Using palm oil to produce biomethane gas

PGN (a subsidiary of the Indonesian national oil and gas corporation Pertamina) and three Japanese companies are looking to produce biomethane from palm oil mill wastewater (POME) to meet the growing demand for natural gas. increasing and reducing methane emissions.

The project aims to capture methane released into the atmosphere from POME, refine it into biomethane, and supply it to customers through natural gas pipelines and other existing infrastructure.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, untreated POME releases methane gas, which has the ability to retain heat 25 times more strongly than CO2 in the atmosphere.

Biomethane produced from the project is expected to help expand Pertamina’s natural gas business. Furthermore, Pertamina’s biofuel decarbonization effort will scale up biomethane production to supply bio-liquefied natural gas (LNG). In addition, the product will also be considered for export to Japan and other markets.

In its annual report released earlier this year, the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) said Indonesia used about 8.84 million tons of the above total output to produce biodiesel as fuel for consumption. domestic.