Oil Palm by-products as biocommodities

XVIII International Oil Palm conference

Cartagena, Colombia

Jan E.G. van Dam

25-09-2015

Outline and Introduction

FBR-WUR

Biobased economy developments in EU

Markets for biomass (near future)

● 10-30 Mt pellets

● Prices 130-170 € /ton pellet (@Rotterdam)

Biomass sourcing and imports of bio-commodities

Oil palm by-products

● Challenge pellets from oil palm residues

● Quality price

Outline

Application options Palm Oil by-products

Energy / biomass exports

Biorefinery technologies / process and product innovation

Commercial interests / investors

Markets development

NO PALMS IN THE NETHERLANDS!

Wageningen University & Research centre

Domain: healthy food & living environment

Extensive international network

Forty locations, main hubs in Brazil, China and Chile

…to explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life…

Wageningen UR

Research

Top 3 in our domains

Top 100 worldwide in university ranking

Exploitation and valorisation of research

Education

> 11,000 students

> 6,000 faculty and staff

Turnover € 710 million

https://www.wageningenur.nl/

Organisational structure WageningenUR

Wageningen International

IMARES

Wageningen Academy

RIKILT

Food & Biobased Research

Livestock Research Central

Veterinary Institute

Alterra LEI Centre for

Development Innovation

Plant Research International Applied Plant

Research

Agrotechnology & Food Science

Animal Sciences Environmental Sciences

Social Sciences Plant Sciences

Agrotechnology & Food Sciences

Group

Animal Sciences Group

Environmental Sciences Group

Social Sciences Group

Plant Sciences Group

Supervisory Board

Executive Board

Concern Staff Facilities & Services

Wageningen University

Research Institutes

Food & Biobased Research

Agrotechnology & Food Sciences

Agrotechnology & Food Sciences

Group

Food & Biobased Research

Market oriented R&D approach

Connection with Wageningen University

Up-scaling: from lab to pilot

From idea to processes and products

Biobased Products

Biorefinery

● Fresh biomass

● Lignocellulosic crops

● Aquatic biomass

Biobased chains and logistics

● Chain design

● Policy advice

EU Policy for sustainable development

HORIZON 2020

● Long term solutions

● Combat climate change

● Renewable resources & bioeconomic growth

● CO2 neutral, abate greenhouse gas emissions

● Imports of biomass

● Brazil, Malaysia, Ukraine, Colombia..

● Bio-commodities

Bioeconomy and biobased economy

EU political debate

Thermal power CO2 reduction

● Electricity and heat (co-firing ~20% pellets)

● Gasification and combustion

International Energy Agency (IEA) WG Task 43 (bioenergy)

Int. biomass sourcing and trading (IBST)

World bioenergy association (WBA)

Biomass to chemicals, materials and 2nd generation fuels

Constraints and potential supply

Renewable energy market growth

Biobased economy developments

Global Biomass market developments

New Biocommodities

● Raw materials, products or intermediate products that are

fungible and being traded in bulk volumes world-wide.

● Consist of selected parts of a crop or extracted and derived

components. The composition is well known and defined.

● Should be easily tradable and storable.

● Examples: wood/pellets, bioethanol/lactic acid, FAME, CPO, soy

beans/soy oil, wheat/flower,...

Sourcing and sustainability of supply

Biomass handling and storage

Biomass to power and materials

Transition to the bio-based economy

• Big challenge to make enough biomass available

• How to change to the bio-based economy sustainably?

• There is not one strategy………..

• Required: sophisticated combination of resources and processes leading to defined value added products; precision agriculture;

• Mobilizing biomass.... no waste!

Food

Biomass production

1st Agro logistics Food pretreatment

Food production Conversion

Non-

food: • Feed

• Compost

• Waste

management .

