CHAPTER 3 TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY

3.1 METHOD TO MAINTAIN SUSTAINBILITY

3.1.1 Tilting Sterilizer
Sterilization is the most important unit process as it will determine the efficiency
and the effectiveness of downstream milling process and also refining process. In this
plant design project, tilting sterilizer is chosen to implement in the proposed plant due to
its advantages. Tilting sterilizer is a type of horizontal sterilizer where it can be tilted into
inclined position. The operation of tilting sterilizer is same like the conventional
horizontal sterilizer during the sterilization process. The only difference is the use of
conveyor to transfer the FFB and SFB into the sterilizer instead of using cages under
inclined position.
The working principle of tilting sterilizer is shown in Figure 11. During the time
of cooking FFB, the tilting sterilizer is in horizontal position like the normal conventional
method in cooking the FFB [28]. Once the steaming process is completed, the sterilizer is
tilted in an inclined position allowing the SFB be poured out under gravity into the
conveyor and send into a collection hopper. At the time it in the inclined position, new
batch of FFB will fed into the sterilizer from the top. After filling in the FFB, the
sterilizer is lowered to horizontal position and ready for steaming process.

Figure 11: The operation of Tilting Sterilizer.

Although the sterilization process of tilting sterilizer is similar to the conventional

sterilizer, it offers a lot of advantages in term of steam consumption, minimum
breakdown, safety and manpower. The steam consumption for a conventional sterilizer is
around 272.6 kg steam/ton of FFB. However, the steam consumption of tilting sterilizer
is 200 kg steam/ ton of FFB. The lesser steam consumption of tilting sterilizer will reduce
the energy consumption of the proposed plant which in turn reduces the operating cost
and maintenance cost for boiler and steam turbine in the power plant.
Besides that, the used of tilting sterilizer will reduce the breakdown of
sterilization station. In conventional method, cages are moving by using tractors and
winches. Breakdown normally occurred in the sterilization station when transferring the
cages. Times is spent to move the cages and it is very human dependable. Workplace
accidents also occurred during the transferring of cages in and out the sterilizer. The
steaming process is occurred in high temperature where workers tend to injure when
monitoring the cooking process. Implementing the tilting sterilizer can help to increase
the workplace safety and minimum the breakdown due to the automation system to filling
in the FFB and discharge the SFB. Apart of that, the tilting sterilizer is easy to operate
where the fully automated features only required 2-3 operators to operate the complete
sterilization station. This also helps to reduce the manpower in our proposed mill.
By implementing the tilting sterilizer in our proposed plant, the system can be
lead to improvement in productivity and consistency in throughput. The proposed mill is
able to run smoothly and achieve the target production capacity per day. The constant
throughput can make sure other byproducts able to produce on time and maintain the
income of the proposed mill throughout the year. Hence, tilting sterilizer is a technology
that able to sustain the operation of the proposed palm oil mill.
3.1.2 Production of EFB Fiber
Over the last decade, the interest to use biomass as a renewable resource has
grown rapidly especially for energy and material applications. EFB is the largest amount
of solid biomass generated from palm oil milling activities. Instead of applying the
conventional methods to handle the EFB, the proposed mill will produce EFB dried fiber

from EFB by undergo a series of machining steps to reduce it moisture content [24].
Figure 12 shows the EFB dried fiber after reduction of moisture content.

Figure 12: The EFB dried fiber.

The common methods to handle EFB in palm industries are by incinerating the
EFB, mulching and dumping into landfills. These methods tend to produce environmental
problems where burning the EFB in an incinerator will release dark smoke. Dark smoke
will contains innumerable substances of unknown toxicity which caused the effects on
the environment in the form of global warming, photochemical ozone or smog formation.
Mulching is another common method used to dispose EFB in palm oil mills. Mulching
will cause soil pollution as EFB contains high amount of oil residue where many palm oil
mills did not carry out oil recovery of EFB. Hence, oil spill will occur on palm oil
plantation. Indiscriminate dumping of EFB also causes the additional methane emission
into the atmosphere. Methane is one of the greenhouse gases that contributed to global
warming. The GWP value of methane is around 21.
By introducing the EFB fiber production line, the proposed mill is able to handle
the large volume of EFB via an eco-friendly way. The production process is pollution free
and no hazard making it a long term solution to handle this solid biomass. On other hand,
the market demand of replacement fiber for natural fiber makes EFB fiber a promising
venture. The selling price up to RM 680/ton makes it able to increase the revenue of the
proposed palm oil mill [24]. The plant is able to sustain in a long term period at the same
time it can generate wealth from waste by utilizing the solid biomass. This proposed
method is able to bring positive impacts toward people, profit and planet.

3.2 PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS AND PROPERTIES

3.2.1 Crude Palm Oil
In the proposed palm oil mill, the main product is CPO. According the
MALAYSIAN STANDARD, the crude palm oil produced by every palm oil mill needs to
meet the standards issued by MPOB. Crude palm oil is defined as the oil derived from
freshly pulp of the fruit of Elaeis guineensis Jacq by mechanical expression [5]. In
general, the standard requirements of palm oil can be divided into Identity Characteristic
and Quality Characteristic.
3.2.1.1 Identity Characteristic
Figure 13 shows the identity Characteristic of palm oil where the ranges given are
not mandatory and are considered as guideline levels.

Figure 13: Guideline identity characteristics for palm oil.

3.2.1.2 Quality Characteristic

The color of crude palm oil shall be bright, clear and orange-red. Besides, crude
palm oil shall be free from foreign and rancid odor. At the time of shipment, the crude
palm oil shall conform to the requirement prescribed in Table 5.
Table 5:Quality requirements for crude palm oil.
Characteristics
Free fatty acid (as

Special Quality Grade

2.5

Standard Quality Grade

5.0

palmitic), % max
Moisture and Impurities, % max
Peroxide value , meq/kg max
Anisidine value, max
Color, 133.35 mm max
DOBI, min

0.25
1.0
4.0
2.8

0.25
2.0
5.0
2.3

3.2.2 Palm Kernel

Palm kernel is the edible seed from oil palm tree. The kernels are brown, oval
between 1 and 2 cm long and have a shell that is as hard as stone. Figure 14 shows the
palm kernel. It is normally sell to other company to produce palm kernel oil.

Figure 14: Palm kernel.

3.2.3 EFB Fiber

EFB fiber is the green products from the proposed plant which able to replace the
use of natural fiber. Table 6 shows the characteristic of EFB fiber that produced in the
proposed plant. The EFB fiber will sell in baler form for local or oversea distribution. The
baler fiber will in the size between 100 Kg with dimension 510 mm X 760 mm X 510
mm [24].
Table 6: Characteristic of EFB Fiber.
Property

Value

Size
Moisture Content
Calorific

75-250 mm
17.5%
18800 kJ

3.3 PALM OIL MILLING PROCESS

3.3.1 Raw Material
In palm oil milling process, the raw material is freshly pulp of the fruit from
species Elaeis guineensis Jacq which also known as FFB. The raw material need to
process within 24 hours after harvesting. This is to avoid the rise in free fatty acid during
prolong storage. Apart from that, the process also needs water and steam to produce CPO.
Water is used as boiler feed to generate steam. A boiler is used for steam generation and it
consists of two principal parts namely the furnace, which usually provides heat through
the burning of a fuel, and the boiler itself which is a device responsible for the heat
changes of water into steam [18]. The steam will used in power station to generate
electricity by steam turbine. On the other hand, diesel generator also used diesel to
generate power for palm oil mill. Furthermore, the mill also required diesel for vehicle
usage such as tractors and showler.
3.3.2 Methods
3.3.2.1 General Process Description
In the proposed palm oil mill, the main products are CPO. Meanwhile, the byproducts are palm kernel and EFB fiber. CPO is produced from FFB by passing a series

of mechanical processes. A sequence of processing steps had been established to extract

high yield of good quality CPO. Meanwhile, the palm kernel will undergo a separate
process and used to produce dry kernel. The dry kernel will be sent to another factory for
further processed. During the milling process, waste products will be formed which
known as biomass. The biomass include EFB, palm shell and mesocarp fiber. EFB will
undergo a series of pretreatment process to produce value added products which is also
another by-product of the proposed mill known as EFB fiber. While the remaining
biomass will be utilized for other used in the proposed mill. The overall palm oil
processing included the receptions of FFBs, sterilizing and threshing of bunches to free
the palm fruit, digestion and pressing out the oil. The crude oil will undergo further
clarification and purification before store in the oil room.
3.3.2.2 Fresh Fruit Reception
The first stage to produce CPO is receiving FFBs. Figure 15 shows the lorry
carried the FFBs entering the mill by passing through the weigh bridge. The initial weight
of the truck will be determined. After sending the FFBs, the weight of the truck will be
determined again. Hence, the quantity of the FFBs received can be calculated by
subtracting the final weight of the lorry from its initial weight.

Figure 15: The truck passing through the weigh bridge and its weight was recorded.
3.3.2.3 FFB Loading Ramp

Loading ramp hopper is the temporary place to store FFBs before processing.
Figure 16 shows a typical loading ramp in palm oil mill. It is a sliding platform made of
mild steel where lorry unloading the FFBs. The conveyor will transfer the FFBs into the
cages.

Figure 16: The loading ramp in palm oil mill.

3.3.2.4 Sterilization Station
Tilting sterilizer as shown in Figure 17 is used in the sterilization station. The
automated feeder will transfer the FFBs into the sterilizer and transfer out the SFBs to
threshing station. The sterilization process is running for 90 minutes at pressure of 50
psig. The steam consumption is 200 kg steam/ ton FFB [28]. The stream usually enters
sterilizer through a single pipe at the top of the vessel and a spreader plate is fitted
running the whole length of the sterilizer. Although some stream goes out with the
condensate where most of it is passed to atmosphere through a stream exhaust valve at
the top of the sterilizer.

