Valorization of Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Waste for Syngas Production Through Gasification

The rapid progress of the CPO industry in Indonesia is not in line with good waste management and utilization. Palm empty fruit bunch, as the first waste from the CPO production process in Indonesia, is mostly piled on the ground. Palm empty fruit bunch must be processed to reduce pollution and increase its use-value. This study aimed to convert oil palm empty fruit bunches solid waste through the gasification process using Indonesia’s natural zeolite into synthesis gas. Gasification takes place at 350–550°C by added 12.5% wt zeolite using a modified updraft gasifier. Good results were achieved at 550°C with a gas composition of 22.64% vol CH4, 29.22% vol CO, and 3.4% vol H2. The gasification efficiency is evaluated through carbon conversion efficiency (CCE) and cold gas efficiency (CGE). Both the highest CCE and CGE were found at 550°C by 95.74% and 81.65% respectively. The results showed that the gasification temperature has the greatest influence in driving higher carbon conversion to syngas and palm empty fruit bunches are very suitable for conversion into environmentally friendly syngas in the CPO industry.