Foto: Biogas plant assistant manager Erwin Hasiholan giving a presentation at the facility’s groundbreaking ceremony Friday (8/1). The biogas-to-power investment is expected to reduce negative environmental impacts from office and factory operations.
SOUTH PAPUA – A biogas and compressed biomethane gas plant was inaugurated Friday (8/1) at the site of palm oil company Berkat Cipta Abadi (BCA). It’s set to slash BCA’s factory and office emissions by 60,000 tons annually.
This facility marks a deeper investment in carbon reduction — something most firms avoid due to high costs. Biogas, a type of green energy, is chosen to reduce negative environmental impacts from company operations.
For years, BCA handled its liquid waste (otherwise known as palm oil mill effluent or POME) using only an onsite wastewater treatment system, releasing large amounts of gas in the process.
With the biogas plant, this byproduct will be further treated to lower its chemical oxygen demand from 70,000 to 10,000 tons. This approach minimizes environmental risks in palm oil waste management, said plant assistant manager Erwin Hasiholan Ompusunggu.
Photo: Tunas Sawa Erma (TSE) Group CEO Robert Seung awarded Hasiholan for his contribution and dedication to the biogas project and sustainable energy development
“Our biogas plant guarantees zero environmental pollution from an 85% reduction in chemical oxygen demand, made possible by the reactor tank.”
The POME-to-biogas conversion begins at a cooling tower, which decreases POME temperature from 90° to 45°C. This stage primes the effluent into the reactor tank before it is sent to a feed tank for chemical mixing, activating anaerobic bacteria.
Next, this chemical mixture is transferred back into the reactor tank to enable anaerobic digestion. These bacteria break down and consume organic compounds, in return emitting methane. A scrubber system then cleans and filters out unwanted particles from the gas streams, which later enter a gas engine fueling electric generators.
“This electricity will power our lighting systems and machines, which we enable by synchronizing the power grids at our CPO and KCP factories. We’re also going to send any excess gas to our compressed biogas plant, using it to fill cylinders for [our] Asiki [site]. These cylinders can fuel diesel generators [that power some of the buildings there],” Erwin concluded. (PR)