Figure 17: The tilting sterilizer in sterilization station.

3.3.2.5 Threshing

The SFBs from the tilting sterilizer will flow to the thresher via auto feeder. The
thresher will rotate to detach the fruitlets from the bunch. Figure 18 shows the typical
thresher used in the palm oil mill. The EFB will send to bunch crusher for crushing. This
is to make sure that 100% of stripping sterilized fruits from bunch. Then, the sterilizer
fruitlets will send to digester and EFB will send to EFB fiber production line.

Figure 18: Thresher used to detach sterilized fruitlets.

3.3.2.6 Digestion
Digestion process is carried out to reheat the stripped fruits so that the pericarp
loosened from nuts. This is carried out in the steam heated vessels provided with stirring
arms and known as digester or kettles. The digester has vertical rotating shaft which are
attached to the stirring arms. A typical digesters used in palm oil milling process is shown
in Figure 19. The stirring arms will stir and rub the fruits to loosen the pericarp from the
nuts and at the same time breaking open as many of the oil cells as possible. The digester
is kept full since the digested fruit is drawn off continuously from the bottom of the
vessel while freshly stripped fruit is added at an equal rate. It is essential for good
digestion that the level of fruit in the digester kept as high as possible all the times at
about 90C. This is to maximum the holding time and stirring effect per revolution. The
effect of inadequate digestion is to increase the oil loss in press fiber and this is one way
in which it may be detected. However, the results of poor digestion are noticeable if the
press cake is examined when pieces of undigested pericarp will be found in the fiber and
some of these pieces may even be still attached to nuts.

Figure 19: The Digester used in palm oil milling process.

3.3.2.7 Pressing
After digestion process, the fruits will be pressed by batch type hydraulic press to
obtain oil. The screw press machine is shown in Figure 20. The nuts and fiber will be
pushed out and for further processing. Before pressing, the cage is filled with digested
fruit to ensure that the press cake formed is divided into conveniently sized portions.
When the press cage is full with fruit, a heavy top plate is moved into place to close the
top of the cage. The hydraulic pressure is gradually built up. The maximum pressure is
maintained for several minutes before it is released. Then, the top plate is withdrawn and
the sections of cake expelled by raising the ram.

Figure 20: The batch type hydraulic press used in palm oil milling process.
3.3.2.8 Screening

The fluid coming out of the press is a mixture of palm oil, water, cell debris,
fibrous material and non-oily solids. Because of the non-oily solids the mixture is very
viscous. Hot water is therefore added to the press output mixture to thin it. The addition
of dilution water with temperature of 100 C provides a barrier causing the heavy solids
to fall to the bottom of the container while the lighter oil droplets flow through the watery
mixture to the top when heat is applied to break the emulsion (oil suspended in water
with the aid of gums and resins). The diluted mixture is passed through a screen to
remove coarse fiber before send to clarification tank. Vibrating screen is used to remove
all fibrous material from crude oil and recycle them to the digester. A typical vibrating
screen used in palm oil mill is shown in Figure 21.

Figure 21: A Vibrating Screen used in palm oil milling process.

3.3.2.9 Clarifying and Drying of CPO
The oil mixture is heated to 85-90C and allowed to separate in the clarification
tank. A settling time of 3 hours is acceptable. Oil from the top is skimmed off and
purified in the centrifuge prior to drying in vacuum dryer. The final crude palm oil is then
cooled and stored. The lower layer from the clarification tank is sent to the centrifugal
separator where the remaining oil is recovered. The lower layer is known as sludge which
is the waste generates from this stage. The oil is dried in vacuum dryers, cooled and sent
to storage tanks. Figure 22 to 25 show the oil clarifier, centrifuge, oil purifier and oil
dryer used in clarification station.

Figure 22: Oil clarifier

Figure 23: Centrifuge

Figure 24: Oil purifier

Figure 25: Oil dryer

3.3.2.10 Oil Storage

CPO produced will store in storage tank before dispatching from the mill. The
storage tanks used in palm oil mill are shown in Figure 26. Normally, the temperature of
the storage will maintained at around 50 C. Hot water or low pressure steam heating
coils will be used to prevent solidification and fractionation. Besides that, the storage
tank needed to be lined with suitable protective coating to prevent iron contamination
from the tank. The quality of crude oil must be kept. Hence, the FFA content must be
below 3-5% while DOBI is need above 2.3. The impurities and moisture is allowed
below 0.025% and 0.15%.

Figure 26: The oil storage tanks used to store CPO.

3.3.2.11 Palm Kernel Processing
After the pressing process, the oil is transferred to oil room while the nut and the
fiber will go further processing. Depericaping is the process which separates the nut and
fiber. There are two ways for separation of nut and fiber either by mechanical separation
or air separation. In the proposed mill, air separation is chosen to separate the nut and
fiber. Before the separation, CBC is used to loosen the nuts from the fibers. At the same
time, moisture of the fibers and the nuts are slightly removed. There are L-shape angles to
increase the surface area and thus to increase efficiency of loosening fibers and nuts. The
speed of rotation of ribbon is slightly higher than the others conveyor. It is around 65
rpm. Increasing the length of CBC will increase the separation time and thus improve the
separation efficiency.

In addition, good sterilization, digestion and pressing process will ensure the fruit
is cooked well. The pericarp will easily be detached from the nuts and will also help the
breakage of shell from kernel. Then, the fibers and nuts are separated by air separator/air
lock. The fibers are sucked up by air while the nuts drop down. The fibers are transferred
to fiber cyclone. The fiber cyclone creates a momentum to remove moisture from fibers.
The fibers then are transferred by conveyor to boiler.
For vertical column type air separator, the high velocity will affect the fibers
going upward and the nuts will fall downward. Vertical air current is maintained
absolutely parallel through whole height and cross section of the column in order to
ensure the high efficiency in separation. The fiber is sucked by a fan through the open
lower end of the column and is blown to fiber cyclone. The separated nuts drop conveyor.
The nut is expected with presence a little bit of fibers.
For nuts, they are transferred into polishing drum to loosen the kernel from the
shell and then, they are easily separated. After that, the nuts are transferred into nut silo
for drying purpose. There is shaking grate in the nut silo to control nut flow and ensure
their retention time in silo. It will distribute the nut evenly. Then, nuts are transferred into
ripple mill to crack the nuts. There are un-cracked nuts, partially cracked nuts, whole
kernels, broken kernels, dirt and shells. Then, they are passed through the winnowing
system in order to blow out the small dirt and shell.
Next, they are passed through the air lock or de-stoner to remove the big
particles, such as stones. Stones will fall down and light particles are sucked to upper
side. They are transferred into vibrating screen to separate the particles and oil. After that,
they are transferred into hydro cyclone to separate the whole kernels, broken kernels and
shells. After the separation, the kernels are transferred into kernel silo for drying while
the shells are transferred to shell line. Lastly, dried kernels are transferred into kernel
bunker for storage while the shell is keep at shell storage. The kernel bunker and shell
storage place are shown in Figure 27.

Figure 27: Kernel bunker and shell storage.

3.3.2.12 EFB Fiber Production
Firstly, the crushed EFB from threshing process were being transferred to EFB
collection point. The crushed EFB were being shredded into a smaller size before it is
being pressed in the EFB press machine. Shredded EFB were being pressed in order to
extract the liquor from the bunch. Next, the fibers were transferred into the Hammer Mill
Machine in order to break the fibers into single strand fiber. The strand fibers will in the
size between 76-250 mm. The fibers were then undergoes a drying process by using a
Rotary Dryer with dust remover system. This process will reduced the moisture content
of the fibers below 17.5 %. Lastly, the dried strand fibers will undergo the last process
that is to be bailed into a more compact size like blocks using a bailing machine. The
baler fiber will in the size between 90-100 Kg with dimension 510 mm X 760 mm X 510
mm. After being bailed, the EFB baler fiber is then ready for market. Figure 28 shows the
by-products, EFB baler fiber.

Figure 28: The baler fiber produced from EFB.

3.3.2.13 Boiler Station

Boiler is the closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated under pressure.
The fluid is then circulated out of the boiler for use in various processes or heating
applications. The main functions of the boiler house are to convert chemical energy to
heat energy, to transfer the heat energy to the water in the water circuit and convert it to
steam, supply steam for generating electricity and to supply steam for other process units
in the mill.
There are 2 types of efficient boiler, such as fire tube boiler and water tube boiler.
In this scenario, the water tube boiler is used. The flow of boiler house is shown in Figure
29. Normally, mesocarp fiber and palm shell are used as fuel for boiler and are
transferred by conveyor. At the same time, the water is pumped into the boiler. Firstly, the
water will flow in steam drum. After that, the hot water will flow down to mud drum
which keeps the hot water. Then, the water will flows through tubes and the heat is
transferred into water through glass tube. Then, the water becomes steam and steam will
flow into steam drum again.

Figure 29: The flow of boiler house.

After complete combustion, the ashes are taken away by Induced Draft (ID) fans
and pass through air lock which separates the ash and smoke. Ashes will take away into
dust collector cone while smoke will be discharged through chimey. Light brown haze
should be observed but white smoke is allowed because white indicates excess secondary
air. However, the black smoke indicates heavy erratic firing or lack of secondary air. The
ashes are manually taken out by the operators through doors of furnace. After certain
period of combustion, ashes will stick to the boiler tubes and it will affect the heat
transfer. So, the blowers are used to clean the scaling of the boiler. Manual cleaning is
also required.
The wet steam flows into superheater which converts the wet steam into dry
steam at temperature of 250C. After that, the dry steam passes through the main steam
stop valve and meet the water separator which separate the condensate because
condensate will damage the turbine. The steam will generate the electricity in turbine at
pressure of 31 and 32 bars. After that, the steam will be stored in steam receiver for
supplying to heating applications.
3.3.2.14 Power Station
In power station, steam turbine and diesel generator are used to generate
electricity for operating all the motors and internal usage in the mill. Steam turbine plays
an important role in power generation. A steam turbine is a mechanical device that
extracts thermal energy from pressurized and converts it into useful mechanical work.
Heat energy of steam is converted to kinetic energy and finally is changed to electrical
energy. The main equipment used in power station is shown in Figure 30.

