A comparative study of biogas production between day and night at Sime Darby's palm oil mill

Abstract

Freely emitted biogas at palm oil mills has been regarded as untapped energy source nowadays, despite being recognised as major contributor to global warming. Up till now, most palm oil mills are still operating with the conventional anaerobic digestion systems which may not spur biogas industry to life. This study explored biogas production between day and night under existing mill operating conditions at KKS Bukit Benut Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP). Biogas produced during day time was 62% as compared to 38% during night time with the total methane emission of 490.3 kg/day. The methane concentration recorded at the digester tank ranged from 58.7% to 68.5%. The correlations between various factors that may influence biogas production had been studied. The findings showed that substrate feeding is the most influential factor leading to higher biogas production during day time.