Implementation of cofiring in a coal power plant: utilising biomass residue and coal fines with TOSS, experience in Indonesia

Brunner, I Made Indradjaja and Noerhidayat, Arief and Yulinawati, Hernani Implementation of cofiring in a coal power plant: utilising biomass residue and coal fines with TOSS, experience in Indonesia. In: Strategies for Targeted Emission Reduction from the Indonesian Coal Fleet.

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Abstract

Co-firing activities have been conducted at Ropa Coal Power Plant, Ende Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The raw materials come from a mixture of biomass residues and coal fines. Residual biomass comes from various waste sources including agricultural/plantation production (rice husks, candlenut shells, corn husks), tree debris and garden maintenance (grass, leaves). Coal fines are fine-sized coal waste from coal transportation and stockpiling. Approximately 45 tons/day of biomass residue generated in Ende Regency is generally disposed of through solid waste landfill, illegal burning or ends up in waterways and beaches. Biomass residue is processed using the Technology of Onsite Solid Waste Sources (TOSS) method which consists of chopping, drying with a bioactivator in a bamboo box, pelletizing, drying and storage. Chopping aims to uniform the size of materials and remove water. The bioactivator is locally sourced and functions to reduce water content and homogenize heterogeneous materials. Biological drying with microbes reduces the moisture content of residual biomass from 80% to 40% within 5 to 7 days. The materials are mixed with coal fines and compacted into pellets with diameter of 1.2cm and length of 3-7cm, with moisture content of 15%. The final process is sun drying to remove moisture from the compaction process and maintain a moisture content of around 10%. The results of pellet analysis have a calorific value of ±3800 KKal/kg, moisture ±11%, volatile matter ±55%, fixed carbon ±25%, sulfur ±0.3% and ash content ±19%. In 2020-2021, a collaboration between the Government of Ende Regency, the State Electricity Company (PLN) of Flores and the start-up company comestoarra.com held systematic trials by conducting performance tests, reliability runs, and continuous runs with 200 tons of pellets. In 2021–2022, the collaboration continued commercially with a commitment to supply pellets of 1,700 tons/year. Based on theoretical calculations, every 10 tons/day of managed biomass residue can reduce 16,000 tons of CO2eq/year. The calculation is based on reducing the release of methane gas at landfills, transportation using fossil fuels to the landfill and reducing the use of coal in the power plant. Utilization of biomass residue reduces the potential for agricultural/plantation land fires because communities can process biomass into renewable solid fuels with economic value. The potential for coal fines carried by rainwater to pollute the oceans and contaminate groundwater can also be prevented.

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