Conversion of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch to Fermentable Sugars

MOHD DANIAL BIN MUHD ALI

MMJG143006

SUPERVISOR : DR PRAMILA TAMUNAIDU

CO-SUPERVISOR : PROF DR NOOR AZIAN BT MORAD1

10 Oct 2014CAIRO’s Meeting Room

Introduction

- Lignocellulosic Biomass

- Oil Palm Biomass

- Availability of Solid Waste

- Types of Pretreatment

Problem Statement

Objectives of Research

Overall Methodology

Proposed Research Scopes

Chemical Composition Studies

2

Presentation Outline

3

Introduction

Lignocellulosic biomass refers to plant biomass that is composed of mainly cellulose, hemicellulose, and

lignin.

• Rigid, linear polymer of glucose subunits

• Branching polymer of C-5,C-6, uronic acid, acetyl derivatives

• Complex, cross-linked polymer of aromatic rings (phenolic monomers)

4

Oil Palm Biomass

National Biomass Strategy 2020: New wealth creation for Malaysia’s palm oil industry

Type of Biomass DescriptionSite of

ProductionAvailability

(MnT)

Leaves of palm tree Plantation 48

Tree trunks available at end of plantation lifecycle

Plantation15

Remains after removal of palm fruits

Mill 7

Remains after palm kernel oil extraction

Mill 4

Remains after oil extractionfrom mesocarp

Mill 8

Liquid by-product from sterilization and milling of

FFBMill 65 (wet weight)

Fronds

(OPF)

Trunks

(OPT)

Empty Fruit

Bunch (EFB)

Shell

(PKS)

Mesocarp

Fiber (MF)

Palm Oil Mill

Effluent

POME

2010 2015 2020

Frond

Trunk

Fibre

EFB

Shell

49

Dry Weight (million tonnes)

Year

4 4 57 7 87

88

161514

46 48

Source: ETP; MPOB; "Exploring land use changes and the role of palm oil production in Indonesia and Malaysia" 2010. B. Wicket 5

Availability of Solid Waste:Oil Palm Biomass

6

Types of Pretreatment

Physical Pretreatment

Chemical Pretreatment

Biological Pretreatment

Milling Ultrasonic

Pretreatment

Acid Hydrolysis Alkaline Hydrolysis Liquid Hot Water

Enzymatic Hydrolysis

Physicochemical Pretreatment

Steam Explosion Ammonia Fiber

Explosion Hot Compressed

Water

• Destroy the lignin structure

• Reduce the crystallinity of cellulose

• Increase the porosity of the lignocellulosic material

Author

Lignocellulosics Feedstock

Conversion Process

Process Condition ProductType of Biomass

AvailibilityChemical

CompositionCommon Name

Scientific Name

Chin et. al

Applied Energy

88(2011) 4222-4228

Oil Palm Trunk

Elaeisguineensis

Malaysia: Largest agricultural plantation, 4.69 million hect.

Lignin: 18.4 Holocellulose: 78.5 Cellulose: 47.5 Ash: 1.69

Chemical Process: Concentrated Sulfuric Acid hydrolysis

Wood to Acid Ratio: 1:5 1st Stage Conc. (%): 60,65,70,75 2nd Stage Conc. (%): 10, 30 Reaction Time (min): 60, 120 Temperature (°C): 60

76% Glucose

Prado et. Al

J. of Supercritical Fluids 86 (2014)

15– 22

Sugarcane Bagasse

Saccharumofficinarum

Not mentioned Not mentioned

Physico-chemical Process: Sub-critical Water

Semi-Batch Reactor: Reaction Time (min): 30,32,38 Temperature (°C): 213, 251, 290 Pressure: 20MPa

5.6% Sugars,

1.37% 5-hydroxym

ethyl furfural

(5-HMF), 4.6%

Furfural

Literature Survey

7

Literature Survey

Author

Lignocellulosics Feedstock

Conversion Process

Process Condition ProductType of Biomass

AvailibilityChemical

CompositionCommon Name

Scientific Name

Akhtar et. al

Renewable Energy 35

(2010) 1220–1227

Empty Palm Fruit

Bunch (EFB)

Elaeis guineensisNot mentioned

Not mentioned

Physico-chemical Process: Hot Compressed Water

Reaction Time (min): 20 Temperature (°C): 270 Pressure (bars): 20-45 Catalyst: K2CO3, NaOH, KOH

0.61% Phenols, 94.29% Methyl Ester, 1.72% Benzoic Acid

Jeon et. al Biomass & Bioenergy 67 (2014)

99-107

EmptyPalm Fruit

Bunch (EFB)

Elaeis guineensisIndonesia: 44,000 ton/yrfresh EFB

Cellulose: 34.6 ± 0.7%Hemicellulose: 17.1 ± 0.5%Lignin: 26.4 ±0.5% Ash: 1.6 ±0.1% Others: 20.3 ±0.9%

Pilot Plant Scale

Pretreatment: 2.9 M sodium hydroxide at 130 °C and 3.5 kg f/cm2 for 20 min, Hydrolysis: Separate Hydrolysis & Fermentation (SHF) process, 50 °C, pH 4.8 (controlled using sulfuric acid), and agitation at 60 Hz Fermentation: 5% Saccharomyces cerevisiaeat 33 °C for 48 h. Distillation, Dehydration