Figure 30: The steam turbine and diesel generator.

3.3.2.15 POME Station
Ponding system is the most common treatment method for POME. This system is
reliable, stable and capable of producing a final discharged with BOD less than 100mg/L.
A typical effluent ponds system is shown in Figure 31.

A2

Figure 31: Effluent ponds system.

Effluent ponds play an important role in all factories. The sludge or waste water
will be managed before they go into river or into ground. Firstly, factory hot sludge is
pumped into effluent ponds. The temperature is around 53C and pH is 4.5. The BOD is
3000 ppm that means quantity of oxygen is very low. BOD is the amount of dissolved
oxygen needed by aerobic biological organisms in a body of water to break down organic
material present in a given water sample at certain temperature over a specific time
period. The cooling pond plays a role to cool down the sludge with combining the waste
water from primary aerobic pond.
The sludge is pumped into anaerobic pond A1, B1 and C1. The retention time of
this three ponds are 8 hours. After 8 hours, the sludge A1 will discharge into anaerobic
pond A2 while the sludge from B1 and C1 will discharge and combine into anaerobic
pond BC1. The Biology Genesis activates the natural bacteria in pond and they function
to build up the reaction. They will change the dissolved solid into suspension solid. So,
the upper solid is easily removed. Then, they will discharge into BC2. Sludge from A1 is
discharged into anaerobic pond A2 and A3. At the same time, waste water from anaerobic
pond BC2 will discharge A3.
Then, the combined sludge will go into primary aerobic pond A4, A5 and BC3.
The BOD of primary aerobic pond will decrease. Then, the effluent is pumped into the
bio-tower that acts as filtration medium. The plastic coils trap the solid and the remaining
waste water will flow to bottom of bio-tower. The remaining waste water flow into
polishing pond F1 and is pumped into clarifier. The clarifier separates the solid and liquid
by momentum. There is the bypass between pond F1 and pond F2 in order to avoid
overflow of the effluent. The waste water flows into settling pond which separates the
solid by their size.
Finally, the waste water flows into polishing pond F1 and discharge into trenches
or flat bed. The flat beds play role to filter the contaminant. The BOD of output of the
effluent must be kept below 100 ppm which is standardized by Department of
Environment. The oxygen content is higher and do not lead side effect to the
environment. The color of pond is greenish and the bubbles on the surface of pond can be
observed. It is concluded by the bacteria is active and can functions well.

3.3.2.16 Raw Water Treatment Station

Figure 32: Flow chart of raw water treatment plant.

Raw water is required as boiler feed and others process in palm oil mill. 4 basic
steps involved in water clarification are pH adjustment, coagulation, flocculation and
filtration. The flow chart of raw water treatment plant is shown in Figure 32. pH of raw
water is needed to be neutralized. Overflow raw water pond is used to store the overflow
raw water. Normally, the tests of pH, the total hardness and turbidity of raw water are
carried in treatment plant. Soda (sodium carbonate) is dosed into raw water to increase
the pH. After that, the raw water is dosed alum as coagulant (aluminium sulphate) to clog
the dissolved solid into suspended solid. This process is called as charge neutralization

process. Polymer as flocculant is added into raw water when the water is too dirty and
very yellowish color.
Then, the water flows into clarifier. The solids are sedimentated at the bottom of
the clarifier. The clarifier used in water treatment plant is shown in Figure 33. The drain
valve is opened to discharge the suspended solid out to drainage system until the water is
looked clean. Clean water will flows into concrete holding pond. There are line for
factory usage and line for daily usage. For factory usage, the water is pumped into sand
filter No. 1 and No. 2 for removal sand. Then, the water can is pumped to overhead water
tank No. 1 for storage.

Figure 33: The water clarifier.

In the line for factory, the chlorine is not dosed in water because the chlorine will
precipitate and oxidize the pipes, then will lead the breakage of piping system in factory.
For daily usage, the water is pumped into earth pond or drinking pond and to sand filter
No.3 and sand filter No. 4. The sand filter used in raw waste treatment system is shown in
Figure 34. After that, chlorine is added into water because chlorine can kill bacteria.
Lastly, the clean water is pumped to overhead water tank No. 2. Normally, piping system
in this line is made by stainless steel in order to prevent rusting and corrosion occurs. The
analysis of pH, the total hardness, turbidity and chlorine content are carried out to ensure
the quality of water produced.

Figure 34: The sand filter.

3.4 EQUIPMENT SIZING AND SPECIFICATION

In the proposed palm oil mill, the main product is CPO. Meanwhile, the by-products are palm kernel and EFB fiber. A series of
mechanical processes is used to produce those products. The Table 7 shows the quantity of the main equipment required in the
proposed plant and the specification of the respective equipment. The selection of equipment is based on the capacity per batch of FFB
will be processed. The FFB being processed for each batch is 30 ton with total of 8 batches will be processed to achieve design
capacity of 240 ton FFB/day. The equipment for wastewater treatment plant and raw water treatment plant is not included in this study.
The costs of the wastewater treatment plant and raw water treatment plant will be estimated using Lang formula in the economic
feasibility part.
Table 7:The main equipment and its specification. [9]
No
Machinery
FRUIT RECEPTION
1.
Road Weighbridge

2.

Fruit Loading Ramp

Quantity

Specification

Model - Avery Berkel J 311

Type - Electronic Weighbridge
Capacity - 40 ton
Power - 0.05 kW
Dimension - 2 m (L) X 3 m (W) X 0.3 m (H)

Type - Vertical sliding gate

Capacity - 12 door X 15 ton = 180 ton
Power - 5.6 kW

STERILIZATION STATION
3.
Tilting Sterilizer

Model - Besteel Size 30 T

Type - Pressure Vessel
Capacity - 30 ton / hour
Power - 23 kW
Shell Length 7.8 m
Diameter - 3.2 m
Inlet & Outlet Door 1.5 m
Plate Thickness 0.015 m

THRESHING STATION
4.
Thresher

Model - CB Thresher
Type - Rotary Drum
Capacity - 30 ton / hour
Power - 18.5 kW
Length - 5.5 m
Diameter - 2 m

Model - KH-7.60
Type - Double Deck Bunch Crusher
Capacity - 10 ton / hour
Power - 15 kW
Dimension - 2.219 m (L) X 0.9 m (W) X 1.264 m (H)

5.

Bunch Crusher

DIGESTION STATION
6.
Digester

Model - CB Vertical Digester

Type - Unjacketed
Capacity - 20 ton / hour
Power - 29.8 Kw
Volume - 3500 L
Height 3.1 m
Diameter - 1.3 m

PRESSING STATION
7.
Screw Press

Model - CB Screw Press

Type - Twin Press
Capacity - 20 ton / hour
Power - 18.5 kW
Dimension - 2.32 m (L) x 0.7 m (W) x 0.78 m (H)

CLARIFICATION STATION
8.
Vibrating Screen Separator

Model - AMKCO Double Deck Vibratory

Separator
Type - Vibro Energy
Capacity - 15 ton / hour
Power - 1.86 kW
Diameter - 2.1 m

9.

Hot Water Tank

Model - Xb 6000L
Separator
Type - Storage Tank
Capacity - 6000 L

10.

Sand Trap Tank

Model - LST1-12
Type - Cylindrical conical bottom
Capacity - 12,000 L
Height - 2.4 m
Diameter - 1.8 m

11.

Crude Oil Tank

Model - KDE-S-12000L
Type - Rectangular Storage Tank
Volume - 12000L
Dimension - 4.8 m (L) x 2.4 m (W) x 1.2 m
(H)

12.

Continuous Settling Tank

Model - IY-CXGC
Type - Cylindrical conical bottom
Volume - 120,000 L
Height - 6.2 m
Diameter - 4.95 m

13.

Pure Oil Tank

Model - ZG-25,000L
Type - Cylindrical conical bottom
Volume - 25,000 L

14.

Sludge Separator

Model - AMKCO Single Deck Vibratory

Type - Vibro Energy
Capacity - 15 ton / hour
Power - 1.6 kW

15.

Sludge Oil Tank

Model - VEN 30
Type - Cylindrical conical bottom
Volume - 30000 L

16.

Sludge Buffer Tank

Model - DY-CG-002 Buffer Tank

Type - Cylindrical
Volume - 3000 L

17.

Sludge Drain Tank

Model - XG Sludge Tank

18.

Oil Purifier

Type - Steel tank rectangular section

Volume - 18,000 L

Model - Alfa Laval Purifier MFPX 307

Type - Electromotor
Capacity - 6 ton / hour
Power - 7.5 kW

19.

Vacuum Oil Dryer

OIL STORAGE TANK

20.
Oil Storage Tank

Model - PT Vacuum Dryer

Type - Vacuum Pump
Capacity - 15 ton / hour
Power - 11 kW

Model- CFL-Y Oil Tank

Type - Storage Tank
Volume - 1000000 L

CPO Daily Storage Tank

Model - T-S1000 Oil Tank

Type - Storage Tank
Volume - 500000 L

DEPERICARPING STATION
22.
Cake Breaker Conveyor

Model - DG Cake Breaker Conveyor

21.

Type - Semi scroll, unjacketed model screw

Capacity - 12 ton / hour
Power - 11 kW
Dimension - 22m (L) X 0.8m (W)

23.

Depericarper Vertical Column

Model - DG DP012
Type - Induced Draught
Capacity - 12 ton / hour
Power - 11 kW
Dimension - 8m (L) X 0.8m (W) X 4m (H)

24.

