Raw Palm Oil Mill Effluent Research Articles

Acclimatization Study for Biohydrogen Production from Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) in Continuous-flow System

This research aims to study the acclimatization phase for biohydrogen production from palm oil mill effluent (POME) by adapting the microorganism to the new environment in continuous-flow system of thermophilic bioreactor. The thermophilic fermentation was continuously loaded with 0.4 L/day of raw POME for 35 days to acclimatize the microorganism until a steady state of biohydrogen production was obtained. The significance effect of acclimatization phase on parameter such as pH, microbial growth, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and alkalinity were also studied besides the production of biogas. This study had found that the thermophilic bioreactor reach its steady state with 1960 mL/d of biogas produced, which consist of 894 ppm of hydrogen composition.

Efficient biohydrogen production via dark fermentation from hydrolized palm oil mill effluent by non-commercial enzyme preparation

Biohydrogen production using palm oil mill effluent (POME) as source of nutrients was evaluated via dark fermentation under mesophilic conditions. The effect of adding a plant enzyme preparation (PEP) extracted from dormant castor bean seeds (Ricinus communis L.) to improve the availability of nutrients from POME was also evaluated and carried out in two different approaches. The addition of PEP in a one step process, a simultaneous hydrolysis and fermentation, resulted in a significant reduction of adaptive phase by approximately 50%. Furthermore, hydrogen yield increased by 14% and hydrogen productivity by 48%. The two step process, which consists in a pre-hydrolysis followed by dark fermentation, promoted a hydrogen yield of 2.58 mmol H2/gDQO, reduced the adaptive phase by 75% and increased hydrogen productivity by 102% when compared to the original conditions of raw POME fermentation.

THE POTENTIAL OF PALM OIL MILL EFFLUENT (POME) AS A RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE

The expanding of oil palm industry has given a significant benefit to the economic growth and country development. However, it has also contributed to environmental problems due to the production of huge quantities of waste and by-products. Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is a liquid discharge from the palm oil milling process. POME without proper treatment could be harmful to environment because it emitted greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Therefore, due to its high organic carbon content, POME has currently been applied to generate biogas. This study aims to measure the physicochemical characteristics of untreated POME and the potential of POME as renewable energy. The physicochemical characteristics of raw POME such as chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia (NH3N), dry matter (DM) content and heavy metals were also measured and compared with the regulatory discharge limits. Converting POME to biogas can produce energy which save a huge source of renewable energy as well as reduce the environmental impacts of palm oil production.

CONVERSION OF OIL RECOVERED FROM PALM OIL MILL EFFLUENT (POME) INTO BIODIESEL USING ELECTROLYSED CARBON CATALYST

Malaysia produces approximately 60 million tons of palm oil mill effluent (POME) annually. Raw POME contains 0.6-0.7% oil and it has high free fatty acids (FFAs). The residual oil in POME however, is a potential feedstock in biodiesel production. Oil in the POME was recovered and converted into biodiesel through catalysis esterification reaction. A new carbon based catalyst had been developed in this study. Carbon deposited from electrolysis process was used as carbon precursor to synthesis electrolysis carbon catalyst (CEC). The carbon was sulfonated using concentrated sulfuric acid at temperature 150 °C for 12 h followed by washing and drying of the sulfonated carbon (CEC). CEC was characterized for its physiochemical properties using Elemental analyzer, FT-IR, SEM-EDX, TGA-DTA and back titration methods. Elemental analysis results showed that S content in CEC was ~4 times higher than the electrolysis carbon. The FT-IR detected the presence of weak sulfonic acid groups. The total acidity of CEC was 0.75 mmol g -1 suggesting poor acid functionalization of the electrolysis carbon. This could be associated with the stability of the carbon and also the presence of other elements that weaken the sulfonation reaction. The structure of CEC was observed through the SEM images. CEC possessed a randomly ordered structure and discrete microporous pores.Catalytic activity of CEC was tested on esterification of oil recovered from POME with methanol. The yield was very low, which was 6.19%, this was attributable to the low active sites of the CEC. Further improvement on the electrolyze carbon need to be done in order to increase the total acidity. Article DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.20319/mijst.2017.32.262275 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

