Indonesia, as one of the world’s largest palm oil producers, faces challenges in managing the large volumes of Palm Oil Mill Effluent or POME. POME is a hot and acidic wastewater which usually carries high concentrations of organic matter, around 60.000 mg/L, as well as nitrogenous components, protein, and minerals. On average, processing 1 ton of palm Fresh Fruit Bunch (FFB) yields 0,2 ton Crude Palm Oil (CPO) and 0,7 ton POME. Rather than just disposing POME in waste ponds, which often leads to soil and water contamination, properly treating POME will yield green energy, known as Biogas and with further purification, upgraded into Biomethane.
Small scale POME treatment typically involves the use of covered ponds that inflates during the anaerobic digestion. This process produce biogas that contains 40-60% methane, along with CO2, H2S, and other impurities. Nowadays, biogas is utilized internally by palm companies for power and electricity. Purification is needed to upgrade biogas since CO2 lowers energy density and H2S may damage distribution pipes or transportation tanks due to its corrosiveness. Once purified, the biogas becomes biomethane or renewable natural gas (RNG), containing up to 96% methane. Biomethane can be used for electricity generation, heating, or even as substitute for fossil-based natural gas in industry in form of Bio-CNG (Compressed Natural Gas).
In Indonesia, there are few companies currently produce biomethane from POME. The first commercial bio-CNG plant, operated by PT KIS Biofuel, is located in Langkat, North Sumatera and produces approximately 300 MMBTUD bio-CNG. PT DSNG also utilizes POME to produce biomethane then later compressed it into bio-CNG to power its manufacturing operations and successfully abated around 50.000 ton of CO2 as part of its renewable energy efforts.
Since biomethane and biogas are part of the new and renewable energy mix strategy, several government initiatives were designed. Biogas and Biomethane were included in the National Energy Policy roadmap for renewable energy diversification. Regulations are also being developed to allow the integration of biomethane into the natural gas grid, although infrastructure and technical standards are still being developed. To fully able to inject biomethane into the natural gas pipeline, advanced technologies are needed to meet the required gas quality standards.
Enabling biomethane injection presents many advantages which includes supporting decarbonization of gas supply, helping Indonesia to meet its National Determined Contributions (NDC). However, high initial investment becomes a challenge for scaling up biomethane production from POME in Indonesia, especially for upgrading plants
In summary, transforming POME into biomethane offers at least two major benefits: reducing environmental damage from palm oil processing and contributing to Indonesia’s green energy transition. Moreover, integrating biomethane into the well-established existing gas pipeline could help meet the rising domestic gas demand in a sustainable way.