Nut Polishing Drum

Model - DG D06

25.

Pneumatic Fiber Transport System

(Including Ducting, Fiber Cylone,
Fan, Airlock)

Type - Rotary without roller sprocket

Capacity - 6 ton / hour
Power - 7.5 kW
Diameter - 1m
Length - 5m

Model - DG Palm Oil Pneumatic System

Type - Induced Draught(Fiber Cylone), Fan (Suction),
Airlock(Rotary)
Capacity - 6 ton / hour
Power - 49 kW
Dimension - 8.5m (L) X 3.5m (W) X 4m (H)

KERNEL STATION
26.
Nut Silo

Model - TCK05605
Type - Cylindrical Storage Tank
Capacity - 30000L
Diameter - 2.5m
Length - 6m

27.

Model - VG-8T
Type - Ripple Mill
Capacity - 6 ton / hour
Power - 11 kW

Ripple Mill

28.

Claybath
(Including Mixer and Clay Solution
Tank, Conical Separation Tank, Pump,
Discharge Pump, Vibrating Screen)

Model - DG Claybath System

Capacity - 6 ton / hour
Power - 11 kW

29.

Kernel Silo

Model - BC30
Type - Circular section with conical bottom
Capacity - 30000L

BOILER STATION
30.
Boiler

Model - Takuma N 600

Type - Water Tube Boiler
Capacity - 36 ton / hour
Working Pressure - 22 bars
Temperature - 260C

POWER STATION
31.
Steam Turbine

Model - W-1350C
Type - Non-Condensing (Back-pressure)
Capacity - 28 ton / hour
Output Power - 1200 kW
Speed - 5400 rpm

32.

Back Pressure Vessel

Model - BEITE 012

Type - Pressure Vessel
Capacity - 12000L
Working design Pressure : 3.5 kg/cm

33.

Diesel Engine Set

Model - Komatsu SAA6D125-P400

Output Power - 450 kW
Dimension - 3.3 (L) x 1.12 (W) x 1.79 (H)

34.

Fuel Tank

Model - Fuel Oil Double Wall AST - ULC S602

Type - Cylindrical Fuel Tank
Capacity - 20000L
Diameter - 1.94 m
Length - 4.5 m

EFB STATION
35.
EFB Shredder Machine

Model - SE/BCE-1 L
Capacity - 6 ton / hour
Power - 75 kW
Dimension - 3.1m (L) X 2.2m (W) X 1.3m

36.

Model - SE/SSP 50
Capacity - 6 ton / hour
Power - 45 kW
Dimension - 3.8m (L) X 2m (W) X 1.25m (H)

EFB Fiber Press

37.

Hammer Mill Machine

Model - YTH-7.100
Capacity - 6 ton / hour
Power - 75 kW
Dimension - 1.145m (L) X 1.07m (W) X 1.35m (H)

38.

Rotary Dryer

Model - BN30
Type - Rotary
Capacity - 6 ton / hour
Power - 30 kW
Dimension - 5.5m (L) X 3.5 (W) X 3m (H)

39.

Baler Machine

Model - SHBA2-200
Capacity - 15 baler / hour
Power - 35 kW
Dimension - 7.6m (L) X 5.1m (W) X 5.1m (H)

3.5 WASTE PRODUCTS

A large amount of biomass is produced at palm oil mills during the processing of
FFB. Those biomass included palm shell, mesocarp fiber and EFB. In conventional
method, palm shell and mesocarp fiber will used as boiler fuel to generate electricity for
internal usage. Meanwhile, the old disposal methods of EFB are burning in incinerator,
dumped in landfills and sell to plantation for mulching. As the EFB will be utilized to
produce EFB fiber, the waste products in this proposed mill are palm shell and mesocarp
fiber.
Palm shells are the shell factions left after the nut has been removed in the palm
oil mill. Figure 35 shows the bulk physical and chemical characteristics of palm shell. For
every one ton of FFB processed, 5 % of palm shell will be produced. Palm shells are used
as boiler fuel in steam power plant due to its high calorie value and low content of ash
and sulphur [7]. Therefore, all the palm shell produced will be used to generate energy in
our proposed plant.

Figure 35: bulk physical and chemical characteristics of palm shell.

Mesocarp fiber is another waste product from palm oil milling process. Mesocarp
fiber is contained in the oval shaped palm fruit which consists of yellowish red oily flesh

mesocarp and single seed Palm Kernel Nut. The mesocarp fiber is then separated from
Palm Kernel Nut by cyclone separator. Mesocarp fibre contains less than 6% oil residue
with calorific value of 19000kJ/kg [7]. Figure 36 shows the mesocarp fiber on the fresh
oil palm fruit. Since palm oil mill is self-sufficient in energy, the mesocarp fiber is mixed
with kernel shell and being utilized as a medium of boiler fuel to generate electricity for
the proposed mill.

Figure 36: The mesocarp fiber on the fresh oil palm fruit.
3.6 TECHNOLOGY AND ALTERNATIVE ROUTES FOR PRODUCING CRUDE
PALM OIL
3.6.1 Continuous and Conventional Sterilization
In order to maximize the production of CPO in a palm oil mill, various
technologies have been developed by the people in the industry. Being the first process in
the mill, sterilization is a crucial part of the whole processes since it influences the
quantity and the quality of CPO produced later. FFBs are cooked using steam as the
heating medium in a sterilization process. A lot of steam is used in this part of the mill
that accounts thirty to sixty percent of the total process steam supplied from the boiler.
Therefore, the type of sterilizer technology chose greatly affects steam and power
consumption of the sterilization process.

With the growing demand for energy efficiency at palm oil mills, the selection of
sterilizer is based mainly on its relevance to steam and power consumption because this
will affect the overall energy efficiency of the palm oil extraction process. It is vital to
ensure that the sterilizer operates correctly so that it will produce minimum oil loss and
generate proper oil extraction rate. Oil losses that correspond from sterilizing process are
oil losses in condensate, empty fruit bunch, un-striped bunch and partly striped bunch.
Basically sterilizers are design to operate continuously or in batches. The conventional
and continuous type processes are described to select most economical sterilizer
technology.
In a conventional sterilization, the sterilization process of fresh fruit bunches is
carried out in cylindrical pressure vessels that lies horizontally or vertically. The concept
of conventional sterilization is shown in Figure 37. After that they are filled with steam
under pressure as a batch process. The most common type of sterilizer used is the
horizontal sterilizer fitted with two quick opening doors [11]. Fruit cages are used to
transfer the bunches in and out of sterilizers, and various other equipment are needed for
handling these cages, including overhead cranes, tippers, conveyors, transfer carriages
and tractors.
Currently, there are many types of innovation and improvement of conventional
type sterilizers such as cage material handling using indexing system, CMC Systems,
Vertical Sterilizer and Tilting Sterilizer. To comply with the amount of FFB processed per
day, palm oil mill owners usually choose one of these technologies to be implemented.
The introduction of a three peak cycle process in the sterilization process allows a
synchronized integration. This involves the discharge of condensate and air in the
pressure vessel, fasten pressure built and evenly distributed steam. From this batch type
process, time and steam usage can be saved. With horizontal position, the cylindrical
vessel sterilizer has fairly good disposition because the oil palm fresh fruit bunches
placed in cages with a low stacking height are more uniformly spread out in this position
across the length of the elongated vessel, as opposed to a vertical sterilizer. Thus, when
pressurized steam is injected into the interior of the horizontally positioned cylindrical
vessel, the steam can reach out to different directions and corners of the contents within

the cages thereby helping treatment of the fruit bunches. Due to the low stacking height
of the fruit bunches in the cages, condensate drains out freely from the fruit bunch stack
facilitating heat penetration. Batch process however arrests the oil quality deterioration
due to enzymatic activity. Considerable space and a system of rails are required to
facilitate the fitting of the cages and the charging and discharging of the sterilizers.
Generally, when the received crops are less in capacity, the fruit bunches will be bulked
and processed the next day. This will result in the increment of FFA content in the fruits
and leads to poor quality of CPO.

Figure 37: Concept of Conventional Sterilization Process.

Continuous type sterilization process is also famously adopted in palm oil mill
due to its much beneficial factors if compared to batch sterilization. The concept of
continuous sterilization process is shown in Figure 38. The continuous sterilizer was
introduced as an alternative to pressure vessels and batch process of sterilization and offer
advantage in terms of use of unpressurised heating cabin and steady steam demand for
the sterilization process [12]. In current technology, the process is carried out in a heating
cabin operating with steam at atmospheric pressure.
Initially, the fruit bunches are split using a mechanical splitter machine before it is
transported by scraper conveyor within the heating cabin to expose the material to steam.
The splitting of the fruit bunches facilitates steam penetration into inner layers of the fruit
bunch. A significant advantage of continuous sterilization over batch sterilization is that it
renders the palm oil milling process a continuous operation from start to finish, making it
cost-effective to automate the bunch handling operations. It also eliminates the use of

sterilizer cages, rail tracks, overhead cranes, tippers, transfer carriages and tractors and
thereby facilitates the design and construction of mills having significantly smaller
footprints than conventional mills The process leads to improvements in the design of
mills, reduces the number of process operators, lowers the operating and maintenance
costs, and simplifies mill operation. Mills using the process can be more easily
supervised and automated.
By avoiding the use of pressure vessels for sterilization and cages and cranes for
the handling of bunches, palm oil mills are made safer for operators. The use of
conveyors in place of cages also minimizes spillage of fruits and oil making mills cleaner.
Although the new process is carried out using steam at low or atmospheric pressure, the
process significantly improves strippability of bunches as researched by Sivasothy. A plus
point is that avoiding fluctuations in the steam flow to the sterilization process provides a
considerable advantage in maintaining overall process steam pressures and temperatures
in the mill. However, the continuous sterilizer suffers a significant disadvantage in terms
of high steam consumption.