Agri sources Agro-food production By products & waste

Logistics& storage production Imports

Conversion

Production

$

$

$

Biobased

Products • Biobased

materials

• Green

chemicals

• Bio-fuels

• Bio-energy

Production Performance materials Base&platform chemicals Performance chemicals Bio Energy

Pre-treatment & conversion

Bio-based economy: linking of markets

EU Biobased economy

Policy intentions:

Market demands 650 Mt (in EU-27) for 2020

Up to 50-100 Mt biomass trade imports

● Heat and electricity lignocellulose

● 2nd generation

● Ethanol

● Oils for biodiesel

● Yet fuel

● Chemicals (not included)

Bio-based economy Opportunities

• Make sufficient renewable resources available for

– food

– feed

– energy

– materials

– chemical industry

• Value addition in materials, and ‘green’ chemicals

• Position of residues as biocommodity in the bioeconomy?

• Agroresidues of food and non-food crops

– sugar cane bagasse & by-products

– palm oil residues

– cotton stalks

– rice straw / wheat straw / hulls

– corn cobs

– coconut husk / cocoa / coffee residues

– jute fibre and other fibre crops

– eucalypt bark

– verge grasses

– bamboo

Potential biocommodities

Application options

Palm oil mill by products

Oil PalmC

Fruits CPO

sludge

Press cakeFronts

Fatty acids

Refined oil

Glycerol (C3)

Biodiesel / soap

Stems

Fresh Fruit Bunches

EFB

sterilizingThrashing/ stripping

Digestion/pressing

Settling/ centrifuging/

decanting

depericarping

POME

Fibres

shells

Palm kernels dryingCrushing/ pressing

PKO

Nuts Kernel cake

Application options

Palm oil mill by products

● EFB

● Mesocarp fibre

● Shell

● Palm Kernel Cake

Application options EFB

Energy

● Pellets / briquettes

● Torrefied pellets / Torwash

Pyrolysis oil + char

Horticultural substrate

Lignocellulose fibre

● Panels & boards

● Composites

● Pulp

Dissolving cellulose

2nd generation bioethanol

EFB

Cellulose (a) 38.3 (37.9)

hemicellulose 35.3 (35.0)

Ara 1.5

Xyl 63.0

Man -

Glc 23.1

Gal 2.7

UA 9.6

Lignin (S/G) 22.1

klason (22.9)

Acid soluble (1.1)

extractives (2.7)

Ash (1.5)

Higher heating

value

17.5-19.0 GJ/t

Lower heating

value

6.4 GJ/t

nutrients

N 0.7

K 0.08

P 2.37

Application options EFB

Energy pellets / briquettes

● Pretreatments / Washing

● Compaction (bale pressing)

● Pelletizing

Torrefied pellets / briquettes

Torwash (pellets / briquettes)

● ECN, Petten NL

EFB

Cellulose (a) 38.3 (37.9)

hemicellulose 35.3 (35.0)

Ara 1.5

Xyl 63.0

Man -

Glc 23.1

Gal 2.7

UA 9.6

Lignin (S/G) 22.1

klason (22.9)

Acid soluble (1.1)

extractives (2.7)

Ash (1.5)

Higher heating

value

17.5-19.0 GJ/t

Lower heating

value

6.4 GJ/t

nutrients

N 0.7

K 0.08

P 2.37

Application options EFB (OPT/OPF)

Pyrolysis oil (+ char)

● Double pressing (oil yield)

● Drying (<15% moisture)

● Shredding (<30 mm)

● Low dust and fines

BTG demo-line Malaysia

2t / hr dry input

fast pyrolysis

(50-60% yield)

Current status Pyrolysis in NL

BTG demo-line Malaysia (discontinued)

BTG 1st pyrolysis plant

Hengelo, NL 2015

5t / hr dry input fast pyrolysis

Green chemicals

Wood preservative

● Creosote substitute

Application options shells

Palm kernel shells

Lignin rich resource

● Use in bitumen substitution

● Experiments extraction

Shell

Cellulose (a) 20.8 (20.5)

hemicellulose 22.7 (22.3)