Pretreatment conditions of palm oil mill effluent (POME) for thermophilic biohydrogen production by mixed culture

The availability of fermentable sugars in POME is one of the critical factors that determine the fermentative biohydrogen production yield. This study was carried out to determine the pretreatment conditions viz., temperature, hydrolysis time and acid concentration that can yield the highest monomeric sugars, to be utilized for production of biohydrogen from POME by mixed culture dark fermentation. Two different acids were used, nitric acid and phosphoric acid in the pretreatment of POME. Batch fermentation was performed to determine the potential of pretreated POME as a substrate for the production of biohydrogen under the tested pretreatment conditions. Higher hydrogen yield was successfully achieved using pretreated POME as compared to raw POME by mixed culture. Maximum hydrogen production was 0.181 (mmol/L/h), which corresponded to the yield of 1.24 mol H2/mol glucose achieved at 0.8% (w/v) phosphoric acid with initial total reducing sugar concentration of 18.47 g/L. Hence, the results implied that POME pretreated with 0.8% (w/v) phosphoric acid is a potential substrate for efficient biohydrogen fermentation yield that is 97% higher than untreated POME. While POME pretreated with 1% (w/v) of nitric acid showed 65% improvement in biohydrogen yield as compared to untreated POME. Therefore, the results implied that both pretreatment methods of POME showed significant increase in the biohydrogen production.

Optimization of operating parameters of novel composite adsorbent for organic pollutants removal from POME using response surface methodology

The present work aimed to develop a novel composite material made up of activated cow bone powder (CBP) as a starting material for reducing chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia-nitrogen (NH3N) from palm oil mill effluent (POME). The optimization of the reduction efficiency was investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). Six independent variables used in the optimization experiments include pH (4–10), speed (0.27–9.66 rcf), contact time (2–24 h), particle size (1–4.35 mm), dilution factor (100–500) and adsorbent dosage (65–125 g/L). The chemical functional groups were determined using Fourier transform irradiation (FTIR). The elemental composition were detected using SEM-EDX, while thermal decomposition was investigated using thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) in order to determine the effects of carbonization temperature on the adsorbent. The results revealed that the optimal reduction of COD and NH3N from raw POME was observed at pH 10, 50 rpm, within 2 h and 3 mm of particle size as well as at dilution factor of 500 and 125 g L−1 of adsorbent dosage, the observed and predicted reduction were 89.60 vs. 85.01 and 75.61 vs. 74.04%, respectively for COD and NH3N. The main functional groups in the adsorbent were OH, NH, CO, CC, COC, COH, and CH. The SEM-EDX analysis revealed that the CBP-composite has a smooth surface with high contents of carbon. The activated CBP has very stable temperature profile with no significant weight loss (9.85%). In conclusion, the CBP-composite investigated here has characteristics high potential for the remediation of COD and NH3N from raw POME.

Enhancement of Biodegradation of Palm Oil Mill Effluents by local Isolated Fungi

This study was designed to investigate the fungi associated with palm oil mill effluent (POME) in Gulur village of Tumkur. Biodegradation of palm oil mill effluents was conducted to measure the discarded POME based on physicochemical quality. The fungi that were isolated are Aspergillusniger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. ochraceus, Rhizopussp, Peniciliumsp and Trichodermavirde. The autoclaved and unautoclaved raw POME samples were incubated for 7 days and the activities of the fungi were observed each for 12 hours. The supernatants of the digested POME were investigated for the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), color (ADMI), and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) at the end of each digestion cycle. The results showed that the unautoclaved raw POME sample degraded better than the inoculated POME sample and this suggests that the microorganisms that are indigenous in the POME are more effective than the introduced micro-organisms. This result, however, indicates the prospect of isolating indigenous microorganisms in the POME for effective biodegradation of POME. Moreover, the effective treatment of POME yields useful products such as reduction of BOD, COD, and color.