Figure 38: Concept of Continuous Sterilization Process.

3.6.2 Common Batch Sterilizers

3.6.2.1 Horizontal Double-Door Sterilizer with Wire Rope Winch System for Cage
Movement
One of an outdated technology of a conventional palm oil mill is the usage of wire
rope winch system for cage movement. In the reception area of a palm oil mill, FFBs will
be loaded through a loading ramp hopper to feeding point. Then, they are fed into the
fruit cages which act as holder of FFB to be sterilized inside a long horizontal sterilizer.
The wire rope winch system is used to transport the fruit cages from the loading area. It is
a human dependable system since operators need to manually handle the rope between
the fruit cages and the winch system during an operation. After fed with FFB, the fruit
cages will be transported using the system to pull them along a rail track system into the
sterilizer. The process of marshaling is facilitated by arranging 7 cages in train order. The
train of cages runs out at the further end of the arches by means of wire rope attached to
hydraulic capstans [23]. An intermediate between the loading area and the sterilizer is the
cage transfer carriage which acts as lane changer for the cages. Figure 39 to 41 show the
typical equipment in conventional sterilization station.

Figure 39 to 41: The conventional sterilization station with the used of winch system and
horizontal sterilizer.
After sterilization process, once again the train of fruit cages will be winched into
the tippler to be rotated for unloading purposes. The system is specially design for palm
oil mill horizontal line pull for position in between sterilizer rail track line. It consists of
bogies, winch, wire rope and hook, guide bollard, rail track system and fruit cages
transfer carriage. The conventional system is still considered impractical due to the facts

that the sterilizer uses horizontal technology which posed greater impacts towards the
workers safety and health. Some of the work activities require operators to perform the
works manually such as closing and open the sterilizer door, install and uninstall chain
from cages, working in confined space, and replace packing of sterilizer door.
3.6.2.2 Horizontal Double-Door Sterilizer with Indexing System for Cage Movement
A better way to replace the wire rope winch system is the usage an auto-cage
transporter known as the indexing system [11]. It is a cage material handling that
eliminates the need and use of tractors, bulldozers, capstans and winches that have been
applied in a conventional system. The so called twin cage indexer system is only suited
for long horizontal double door sterilizer installed in a palm oil mill. The system is less
maintenance, bumper-to-bumper cage movement for single cage and/or twin cage
movement. Figure 42 shows the indexing system for cage movement. Furthermore, it is a
much efficient material handling system for the sterilization process to perform
synchronization and control of equipment from fruit reception to sterilizer station and to
threshing and press station, leading to improvement in productivity and consistency in
throughput.

Figure 42: Indexing system for cage movement.

On top of the sterilization process, a platform is installed providing a good view
of the production area. An advantage of the indexing system is it improves working
conditions and safety for operators as well as reducing manual handling of the cages.
Besides that, it is easier to monitor via an automation system with remote console panel

control. Moreover, the system has low maintenance cost due to the reduced wear and tear
by good and precise cage movement. Using a single touch control on push buttons, the
system provides ease of operation. In terms of control, the indexing system use auto
mode to move the hydraulic cylinder on indexer, manual operation to operate via push
buttons and by-pass operation to operate via local panels.
3.6.2.3 Horizontal Single-Door Sterilizer with Compact, Modular, Continuous
Systems for Cage Movement
Another method for the movement of fruit cages is the CMC system. If compared
to the indexing system, the CMC system is only for horizontal sterilizer with single door
in sterilizer station. It is also for owner looking for an enhanced automated material
handling and steam management process controlled in a smaller foot print area [11].
Figure 43 shows the CMC system that implemented in the sterilization station. The CMC
system is actually derived the cage movement from the indexing system. The indexer
movement is based on twin cage. As the building footprint is small, thus the CMC system
is compact, modular, continuous run material handling system for the sterilization process
to perform synchronization and control of flow of FFB from loading ramp to sterilizer
station and then to threshing and press station. This leads to significant improvement in
productivity and enhanced throughput.

Figure 43: CMC system for cage material handling.

Similar to the indexing system, a platform on top of the sterilization process is

also installed to view the production area. One of the important benefits is the CMC
system is an automated process of continuous flow and integration of material handling
to sterilization process. Less cage movement operation is needed too due to its smaller
footprint area. Akin to the indexing system, CMC system also improves the working
conditions, work safety for operators, ease of monitoring, low maintenance cost and ease
of operation. The control mechanism is in the same way as that in indexing system except
there is no by-pass operation.
3.6.2.4 Vertical Sterilizer
Modern batch-type sterilization, the vertical sterilizer enables a one way traffic
operation of a palm oil mill [19]. Figure 44 shows a typical vertical sterilizer. This is due
to the loading of FFBs from the top of the sterilizer and discharged at the bottom. Then it
is directly transported to the stripping station for the separation of fruitlets and bunches.
Its handling system moves away completely from the conventional fruit cages doublehandling arrangement. It is designed to sterilize FFB at superior steam efficiency of 60
minutes cooking (for 30 tons FFB) gives a greater preservation of FFB quality. FFB is fed
into the vertical sterilizer using the robust scrapper bar conveyers at control of a push
button. All these handling is completed using only maximum two operators.

Figure 44: Vertical Sterilizer.

Operation cost saving is proven to be halved compares to conventional cages

system. Capital investment for vertical sterilization system is so far the lowest amongst
the other sterilization system available in the market. It is also a relatively greener
technology due to it approximately 40% savings in steam consumption compares to
conventional horizontal sterilization technology. The less amount of steam used resulted
in relatively reduced condensate produced; which eventually minimized the total POME,
a high strength liquid waste generated during milling process. Other than that, the steam
consumption is low with minimal heat loss. Small space is also needed as a requirement
to install the sterilizer in the sterilization area of a palm oil mill. However it needs a water
filling system and auger discharge making a delay for the process. A disadvantage of
using the vertical position sterilizer is that the oil loss is high due to the compacted fruits
at the bottom. Furthermore there is still dead space during its operation which reduces the
capacity and throughput. However, due to considerable stacking height and resulting fruit
bunch compression in the vertical vessel, air removal and condensate drainage from the
fruit bunch stack is restricted and this impedes heat penetration. The design requires
higher steam pressure with multiple-peak cycles and a longer sterilization time for
effective heat treatment of the fruit bunches resulting in higher steam consumption.
3.6.2.5 Tilting Sterilizer
Of all the batch type sterilizers, the most up-to-date technology is the tilting
sterilizer. An award winning equipment developed to improve many issues in palm oil
mill is what makes this sterilizer the most efficient way of sterilization process [28]. This
is the type of sterilizer that will be implemented in the proposed mill. Figure 45 shows a
typical tilting sterilizer. A very good reason to install the tilting sterilizer in a new palm
oil mill is that it needs only 30% of the space occupied by horizontal sterilizer. Simple
design with fewer moving parts, the tilting sterilizer completely diminished the usage of
FFB cages, rail tracks, transfer carriages, capstans, bollards, winches, overhead-cranes,
hoists, cage indexer system, cantilever bridges, tipper, pushers and tractors, EFB press,
EFB splitter and SFB post heating cooker. These produce a very low construction cost
because of less machinery and reduced down-time. To top that, only 2 to 3 operators are

needed to operate a multiple sterilizer station that results in lower operation and
maintenance costs in conjunction with much fewer moving parts.
Steam consumption also reduced by half of conventional system with the
achievement of the shortest steaming time in industry of 45-50 minutes. Furthermore, it
has a minimum dead space by compaction of fruits inside the sterilizer during an
operation. Besides that, the tilting sterilizer minimizes oil loss oil loss in Empty Fruit
Bunches, no oil drips, and condensate is directly used for dilution. Higher quality oil
extraction can be obtained in comparison with other sterilizers along with the oil recovery
in condensate recovered. As of the energy efficiency, lower power consumption by the
lesser machinery than conventional system. Moreover the sterilizer itself is easier and
safer to operate than the conventional horizontal sterilizers due to the fact that direct
loading through the conveyer from the FFB loading area. In terms of clean working
environment, an automatic operation with safety interlocks is applied in the system. As
the name implies the tilted position allows FFB to slide and roll down during filling
making sure that minimum damage of FFB.

Figure 45: A tilting sterilizer.

3.7 PROCESS FLOW SHEET

3.7.1 Process Operation Chart
Process operation chart is the simple graphic representation that gives an overall
view for the entire process. It includes the points where materials are produced and the
sequence of inspection for all operations. It also shows the chronological sequence for all
activities.
3.7.1.1 Process Operation Chart of EFB Fiber Production
EFB
Shredding

Pressing

Hammering

Drying

Dried
Strand Fiber

Bailing

EFB BALER FIBER

Liquor

3.7.1.2 Process Operation Chart of Palm Oil Milling Processes

FFB

Sterilization of
Fresh Fruit
Bunches

Threshing/Strip
ping

EFB

Fruit Digestion

Pulp Pressing

Screening
Depericarping

Clarifying

Fiber

Drying

Purifying

Cracking
Separation I

Drying

Winnowing
Separation I
Separation

CPO
Sludge

Drying

Kernel

Shell

3.7.2 Process Block Diagram

Process block diagram is the flow diagram that gives an overview of the process
structure with process units. It represents the main processing section in terms of
functional blocks. In process block diagram, the material balance for the overall
processes is included. In the proposed mill, the plant capacity is 240 ton FFB/day. This is
a batch process where 8 batch of CPO will produce per day. For every ton of FFB be
processed, 21% of CPO will produced. The palm kernel and EFB produced from every
one ton of FFB be processed are 5.6% and 22% respectively.
The process units is based on one day production where the amount of FFBs be
processed per batch is 30 ton. The block diagram of CPO and EFB fiber are based on one
day production. For one day production, the total feed in of EFB into EFB fiber
production line is 52,800 kg. The total feed in of FFBs is 240,000 kg per day. The
detailed calculation of mass balance will show in the following part.
3.7.2.1 Process Block Diagram of EFB Fiber Production
52,800 kg/day
EFB
Shredding
52,800 kg shredded EFB/day
Pressing

