth’s atmosphere, with carbon dioxide (CO₂) as the largest component. CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere has increased significantly from 280 ppmv in the 1800s to 417.6 ppmv in May 2022.
76
% GHG emissions from fossil energy (2022)
41.2
Gt CO₂eq emissions from fossil energy
The main source of global GHG emissions, approximately 76% (41.2 Gt CO₂eq) in 2022, comes from fossil fuel usage. Reducing fossil energy consumption and replacing it with low-emission renewable energy sources, such as palm bioenergy, becomes the primary goal in efforts to mitigate GHG emissions.
The global scientific community has issued a warning to “stop using fossil fuels before it’s too late” (IPCC, 2023).
How does the oil palm plantation production process contribute to bioenergy?
The oil palm plantation production process involves harvesting solar energy and absorbing carbon from Earth’s atmosphere through photosynthesis, making it a carbon and bioenergy plantation. This biological process produces three generations of palm bioenergy as co-products.
3
Generations of palm bioenergy
100
% renewable energy
Oil palm plantations can be considered as carbon and bioenergy plantations due to the photosynthesis process that absorbs CO₂ from the atmosphere.
What are the generations of palm bioenergy and their utilization?
First Generation Bioenergy
Obtained from palm oil processing (CPO, PKO). Examples include biodiesel (fatty acid methyl ester) as a substitute for fossil diesel. Development also includes green diesel, green gasoline (biopremium/palm gasoline), and green avtur (palm bioavtur) to replace fossil fuels in the transportation sector.
Second Generation Bioenergy
Obtained from utilizing oil palm plantation biomass, such as empty fruit bunches, palm kernel shells, fiber, palm stems, and palm leaves. This biomass can be processed into bioethanol (fossil gasoline substitute) and biocoal (fossil coal substitute).
Third Generation Bioenergy
Generated from utilizing palm oil mill (PKS) waste in the form of POME (palm oil mill effluent). POME is used to produce biogas/biomethane through methane capture technology, which also significantly reduces GHG emissions (66-90%).
66-90
% GHG emission reduction with methane capture technology
What are the advantages of palm bioenergy as renewable energy?
Palm bioenergy has two main advantages as a substitute or blend for fossil energy:
Low Carbon Footprint
Palm bioenergy is produced after absorbing carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, so it has a relatively low carbon footprint and can save GHG emissions when replacing fossil energy.
Sustainable Energy
Palm bioenergy is renewable energy with sustainable production as long as there is sunlight and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, unlike fossil energy which is limited in quantity and increasingly depleted.
As long as the sun shines and there is still carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere, palm bioenergy will continue to be produced.