Remediation of Raw Wastewater of Palm Oil Mill Using Activated Cow Bone Powder through Batch Adsorption <sup></sup>

The most critical parameter of palm oil mill effluent (POME) is chemical oxygen demand (COD mg/L). The adsorption of COD mg/L from raw POME using activated cow bone powder has been investigated. The raw POME contains 4.786 g/L of COD, which has to be treated effectively before discharge. Batch experiments were conducted at fixed condition of pH, contact time and speed at different weight dosages for different particle sizes of 75, 150 and 300μm. The result obtained showed a similar adsorption pattern for the particle sizes, the optimum removal was obtained at 150 μm at 0.025g/L with 71% removal efficiency, there was no further significant diference after the adsorption at this stage. The BET adsorption model was adopted to describe the experimental isotherm and isotherm constants for the optimum particle size. The equilibrium data fitted well to the BET model. The hydrophobic behaviour of the CBP proved by the WDPT analysis influenced the removal of COD mg/L on CBP.

Bio-hydrogen production from palm oil mill effluent (POME): A preliminary study

Raw palm oil mill effluent (POME) from a cooling pond and sludge from anaerobic pond of the POME treatment plant at Labu palm oil mill were collected for the study. The treatment of POME was carried out under anaerobic fermentation process, with an objective to produce bio-hydrogen via microflora. The experiments were conducted in 500 mL bioreactor under mesophilic operation at 37 °C with different pH (4.5, 5.0, 5.5, and 6.0) and sludge percentage values (2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10% (w/v)). The source of inoculum was used in POME sludge as hydrogen producing bacteria. From batch experiments, the maximum hydrogen production yield obtained was 5.988 ± 0.5 L H2/L-med at 10% POME sludge (w/v) with an optimum pH of 5.5 and mesophilic temperature of 37 °C. Methane free biogas consist of 36% maximum hydrogen and 64% carbon dioxide was produced during the process.

Enhancing BOD/COD Ratio of POME Treatment in SBR System

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) contains high biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) Agra base wastewater is the concern of biodegradable treatment methods. Consequently, the BOD / COD ratio has a significant effect on the biodegradability of wastewaters. This study investigates effects of aerated sequencing batch reactor (SBR) system augmented by zeolite used for treatment of POME. Not only, the BOD / COD ratio increased from 0.11 in raw POME to mean 68.15% increase after aeration in the SBR system, but also, the most obvious finding to emerge from this study is that, aerated SBR could be considered as an effective method for enhancing BOD/COD ratio for qualifying post treatment by biotreatment methods.

Characteristics of Residual Oil Extracted from Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)

Malaysia produces approximately 10 million tons of palm oil mill effluent (POME) annually. This effluent is also called oily wastewater due to its oil and grease content of approximately 0.6-0.7%. This study obtained a residual oil yield of 0.7%v of raw POME by extracting the residual oil from the palm oil mill effluent via a solvent extraction process. The extracted residual oil has been analyzed to determine its physical, chemical and fuel properties. The residual oil had the following characteristics: free fatty acid content, 7.756%; density, 0.907 g/cm ; viscosity, 43 cSt; acid value, 19.986; saponification value, 147.263 mg KOH/g oil; 3 unsaponifiable matter, 1.033%w; moisture content, 2.359%; carotene content, 407.895 ppm; and a similar fatty acid composition to commercial palm oil. The similarity of the characteristics of the residual oil to those of commercial oil and jatropha oil indicate the possibility of using the residual oil as feedstock in biodiesel production.

Utilization of Agro-Industrial Residues from Palm Oil Industry for Production of Lignocellulolytic Enzymes by Curvularia clavata

Production of crude palm oil generates a huge amount of palm oil mill effluent (POME) and oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB), leading to adverse environmental impacts. This study seeks to explore the ability of Curvularia clavata in the utilization of such waste to produce lignocellulolytic enzymes such as carboxymethyl cellulase, xylanase, manganese peroxidase, laccase and lignin peroxidase. Raw POME generated from the milling process is discharged to the raw pond, followed by generation of anaerobic POME that is an intermediate step in treatment process. Utilization of raw POME produces higher enzyme activities compared to anaerobic POME. This simultaneously resulted in detoxification and significant removal of COD (67 %), BOD3 (45 %), total polyphenolic (50 %) and ammoniacal nitrogen (61 %) of POME. Under submerged fermentation of OPEFB, C. clavata produces 3569 U/mL of xylanase, which has a potential application in the production of xylanase.