10,560 kg
Liquor/day

42,240 kg shredded EFB/day

Hammering
42,240 kg single strand fiber/day
Drying
24,000 kg dried strand fiber/day
Bailing
240 Baler Fibers/day (100 kg each)
3.7.2.2 Process Block Diagram of Palm Oil Milling Processes

18,240 kg
Moisture/day

240,000 kg FFB/day

48,000 kg Steam/day
at 50 Psig

68,472 kg
Condensate/day

Sterilization of Fresh Fruit

211,200 kg Sterilized FFB/day

Threshing/Stripping

9,600 kg Steam/day

8,328 kg Exhaust
Steam/day

52,800 kg EFB/day

158,400 kg Sterilized Fruitlets/day

Fruit Digestion
84,000 kg
Crude Oil/day

Screening
126,000kg
Diluted Oil/day

168,000 kg Digested Fruitlets/day

42,000 kg Dilution
Water/day

Depericarping

21,600 Kg Oil + Water (Recycle Oil)/day

Clarifying

96,600 kg
Sludge /day

51,000 kg
Settled Oil/day
120 kg Dirt
Purifying
and
Water/day 50,880 kg
Oil/day
480 kg
Drying
Moisture/day

Separation I
96,000 kg
Sludge/day

Separation II
26,400 kg
Water/day

600 kg
Sand/day

84,000 kg Press
Cake/day

Pulp Pressing

50,400 kg
Production oil/day
74,400 kg sludge/day

37,800 kg Wet Nuts/day

Drying

2,280 kg
Moisture/day

35,520 kg Dry Nuts/day

Cracking
35,520 kg Cracked
7,440 kg
Mixture/day
Light Shell
Winnowing
and Dust/day
28,080 kg Shell and Kernel/day
12,480 kg
Shell/day
15,600 kg Wet
Kernel/day

Separation

26,400 kg Water/day

Drying
170,472 kg
Effluent/day

3.7.3 Process Flow Diagram

46,200 kg
Fiber/day

13,440 kg Kernel/day

2,160 kg
Moisture/day

The process flow diagram is the central to the design task. It indicates the general
flow of plant processes and equipment. It shows the process route and process conditions
of each station. The flow diagram of process plants is based on ISO 106298.
3.7.3.1 Process Flow Diagram of Palm Oil Milling Processes
Figure 46 is the process flow diagram for CPO and palm kernel production. There
a total of 40 streams in the production line. The stream 1 to stream 27 is the process
routes for CPO production. The stream 28 to stream 40 is the process routes for palm
kernel production. Table 8 shows the detailed description of the process condition in each
stream with the used of equipment.

Figure 46: Process flow diagram of Palm Oil Milling Processes.

Table 8:The description of process flow diagram.

Stream Process
1
Sterilization

Equipment
Tilting Sterilizer

Threshing

Thresher

3
4

EFB fiber production

Transferring Fruitlet

Refer section 3.7.3.2

Conveyor

Digestion

Digester

Pressing

Screw Press

Separating Nut and

Depericarper & Nut

Fiber

Polishing drum

Screening

Sand Trap Tank

Screening

Vibrating Screen
Separator`

10

Sand Disposal

Sand Trap Tank

11

Recycle Sterilized

Conveyor

12

Fruitlets
Storing CPO

Crude Oil Tank

13

Clarification

Continuous Settling
Tank

14

Storing Pure Oil

Pure Oil Tank

15

Purification

Purifier

16

Storing Purified Oil

Holding Tank

Process Condition
Pressure=50psig
Temperature=150 C
Time=90 minutes
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=32 C
Time=30 minutes
Refer section 3.7.3.2
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=32 C
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=90 C
Time=30 minutes
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=32 C
Time=30 minutes
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=32 C
Time=60 minutes
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=100 C
Time=30 minutes
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=32C
Time=30 minutes
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=100 C
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=32 C

Pressure= 14.696 psi

Temperature=90 C
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 90 C
Time=120 minutes
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 90 C
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 60 C
Time=120 minutes
Pressure=14.696 psi

17

Removing Sludge

To POME Pond

18

Drying

Vacuum Dryer

19

Storing CPO

CPO Tank

20

Dispatch CPO

Shipment Truck

21

Sludge Separation I

Sludge Buffer Tank

22

Sludge Separation II

Sludge Drain Tank

23.

Removing Sludge

Sludge Separator

24.

Recycling Oil From

Sludge Oil Tank

25.

Sludge
Clarifying Recycle

Continuous Settling

26.

Oil
Removing Sludge to

Tank
To Sludge Pit

27.

Sludge Pit
Discharge Sludge

To POME Pond

28.

Remove Impurity

Pneumatic Fiber

29.

From Fiber
Nut Drying &

System
Nut Silo

Storing
30.

Burning Fiber

Boiler

31.

Cracking

Ripple Mill

32.

Winnowing

Winnowing Column

33.

Purifying Fiber

Fiber Cylone

Temperature= 70 C
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 70 C
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 90 C
Time=60 minutes
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 50 C
Time=30 minutes
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 30 C
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 70 C
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 70 C
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 70 C
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 70 C

Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 90 C

Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 70 C

Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 70 C
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 40 C

Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 40 C
Time=60 minutes
Pressure=30 psi
Temperature=180 C
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 40 C
Time=60 minutes
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 40 C
Time=60 minutes
Pressure=14.696 psi

34.

Burning Fiber

Boiler

35.

Separating Shell and

Claybath

Kernel
36.

Storing Shell

Shell Bunker

37.

Kernel Drying

Kernel Dryer Track

38.

Burning Shell

Boiler

39.

Storing Kernel

Kernel Silo

40.

Dispatch Kernel

Shipment Truck

Temperature= 40 C
Pressure=30 psi
Temperature=180 C
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 40 C
Time=60 minutes
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 40 C
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 80 C
Time =60 minutes
Pressure=30 psi
Temperature=180 C
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 40 C
Pressure=14.696 psi
Temperature= 40 C

3.7.3.2 Process Flow Diagram of EFB Fiber Production

Figure 47 is the process flow diagram for CPO and palm kernel production. There
a total of 40 streams in the production line. The stream 1 to stream 10 is the process
routes for EFB fiber production. Table 9 shows the detailed description of the process
condition in each stream with the used of equipment.

Figure 46: Process flow diagram of EFB Fiber Production.

Table 9:The description of process flow diagram.

Stream Process
1
Transfer EFB to

Equipment
Conveyor

Process Condition
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=32 C

conveyor
Transfer EFB to

Conveyor

Pressure= 14.696 psi

Temperature=32 C

Collection Point
Shredding EFB

EFB Shredder

Pressure= 14.696 psi

Temperature=32 C
Time=60 minutes
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=32 C
Time=60 minutes
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=32 C
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=32 C
Time=60 minutes
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=100 C
Time=120 minutes
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=32 C
Time=60 minutes
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=32 C
Pressure= 14.696 psi
Temperature=32 C

Machine
4

Pressing EFB

EFB Fiber Press

Machine

Removing Liquor

To POME Pond

Hammering

Hammer Mill
Machine

Drying

Rotary Drying

Baling

Baling Machine

Storing

To EFB Fiber store

10

Dispatch EFB Fiber

Shipment Truck

3.8 PROCESS SCHEDULING

3.8.1 Process Scheduling Description
In the proposed mill, the plant capacity is 240 ton FFB/hours, a total of 8 batch FFBs will be processed. The amount of FFB
being processed is 30 ton per batch. At the same time, 8 batches of palm kernel and EFB fiber will be produced. Table 10 shows the
time for each batch of the CPO, palm kernel and EFB fiber production.
Table 10: Processing Time.
PRODUCTIO

BATCH 1

BATCH 2

BATCH 3

BATCH 4

BATCH 5

BATCH 6

BATCH 7

BATCH 8

N
CPO

9AM

11AM

1PM

3PM

5PM

7PM

9PM

11PM

PALM

6.30PM
1PM

8.30PM
3PM

10.30PM
5PM

12.30AM
7PM

2.30AM
9PM

4.30AM
11PM

6.30AM
1AM

8.30AM
3AM

KERNEL

EFB FIBER

7PM
11AM

9PM
1PM

11PM
3PM

1AM
5PM

3AM
7PM

5AM
9PM

7AM
11PM

9AM
1AM

5PM

7PM

9PM

11PM

1AM

3AM

5AM

7AM

3.8.2 Process Scheduling of CPO Production

TIME
PROCESS

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

BATCH 1
STERILIZATION
THRESHING
DIGESTION
PRESSING
SCREENING
CLARIFICATION
PURIFICATION
DRYING
STORAGE
BATCH 2
STERILIZATION
THRESHING
DIGESTION
PRESSING
SCREENING
CLARIFICATION
PURIFICATION
DRYING
STORAGE
BATCH 3
STERILIZATION
THRESHING
DIGESTION
PRESSING
SCREENING

19

20

21

22

23

24

CLARIFICATION
PURIFICATION
DRYING
STORAGE
BATCH 4
STERILIZATION
THRESHING
DIGESTION
PRESSING
SCREENING
CLARIFICATION
PURIFICATION
DRYING
STORAGE
BATCH 5
STERILIZATION
THRESHING
DIGESTION
PRESSING
SCREENING
CLARIFICATION
PURIFICATION
DRYING
STORAGE
BATCH 6
STERILIZATION
THRESHING
DIGESTION
PRESSING
SCREENING

CLARIFICATION
PURIFICATION
DRYING
STORAGE
BATCH 7
STERILIZATION
THRESHING
DIGESTION
PRESSING
SCREENING
CLARIFICATION
PURIFICATION
DRYING
STORAGE
BATCH 8
STERILIZATION
THRESHING
DIGESTION
PRESSING
SCREENING
CLARIFICATION
PURIFICATION
DRYING
STORAGE