Ara 0.6

Xyl 63.4

Man -

Glc 21.8

Gal 2.3

UA 13.7

Lignin (S/G) 50.7

klason (49.9)

Acid soluble (1.6)

extractives (4.7)

Ash (1.0)

Higher heating

value

20.5-21.5 GJ/t

Lower heating value 15.1 GJ/t

nutrients

N 0.3-0.6

K 0.01

P 0.15

Application options EFB

Horticultural substrate

Peat moss substitution

Cocopeat alternative

● Pressed pith blocks (big bales)

● Fine and medium substrates (70 l bags)

● Control structure and physical characteristics

● Slow release fertilizers

● Constant quality (pH / water / air) RHP standards

● Slow decomposition

Application options EFB

Horticultural substrate

Market size > 1Mt

Cocopeat prize big bale (1.3t) 1.76 $

26 t pressed cocopeat / container

Comparison with EFB

● Pre-treatment / washing / shredding /

● pre-digestion / drying / water holding capacity

● compaction

Application options EFB / Mesocarp

Lignocellulose fibre

● Panels & boards

● Binderless boards (?)

● Composites

● Pulp, paper, cardboard

Less suitable fibre properties (Malaysia)

● Insulation materials

Application options EFB / Mesocarp

Lignocellulose fibre

Dissolving cellulose

● Cellupalm

2nd generation bioethanol

The CelluPalm semi batch process is a chemical (organosolv) pulping process with continuous output

1)Washing

2)Pre-hydrolysis

3)Hydrolysis (acetic acid, catalyst)

4)Bleaching (Optionally)

31

Design – process steps

Cellupalm’s Dissolving Cellulose Facility (DCF)

Adapting existing proven technologies focused on

processing EFB

Tested successfully by the Wageningen University (WUR)

WUR consequently patented the process and made it

available exclusively to Cellupalm

Dissolving cellulose from EFB

Topics to address

High value market – long term perspective

Scale of operation (12 ton - 40 ton FFB /hr mills)

Raw material costs EFB (5-15 $/t?)

Transportation EFB

Target 5000 t/yr dissolving cellulose

system integration

● Total solution for solids, liquids and gasses

● Use of heat and steam,

Markets for cellulose in textiles / bioplastics /

● 4000 $ /t

Application options EFB

2nd generation bioethanol / bioplastics

biorefinery plants

● corn stover (USA)

● EFB ?

EFB

Cellulose (a) 38.3 (37.9)

hemicellulose 35.3 (35.0)

Ara 1.5

Xyl 63.0

Man -

Glc 23.1

Gal 2.7

UA 9.6

Lignin (S/G) 22.1

klason (22.9)

Acid soluble (1.1)

extractives (2.7)

Ash (1.5)

Higher heating

value

17.5-19.0 GJ/t

Lower heating

value

6.4 GJ/t

nutrients

N 0.7

K 0.08

P 2.37

Conclusions

Fits in the UN Sustainable development goals (Paris December 2015)

EU Imports of oil palm biomass is considered attractive from countries that have a large capacity of production

Imports from South and Central American countries with high productivity of oil palm will be most suitable for tracing feedstock supplies

Conclusions

Companies are looking for alternative sourcing of biomass

Companies seek to transfer technology to partners in Latin America / Asia

Match-making options to explore (Economic Missions)

Conclusions

The secondary residues (EFB, Fibre, shells), released at the oil mill, are collected in bulk quantities and find limited added value. The bulk density of EFB restricts its use as biomass feedstock for exports. On site conversion of the biomass in more concentrated – more energy dense forms is required

Conversion into transportable and tradable commodities, such as ligno-cellulose pulp, particle board, pyrolysis oil, ethanol or furfural will be required for economic operation

Conclusions

• Organization of sustainable supply chains of new biocommodities needed

• R&D efforts and exchange of multidisciplinary expertise needed to implement innovations

• Cooperation between Colombia and EU offers opportunities for the future of sustainable bioeconomy and CO2 neutral production

Thank you for

your attention

Gracias

por su atención