Process optimization of butanol production by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 (ATCC 13564) using palm oil mill effluent in acetone–butanol–ethanol fermentation

Abstract Palm oil mill effluent (POME), an abundant and low-cost agro-industrial residue, was utilized for the production of butanol in the anaerobic process of acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) fermentation. The ABE process was performed by the cultivation of Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 (ATCC 13564) in raw POME medium without supplementation. The effect of various process parameters, including pH, incubation temperature, agitation and inoculums size on butanol production, was studied. Experimental results showed that the highest butanol levels could be produced when the initial pH of culture medium, incubation temperature, agitation speed and inoculums size were set at 5.8, 30 °C, 100 rpm and 15% (v/v), respectively. Results revealed that the existence of crude palm oil (CPO) in the POME composition had an adverse effect on butanol synthesis by Clostridial cells. The highest butanol and ABE concentrations of 0.9 g/L and 2.09 g/L were produced, respectively, when operating variables tested were set at their optimum levels under the absence of CPO.

An integrated method for palm oil mill effluent (POME) treatment for achieving zero liquid discharge – A pilot study

Palm oil industries have been significantly contributing towards the economic growth and increase standard of living among the South East Asian countries. However, it has also been identified as the major contributor for discharging the largest pollution load in the form of Palm Oil Mills Effluent (POME) throughout these regions. This paper will focus on the successful running of POME zero discharge Pilot plant based on 5 m3 POME h−1 built at MPOB Experimental Palm Oil Mill, Labu, Malaysia. This piolt study is a cutting edge as no greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere, no discharge of wastewater; low capital investment and low operating cost compared to other existing systems. After a whole year's experiment, the percentage of BOD reading after BioAX treatment below 20 mg/L was 80.76%, and about 30 m3 biogas was produced per m3 of raw POME in AnaEG bioreactors, among which, 57% (v/v) was methane.

Comparative biochemical methane potential of paragrass using an unacclimated and an acclimated microbial consortium

The effect of inoculum sources on the anaerobic digestion of paragrass was investigated. Two types of sludge were used as the inoculums: an anaerobic sludge obtained from a domestic wastewater treatment plant (OS) and a sludge acclimated to fibrous substrates in raw palm oil mill effluent (AMC). Microbial activity assays showed that the AMC had hydrolytic and acetogenic activities two times greater than the activities of the OS. In addition, the production of methane from acetate by the AMC occurred without a lag phase, while it took 8days for the OS to start producing methane from the same substrate. The biochemical methane potential after 80days digestion was 316ml STP/g VSadded using the AMC, and 277ml STP/g VSadded using the OS. The methane potential of the paragrass was estimated to be 3337Nm3 CH4/haa.

Zero discharge performance of an industrial pilot-scale plant treating palm oil mill effluent.

Palm oil is one of the most important agroindustries in Malaysia. Huge quantities of palm oil mill effluent (POME) pose a great threat to aqueous environment due to its very high COD. To make full use of discharged wastes, the integrated “zero discharge” pilot-scale industrial plant comprising “pretreatment-anaerobic and aerobic process-membrane separation” was continuously operated for 1 year. After pretreatment in the oil separator tank, 55.6% of waste oil in raw POME could be recovered and sold and anaerobically digested through 2 AnaEG reactors followed by a dissolved air flotation (DAF); average COD reduced to about 3587 mg/L, and biogas production was 27.65 times POME injection which was used to generate electricity. The aerobic effluent was settled for 3 h or/and treated in MBR which could remove BOD3 (30°C) to less than 20 mg/L as required by Department of Environment of Malaysia. After filtration by UF and RO membrane, all organic compounds and most of the salts were removed; RO permeate could be reused as the boiler feed water. RO concentrate combined with anaerobic surplus sludge could be used as biofertilizer.