3.8.3 Process Scheduling of Palm Kernel Production

TIME

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

PROCESS
BATCH 1
DEPERICAPING
NUT DRYING
CRACKING
WINNOWING
SEPARATION
KERNEL DRYING
BATCH 2
DEPERICAPING
NUT DRYING
CRACKING
WINNOWING
SEPARATION
KERNEL DRYING
BATCH 3
DEPERICAPING
NUT DRYING
CRACKING
WINNOWING
SEPARATION
KERNEL DRYING
BATCH 4
DEPERICAPING
NUT DRYING
CRACKING
WINNOWING
SEPARATION
KERNEL DRYING
BATCH 5

DEPERICAPING
NUT DRYING
CRACKING
WINNOWING
SEPARATION
KERNEL DRYING
BATCH 6
DEPERICAPING
NUT DRYING
CRACKING
WINNOWING
SEPARATION
KERNEL DRYING
BATCH 7
DEPERICAPING
NUT DRYING
CRACKING
WINNOWING
SEPARATION
KERNEL DRYING
BATCH 8
DEPERICAPING
NUT DRYING
CRACKING
WINNOWING
SEPARATION
KERNEL DRYING

3.8.4 Process Scheduling of EFB Fiber Production

TIME
PROCESS

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

BATCH 1
SHREDDING
PRESSING
HAMMERING
DRYING
BALING
BATCH 2
SHREDDING
PRESSING
HAMMERING
DRYING
BALING
BATCH 3
SHREDDING
PRESSING
HAMMERING
DRYING
BALING
BATCH 4
SHREDDING
PRESSING
HAMMERING
DRYING
BALING
BATCH 5
SHREDDING
PRESSING
HAMMERING

19

20

21

22

23

24

DRYING
BALING
BATCH 6
SHREDDING
PRESSING
HAMMERING
DRYING
BALING
BATCH 7
SHREDDING
PRESSING
HAMMERING
DRYING
BALING
BATCH 8
SHREDDING
PRESSING
HAMMERING
DRYING
BALING

3.9 MATERIAL BALANCE

3.9.1 Law of Conservation of Mass
The mass balance calculation was made based on the law of conservation of mass.
The capacity of the proposed palm oil mill was 240 ton FFB/day. For every one ton of
FFB processed in the mills, 22 % of empty fruit bunch, 19.25% of mesocarp fiber, 5.3%
of shell and 5.6% palm kernel were produced. All material balance data are based on [4],
[7], [24] and [26]. The mass balance was calculated based on the law of mass balance by
with the formula as follow:
Minput=Moutput
Where Minput = Mass input (kg), Moutput = Mass output (kg)
The basis of mass balance was set at one day.
3.9.2 Material Balance of Palm Oil Milling Process
3.9.2.1 Sterilization Station
The first stage to produce crude palm oil was to cook the FFB by using steam at
pressure of 50 psig. The sterilization process was carried out for 90 minutes under
temperature of 150C. For every one ton of FFB processed, a total of 200 kg steam was
required for tilting sterilizer. The steam loss that occurred from this process was 3.47 %
for one ton of FFB be processed. This process also generated 88% of SFB and 28.53% of
condensate.
Calculation:

240,000kg
FFB/day

48,000 kg Steam/day
at 50 psig

Sterilizatio
n
68,472 kg
8,328 kg Exhaust
Condensate/day
Steam/day

211,200 kg
SFB/day

Mass input
Solid
FFB = 240, 000 kg FFB/day or 240 ton FFB/day

Non-solid

Steam =

200 kg steam
240 ton FFB /day=48,000 kg
steam/day
ton

Total mass input = 240,000 kg FFB/day + 48,000 kg steam/day = 288,000 kg/day

Mass output
Solid
SFB = 240,000 kg FFB/day x 88% = 211,200 kg SFB/day
Non Solid
Exhaust steam = 240,000 kg FFB/day x 3.47% = 8,328 kg Exhaust Steam/day
Condensate = 240,000 kg FFB x 28.53% = 68,472 kg condensate/day

Total mass output = 211,200 kg SFB/day + 8328 kg Exhaust Steam/day + 68,472

kg condensate/day = 288,000 kg/day

3.9.2.2 Threshing Station

In this process, the cooked FFB were fed into a stripper drum to dislodge the
fruitlets. The amount of fruitlets obtained was 75% of SFB. A waste product was
generated in this station which known as EFB. The quantity of EFB was accounted 22%
of every one ton processed FFB.
Calculation:

211,200 kg
SFB/day

Threshing
52,800 kg EFB/day

158,400 kg
Sterilized
Fruitlets/day

Mass input

Solid

SFB = 211,200 kg SFB/day

Total mass input = 211,200kg/day

Mass output

Solid

EFB = 240,000 kg FFB/day x 22% = 52,800 kg EFB/day

Sterilized Fruitlets = 211,200 kg SFB/day - 52,800 kg EFB/day = 158,400 kg sterilized
fruitlets/day

Total mass output = 52,800 kg EFB/day + 158,400 kg Sterilizer fruitlets/day =

211,200 kg/day

3.9.2.3 Digestion Station

Digestion process is carried out to reheat the sterilized fruitlets and separated it
from nuts. This is carried out in the steam heated vessels provided with stirring arms and
known as digester. In this process, the amount of steam required was 6.1% of the amount
of the feed.
Calculation:
9,600 kg Steam/day
158,400 kg
Sterilized
Fruitlets/day
Mass input

Solid

Digestion

168,000 kg Digested
Fruitlets/day

Sterilized fruitlets = 158,400 kg Sterilized Fruitlets/day

Non-solid

Steam = 158,400 kg Sterilized Fruitlets/day x 6.1% =9,600 kg steam/day

Total mass input = 158,400 kg Sterilized Fruitlets/day + 9,600 kg steam/day=

168,000 kg/day

Mass output

Solid

Digested Fruitlets = 168,000 kg Digested Fruitlets/day

Total mass output = 168,000 kg/day

3.9.2.4 Pressing Station

Screw press was used to compress the digested fruitlets to squeeze out the oil.
Approximately 50% of crude oil will produced from the digested fruitlets, the remaining
solid residual will send to a separation process for recovery mesocarp fiber, palm kernel
and palm shell.
Calculation:
168,000 kg Digested
Fruitlets/day

Pressing
84,000 kg
Press cake/day

Mass input

Solid

Digested fruitlets = 168,000 kg Digested Fruitlets/day

Total mass input = 168,000 kg/day

84,000 kg
Crude oil/day

Mass output

Solid

Press cake = 168,000 kg Digested Fruitlets/day x 50%= 84,000 kg Press cake/day

Non-solid

Crude oil = 168,000 kg Digested Fruitlets/day x 50%= 84,000 kg crude oil/day

Total mass output= 84,000 kg Press cake/day+ 84,000 kg crude oil/day=

168,000kg/day

3.9.2.5 Screening Station

For every one ton of FFB processed, dilution water is added in the ratio of 1:2 to
the crude oil.
Calculation:
42,000 kg Dilution Water/day

84,000 kg Crude
oil/day

Screening

126,000 kg
Diluted
Oil/day

Mass input
Non-solid
Crude oil = 84,000 kg Crude oil/day
Dilution water = 84,000 kg Crude oil/day x 50% = 42,000 kg dilution water/day

Total mass input = 84,000 kg Crude oil/day + 42,000 kg dilution water/day =

126,000 kg/day

Mass output
Non-solid

Diluted oil= 126,000 kg diluted oil/day

Total mass output = 126,000 kg/day

3.9.2.6 Clarification Station

The ratio of recycle oil to diluted oil is 0.171:1. Both of them will flow in the
crude oil tank. After 1-3 hours, 45.01 % of settled oil will be produced and the remaining
is sludge. 76.6% of sludge will produced from the amount of diluted oil. The sludge will
undergo separation process I to remove sand. The amount of sand removed is 0.62 % of
the sludge. Then, the sludge will undergo separation process II to recover oil where its
amount is 22.5% of the sludge. The remaining amount of sludge is discharge to sludge
pit.
Calculation:
126,000 kg Diluted oil /day

Clarification
51,000 kg Settled
oil/day

21,600 kg Recycle Oil/day

96,600 kg
Sludge/day

Separation I

600 kg
Sand/day

96,000 kg Sludge/day

Separation
II
Mass input

74,400 kg
Sludge/day

Non-solid

Diluted Oil =126,000 kg Diluted oil /day

Recycle Oil=126,000 kg Diluted oil /day x 0.171 = 21,600 kg Recycle Oil/day

Total mass input = 126,000 kg Diluted oil /day+21,600 kg Recycle

Oil/day=147,600kg/day

Mass output

Solid

Sand from separation I = (126,000 x 76.6%) kg sludge/day x 0.62% = 600kg sand/day

Sludge = (126,000 x 76.6%) kg sludge/day x 77% =74,400 kg sludge/day

Non-solid

Settled Oil = 126,000 kg Diluted oil /day x 40.5% = 51,000 kg Settled oil/day
Recycle Oil=126,000 kg Diluted oil /day x 0.171 = 21,600 kg Recycle Oil/day

Total mass output = 600kg sand/day + 74,400 kg sludge/day+51,000kg Settled

oil/day + 21,600 kg Recycle Oil/day= 147,600 kg/day

3.9.2.7 Purification Station

The settled oil will then undergo purification to produce oil. In this process,
0.235% of dirt and water is removed.
Calculation:
51,000 kg Settled
Oil/day

Purification

120 kg Dirt and

Water/day

50,880 kg Oil/day
Mass input

Non-solid

Settled Oil = 51,000 kg Settled Oil/day

Total mass input = 51,000 kg/day

Mass output
Solid
Dirt and water = 51,000 kg Settled Oil/day x 0.235%= 120 kg Dirt and Water/day