83.6 % Bioethan

ol

8

Author

Lignocellulosics Feedstock

Conversion Process

Process Condition ProductType of BiomassAvailibility

Chemical CompositionCommon

NameScientific

Name

Chang et. al

Bioresource

Technology121 (2012)

93–99

Wheat Straw

Triticumaestivum

Not mentioned

Cellulose: 39.5 ± 0.3%, Hemicelluloses: 17.7 ± 0.7% Lignin: 15.9 ±0.4%

Chemical Process:Concentrated Sulfuric Acid hydrolysis in Ethanol Media

Liquid to Solid Ratio (wt/wt): 15:1 -25:1 Acid Conc. (wt/wt%): 60,65,70,75 Reaction Time (min): 15-45 Temperature (°C): 180-200

51% Ethyl Levulinate

Chang et. al

Bioresource

Technology158 (2014) 313–320

Corn Cob Zea mays Not mentioned

Cellulose: 27.5 ± 1.68% Hemicelluloses: 33.6 ± 4.2%Lignin: 19.6 ±0.39% Extractives: 14.3 ± 0.39%

Chemical Process:Catalytic Hydrothermal Pretreatment via Solid Acid Catalyst

Solid Acid Catalyst: (SO4)2- /TiO2–ZrO2/La3+ Solid to Water Ratio (g/ml): 5:100, 10:100, 15:100 Reaction Time (min): 0-120 Temperature (°C): 160,170,180,190 Agitation: 350rpm/min

6.8% Xylose, 6.18%

Furfural

Literature Survey

9

Literature Survey

Author

Lignocellulosics Feedstock

Conversion Process

Process Condition ProductType of Biomass

AvailibilityChemical

CompositionCommon

Name

Scientific Name

Chui et. al

Bioresource

Technology 102 (2011) 1831–1836

Corn Stover

Zea mays Not mentioned

Cellulose: 64.83% Hemicelluloses: 23.89%Lignin: 11.61%

Biological Process: Mixed Cultures

Cultures: Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus brevispH: 5 Temperature (°C): 37 Time(h): 36 Shaking (rpm): 100

0.7g/g Lactic Acid

10

Yemis & Mazza

Bioresource

Technology 109 (2012) 215–223

Wheat Straw

Triticumaestivum

Globally: 600–900 million Mt/yr

Cellulose: (30–35%), Hemicellulose: (15–25%) Lignin: (10–25%)

Physico-chemical Proces: Acid Catalyzed Conversion by Microwave Assisted

Catalyst: Hydrochloric Acid Microwave Extraction System: (ETHOS EX, Milestone,Italy) Time(min): 5, 10, 15, 20

65% Glucose,

100% Xylose, 3.4% 5-hydroxymethyl furfural

(5-HMF), 66%

Furfural

Problem Statement

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The problem statement are stated below:

Abundance of solid oil palm biomass due to increasing of demand of palm oil product

Difficulty of degrading lignocellulosic material to easily accessible carbon sources

Degrading lignocellulosic material in a short period of time

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Objectives of Research

The objectives of this research are to:

• Determine chemical composition of oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB).

• Physico-chemical (hot-compressed water/subcritical) conversion of oil palm biomass into soluble and insoluble-products

• Improvement and optimization of conversion process

Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB)

Chemical Composition Studies

Hot Compressed Water Treatment

Soluble Products Insoluble Products

Ash Content Inorganic Element Extractives Content Cellulose Hemicellulose Lignin

Considered Parameter Pressure Temperature Solid to Solvent Ratio

Analysis

Overall Methodology

Improvisation/

Optimization 13

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Proposed of Research Scopes

The scopes of this research are to:

• Determine the optimum mean particle size (MPS) prior to Hot-Compressed Water (HCW) extraction between 0.15-0.50 mm.

• Characterize the component of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin from the raw and extracted sample through Electron Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

• Optimization of Empty Fruit Bunch fibre extraction through Hot-Compressed Water (HCW) extraction at operating condition of temperature (200°C -270°C), pressure (4- 10MPa).

• Conduct acid hydrolysis of Empty Fruit Bunch fibre on the effect of temperature, time and solvent to sample ratio.

Chemical Composition Studies

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Preparation of Sample

16

17

Milling Process of EFB at FRIM

Sample : EFB FibreLocation : Wood Composite Laboratory, FRIMWeight of Sample : 1.50 kgMachine : Disc Mill

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Milling Process of EFB at FRIM

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Ash Analysis at Solid Mechanics Lab

Sample : EFB FibreApparatus : Electrical Laboratory FurnaceModel : Nabertherm (LH 15/14)

Timeline of Planned Research Activities

YEAR 2014 YEAR 2015

SEM 1 SEM 2 SEM 3 SEM 4

Sep

t

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Ap

r

May

Ju

ne

Ju

ly

Au

g

Sep

t

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Ap

r

May

Ju

ne

Ju

ly

Au

g

Literature Review

Preparation of Oil Palm

Biomass

Study of Chemical

Composition

Experiments

Analysis

1st Progress Report

Improved experiments

Analysis

Optimization

Result and Discussion

Report Writing

Thesis Defense

20

• Continuation on the chemical composition studies; extractives content, carbohydrates content; cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin content.

• Literature studies on hot-compressed water treatment.

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Next Progress

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Source: http://catinaanderson.com/photography/just-what-i-needed-to-hear-1-year-later/