Simultaneous treatment of raw palm oil mill effluent and biodegradation of palm fiber in a high-rate CSTR

A high-rate continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) was used to produce biogas from raw palm oil mill effluent (POME) at 55°C at a highest organic loading rate (OLR) of 19g COD/ld. Physical and chemical pretreatments were not performed on the raw POME. In order to promote retention of suspended solids, the CSTR was installed with a deflector at its upper section. The average methane yield was 0.27l/g COD, and the biogas production rate per reactor volume was 6.23l/ld, and the tCOD removal efficiency was 82%. The hydrolysis rate of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin was 6.7, 3.0 and 1.9g/d, respectively. The results of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) suggested that the dominant hydrolytic bacteria responsible for the biodegradation of the palm fiber and residual oil were Clostridium sp., while the dominant methanogens were Methanothermobacter sp.

Pollutants analysis during conventional palm oil mill effluent (POME) ponding system and decolourisation of anaerobically treated POME via calcium lactate-polyacrylamide

The conventional palm oil mill effluent (POME) ponding system is unable to fully decolourise the effluent which is aesthetically important. Several parameters, such as low molecular mass coloured compounds (LMMCC), lignin–tannin, ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the cooling pond, are much higher than for the fresh raw POME. The analysis of the POME from each pond revealed that the removal of lignin–tannin is insignificant after anaerobic ponds and hence physicochemical treatment is necessary. The POME colloid repulsion in the aerobic pond is greater than in the anaerobic pond. The coagulation/flocculation process was utilized to destabilize the anaerobically treated POME (AnPOME) colloid and calcium lactate was chosen as a coagulant. The best polymer order was identified based on an overall removal performance. The best polymer can be arranged as QF23912 (58%)>QF25610 (57%)>AN1500 (51%)>QF24807 (50%)>AN1800 (47%). All tested polymers have similarity in removing NH3-N. It can be concluded that calcium lactate-cationic polymer has potential as a pre-treatment for AnPOME.

Treatment and Valorization of Palm Oil Mill Effluent through Production of Food Grade Yeast Biomass

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is high strength wastewater derived from processing of palm fruit. It is generated in large quantities in all oil palm producing nations where it is a strong pollutant amenable to microbial degradation being rich in organic carbon, nitrogen, and minerals. Valorization and treatment of POME with seven yeast isolates was studied under scalable conditions by using POME to produce value-added yeast biomass. POME was used as sole source of carbon and nitrogen and the fermentation was carried out at 150 rpm, 28 ± 2°C using an inoculum size of 1 mL of 106cells. Yeasts were isolated from POME, dump site, and palm wine. The POME had chemical oxygen demand (COD) 114.8 gL−1, total solid 76 gL−1, total suspended solid (TSS) 44 gL−1and total lipid 35.80 gL−1. Raw POME supported accumulation of 4.42 gL−1dry yeast with amino acid content comparable or superior to the FAO/WHO standard for feed use SCP. Peak COD reduction (83%) was achieved with highest biomass accumulation in 96 h usingSaccharomycesspL31. POME can be used as carbon source with little or no supplementation to achieve waste-to-value by producing feed grade yeast with reduction in pollution potential.

Treatment and Reuse of Effluents from Palm Oil, Pulp, and Paper Mills as a Combined Substrate by Using Purple Nonsulfur Bacteria

The growth of Rhodobacter sphaeroides NCIMB8253 was investigated under photoanaerobic conditions with different concentrations of palm oil mill effluent in a dual effluent growth medium. The influence of pulp and paper mill effluent as an alternative diluting agent on the bacterial growth was also investigated. During this study, it was determined that the use of pulp and paper mill effluent as a diluting agent promoted bacterial growth compared with the use of raw palm oil mill effluent medium alone. The cell growth data for all experimental sets were well-fitted to the logistic and modified Gompertz models. The results revealed that 25% (v/v) palm oil mill effluent medium with pulp and paper mill effluent as a diluting agent, namely G5 medium, can be applied as a suitable growth medium. A maximum colony-forming-units (CFU) number of 360 × 108 CFU/mL was achieved in G5, which was higher than that for raw palm oil mill effluent and comparable with that for water-diluted palm oil mill effluent medium. Furthermore, chemical oxygen demand level (CODtotal and CODsoluble) reductions were observed in all treatments.