Non-solid

Oil= 51,000 kg Settled Oil/day x (100-0.235) %= 50,880 kg Oil/day

Total mass output = 120 kg Dirt and Water/day+50,880 kg Oil/day=51,000kg/day

3.9.2.8 Oil Drying Station

The purified oil will undergo drying process with the removed of 0.94% moisture
of its content before produce the production oil. The production oil produced is 21% for
every one ton of FFB been processed.
Calculation:

50,880 kg Oil/day

Mass input

Drying

480 kg
moisture/day

50,400 kg production
oil/day

Non-solid

Oil=50,880 kg Oil/day

Total mass input = 50,880 kg/day

Mass output
Non-solid
Production Oil = 240,000 kg FFB/day x 21% = 50,400 kg production oil/day
Moisture = 50,880 kg Oil/day x 0.94% = 480kg moisture/day

Total mass output = 50,400 kg production oil/day + 480kg moisture/day =50,880

kg/day

3.9.3 Material Balance of Palm Kernel Production

3.9.3.1 Depericarping Station
In this stage, press cake from pressing process will undergo depericarping process
to separate mesocarp fibers and nuts. Around 19.25% of mesocarp fiber will formed from
every one ton of FFB to be processed. From the depericarping process, 45% of press cake
is wet nuts.
Calculation:

84,000 kg Press
Cake/day

Depericarping

37,800 kg Wet
Nuts/day

46,200 kg Mesocarp
Fiber/day
Mass input

Solid

Press cake = 84,000 kg Press cake/day

Total mass input = 84,000 kg/day

Mass output

Solid

Mesocarp fiber = 240,000 kg FFB/day x 19.25% = 46,200 kg Mesocarp fiber/day

Wet nuts = 84,000 kg Press cake/day x 45% = 37,800 kg Wet Nuts/day

Total mass output = 46,200 kg Mesocarp fiber/day+37,800 kg Wet Nuts/day =

84,000kg/day

3.9.3.2 Silo Drying Station

The wet nuts will undergo drying process to produce dry nuts. During the process,
6.03% of moisture will formed from the amount of feed.
Calculation:

37,800 kg Wet
Nuts/day

Drying

35,520 kg Dry
Nuts/day

2,280 kg
Moisture/day
Mass input

Solid

Wet nuts = 37,800 kg Wet Nuts/day

Total mass input = 37,800 kg/day
Mass output

Solid

Dry nuts = 37,800 kg Wet Nuts/day x (100-6.03) % = 35,520 kg Dry Nuts/day

Non-solid

Moisture = 37,800 kg Wet Nuts/day x 6.03% = 2,280 kg Moisture/day

Total mass output = 35,520 kg Dry Nuts/day + 2,280 kg Moisture/day =

37,800kg/day

3.9.3.3 Nut Cracking Station

Palm nuts that had been dried in the silo dryer station were fed to this station to
encounter a breakdown process.
Calculation:

35,520 kg Dry
Nuts/day

Cracking

35,520 kg Cracker
Mixture/day

Mass input

Solid

Dry nuts = 35,520 kg Dry Nuts/day

Total mass input =35,520 kg/day

Mass output

Solid

Cracked mixture = 35,520 kg Cracker Mixture/day

Total mass output = 35,520 kg/day

3.9.3.4 Winnowing station

In this station, shells and dust are drawn to the boiler using pneumatic separation
which known as winnowing. Around 20.94 % of shells and dust are removed from
cracked mixture. Then, the palm shell and kernel mixture will undergo further separation
process.
Calculation:

35,520 kg Cracker
Mixture/day

Winnowing

28,080 kg Shell and Kernel/day

7,440 kg Light Shell and Dust/day

Mass input
Solid
Cracker mixture = 35,520 kg Cracker Mixture/day

Total mass input = 35,520 kg/day

Mass output
Solid
Light shell and dust = 35,520 kg Cracker Mixture/day x 20.94% = 7,440 kg Light Shell
and Dust/day
Shell and Kernel mixture = 35,520 kg Cracker Mixture/day x (100-20.94) % = 28,080 kg
Shell and Kernel/day

Total mass output = 7,440 kg Light Shell and Dust/day + 28,080 kg Shell and
Kernel/day = 35,520 kg/day

3.9.3.5 Hydrocyclone Station

In the hydrocyclone, separation of kernels from their shells occurred based on the
specific gravity. The core of the kernels would move upwards the hydrocyclone, while
the shells would fall under the hydrocyclone. Water is added in the ratio of 0.94:1 to
kernel and shell mixture in this process which then discharge to effluent pond. For every
one ton of FFB processed in the mills, 5.2% palm shell was produced.
Calculation:
26,400 kg water/day

Separation

15,600 kg Wet
Kernel/day

28,080 kg Shell and

Kernel/day
26,400 kg
water/day

12,480 kg
Palm Shell/day

Mass input
Solid
Shell and Kernel mixture = 28,080 kg Shell and Kernel/day

Non-solid

Water input = 28,080 kg Shell and Kernel/day x 0.94 = 26,400 kg water/day

Total mass input = 28,080 kg Shell and Kernel/day +26,400 kg water/day= 54,480
kg/day

Mass output
Solid
Palm Shell = 240,000 kg FFB/day x 5.2 % = 12,480 kg Palm Shell/day
Wet Kernel = = 28,080 kg Shell and Kernel/day-12,480 kg Palm Shell/day=15,600 kg
Wet Kernel/day

Non-solid

Water output = 26,400 kg water/day

Total mass output = 12,480 kg Palm Shell/day+15,600 kg Wet Kernel/day+26,400

kg water/day=54,480 kg/day

3.9.3.6 Kernel Drying Station

Kernels from the hydrocyclone were fed into a kernel dryer. In this process, the
water content as much as 13.84% contained in the kernels was evaporated. For every one
ton of FFB processed in the mills, 5.6% palm kernel was produced.
Calculation:
15,600 kg Wet
Kernel/day

Drying

13,440 kg Dry
Kernel/day

2,160 kg Moisture/day
Mass input

Solid

Wet Kernel = 15,600 kg Wet Kernel/day

Total mass input = 15,600kg/day

Mass output

Solid

Dry Kernel = 240,000 kg FFB/day x 5.6% = 13,440 kg Dry Kernel/day

Non-solid

Moisture = 15,600 kg Wet Kernel/day x 13.84% = 2,160kg moisture/day

Total mass output = 13,440 kg Dry Kernel/day+2,160kg moisture/day=

15,600kg/day

3.9.4 Material Balance of EFB Fiber Production

3.9.4.1 EFB Shredding Station
The amount of EFB produced is 22% for every one ton of FFB to be processed.
The EFB will transfer to EFB collection point and undergo shredding process to produce
shredded EFB.
Calculation:
54,800 kg
EFB/day

Shredding

Mass input

Solid

EFB = 240,000 kg FFB/day x 22% = 54,800 kg EFB/day

Total mass input =54,800 kg/day

Mass output

Solid

Shredded EFB = 54,800 kg shredded EFB/day

Total mass output = 54,800 kg/day

3.9.4.2 Pressing Station

54,800 kg shredded
EFB/day

Shredded EFB were being pressed in order to extract the liquor from the bunch.
The moisture content of EFB will remove around 19.3%.
Calculation:
54,800 kg shredded
EFB/day
Mass input

Pressing

42,240 kg shredded
EFB/day

10,560 kg
Liquor/day

Solid

Shredded EFB = 54,800 kg shredded EFB/day

Total mass input = 54,800kg/day

Mass output

Solid

Shredded EFB = 54,800 kg shredded EFB/day-10,560 kg Liquor/day=44,240 kg

shredded EFB/day

Non-solid

Liquor=54,800 kg shredded EFB/day x 19.3% = 10,560 kg Liquor/day

Total mass output = 44,240 kg shredded EFB/day+10,560 kg

Liquor/day=54,800kg/day

3.9.4.3 Hammering Station

The fibers were transferred into the Hammer Mill Machine in order to break the
fibers into single strand fiber.
Calculation:

42,240 kg shredded
EFB/day

Hammering

42,240 kg single strand

fiber/day

Mass input

Solid

Shredded EFB=42,240 kg shredded EFB/day

Total mass input = 42,240kg/day

Mass output

Solid

Single stand fiber = 42,240 kg Single strand fiber/day

Total mass output = 42,240kg/day

3.9.4.4 Drying Station

The fibers were then undergoes a drying process by using a Rotary Dryer with
dust remover system. This process will remove the moisture content of the fibers around
43.2%.
Calculation:

42,240 kg Single strand

fiber/day

Drying
18,240 kg Moisture/day

Mass input

Solid

Single stand fiber = 42,240 kg Single strand fiber/day

24,000 kg dried strand

fiber/day

Total mass input = 42,240 kg/day

Mass output

Solid

Dried strand fiber = 42,240 kg Single strand fiber/day-(100-43.2) %= 24,000 kg dried

strand fiber/day

Non-solid

Moisture = 42,240 kg Single strand fiber/day x 43.2% = 18,240 kg moisture/day

Total mass output = 24,000 kg dried strand fiber/day+18,240 kg

moisture/day=42,240 kg/day

3.9.4.5 Bailing Station

The dried single strand fiber will bailed into baler fiber. The baler fiber will in the
size 100 Kg with dimension 510 mm X 760 mm X 510 mm.
Calculation:
24,000 kg dried strand

Baling

240 Baler Fibers (100 kg each)

fiber/day
Mass input

Solid

Dried stand fiber = 24,000 kg dried strand fiber/day

Total mass input = 24,000kg/day

Mass output

Solid

Baler fiber = 24,000 kg dried strand fiber/day/100kg = 240 baler fiber

Total mass output = 24,000 kg/day