PROGRESS ON THE TECHNOLOGY OF ENERGY CONVERSION FROM WOODY BIOMASS IN INDONESIA

摘要

The sustainable and renewable natural resources as a biomass that contains carbon and hydrogen elements can be a potential raw material for energy conversion. In Indonesia, they comprise variety-sized wood from forest (i.e. natural forest, plantation forest, and community forest that commonly produces small-diameter wood logs used as firewood by the local people), woody residues from forest logging and wood industries, oil-palm shell waste from crude palm oil factories, coconut-shell waste from coconut plantation and traditional market as well as skimmed coconut oil, and straws from rice cultivation. Four kinds of energy-conversion technologies were experimented in Indonesia. Firstly, gasification on rubber wood from unproductive rubber plantation to generate heat energy for the drying of fermented chocolate seeds. Secondly, energy conversion from organic vegetable waste by implementing thermophylic fermentation method that produced biogas as a fuel and for generating electricity, and also concurrently generates organic by-product called hygen compost. Thirdly, gasification on charcoal and wood sawdust for electricity generation. Fourthly, environmentally friendly energy conversion by charcoaling (carbonizing) small-diameter wood logs, sawdust, wood slabs, and coconut shell into charcoal. This yielded charcoal in integration with wood vinegar production through the condensation of the smokes/vapors as evolved during the carbonization, thereby mitigating air pollution impacts Among the experimented four, the technology of integrated charcoal and wood vinegar production had been spectacularly developed and favored by the community. This technology brought added value to the process and product due to the wood vinegar, indicatively useful as bio-pesticide, plant-growth hormones, and organic fertilizer. Such integrated and environmentally friendly production, therefore, should be sustained, because Indonesia occupies the significant worldwide position as charcoal-producing and -marketing country. Technology of integrated wood vinegar-charcoal production hence deserves its dissemination throughout Indonesia, particularly to the charcoal industries that still produce charcoal without condensing the generated vapor/smoke, hence polluting the air.