The aim of this project is to study the conversion of solid biomass waste using oil palm shell into potassium-based fertilizer by studying different parameters such as the concentration of the sulfuric acid, the effect of stirring time for dissolution process, the effect of temperature and the effect. of healing time. Oil palm shell and empty fruit cluster have a high content of potassium in their ash which is 12.1% and 48.3% respectively. The problems arise when solid waste increases annually from the waste from the oil palm industry which can create disposal problems that lead to the environmental problems.
Experiment conducted by burning palm oil husk and empty fruit bunch to obtain ash to be added with different concentrations of sulfuric acid. The qualities of basic potassium fertilizer are determined by the concentration of the fertilizer and its pH value. The author has also written the purpose of this project which is the utilization of solid waste from palm oil waste, which will be reacted with sulfuric acid to produce potassium-based fertilizer under 4 different variables and the quality of the fertilizer will be determined in based on the concentration of potassium in the fertilizer and its pH value. This project is related to solid biomass waste by focusing on the conversion of palm oil shell, which is one of the palm oil residues that is produced after the seed is obtained in the palm oil industry.
The purpose of this project is to utilize the solid waste from the oil palm waste, which will be reacted with sulfuric acid to produce potassium-based fertilizers and to determine the effect of several variables on the production of potassium sulfate. The experiment will be carried out with oil palm waste that will be collected from the factory that processes the oil palm fruit.
OBJECTIVE
In addition, the gardener and farmer also use inorganic fertilizer that contains a combination of chemicals and minerals produced in a refinery which is a more reliable form of plant nutrition because its nutrient levels are calculated to be stable. This means that rain and other water sources can easily wash nutrients below plant root level and eventually into surrounding streams, rivers and lakes (Mullin, 2012). As a result, plants do not receive food and high concentrations of nitrogen and other compounds enter the ecosystem, with potentially lethal results for plant and animal life due to increased plant and water pH.
In conclusion, this chapter told us how to produce potassium sulfate which is a fertilizer in 4 different working parameters which are sulfuric acid concentration, mixing time effect, temperature effect and curing time effect. The aim of this project was to convert palm kernel shell into a potassium-based fertilizer by using the potassium content of palm kernel ash to produce a better or equal quality fertilizer produced from the empty fruit cluster. For the next act, the author will discuss the content of the empty fruit bunch and palm kernel shell in the literature review, and the benefits of potassium in plant fertilizers.
INTRODUCTION
What is oil palm shell?
Oil palm or its scientific name Elaeis Guineeensis Jacq is a tropical plant belonging to the Arecaceae family (Abdullah & Sulaiman, 2013). It can be found in Malaysia, Indonesia as well as in East and Central Africa. The oil palm fruit has an oily juicy outer layer and a kernel rich in palm oil.
Oil palm shells are the shell fractions that remain after the nut has been removed after crushing in the palm oil mill. Oil palm shell can be considered pellet form due to its natural form that has high quality solids, high calorific value, low ash and low sulfur content. Compared to other residual products from other industries, it is good quality biomass fuel with easy handling, uniform size distribution, easy crushing and limited biological activity due to low moisture content (Foo & Hameed, 2009).
Uses of oil palm shell
EMPTY FRUIT BUNCHES (EFB) .1 What is Empty fruit bunches?
Applications of empty fruit bunches include the production of wood-based goods, paper and pulp production and can also be used to stabilize soil material. In addition, it can also be used as a fuel to generate electrical energy and can also be used as mulch in plantations, usually in oil palm plantations. Many empty fruit bunches rot in the field, which will be a source of very good organic fertilizers.
They are also good sources of fertilizer for crops, especially providing materials such as muriate of potash.
OIL PALM ASH IN POTASSIUM BASED FERTILIZER
THEORETICAL BASIS
Since there are other elements in the ash such as calcium, magnesium and sodium, it will also react with potassium oxide and sulfuric acid. The solubility of a solute will also increase with increasing temperature which will also increase the rate of reaction. As the stirring speed increases, the diffusivity of a substance and its solubility will also increase.
The concentration of the sulfuric acid also affects the solubility and final concentration of the fertilizer. If the concentration of the sulfuric acid is too high, the mixture will become saturated with sulfuric acid.
HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY (HPLC) The result of the experiment will be analyzed by checking the
To interpret the output of the detector, the output is recorded as a series of peaks representing a compound in the mixture passing through the detector and absorbing UV light. The retention time tR is the time it takes for a given compound to travel through the liquid column to the detector. This is the exact time displayed by measuring from the time the sample is injected to the point at which the detector detects the signals and then displaying it in the interface as maximum peak height for that compound.
The area under the peak is proportional to the amount of sample that has passed the detector, and this area can be calculated directly by the software used while operating the HPLC machine. Since the result will contain many peaks of the components in the sample, the author will focus on the target and the investigated species, which is potassium sulfate.
SUMMARY
METHODOLOGY
- INTRODUCTION
- GANTT CHART AND KEY MILESTONE
- EXPERIMENT METHODOLOGY
- Oil palm shell and empty fruit bunches sample preparation For the sample preparation of this project, oil palm shell and
- Experiment setup
- Substance and Chemicals
- Range of Variables Fixed Variables
- Proposed Experimental Procedure
- INTRODUCTION
- RESULT FOR FERTILIZER USING OIL PALM KERNEL SHELL The result from the High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and the
- RESULT OF THE FERTILIZER USING EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH Table 4.6: Concentration of K and pH of fertilizer on the addition of 0.08 M H 2 SO 4
- DISCUSSION
- Effect of temperature
- Effect of concentration of sulphuric acid
- Temperature Control
- Result of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) The result of the HPLC does not only detect Potassium inside the
- SUMMARY
More research into the interpretation of the HPLC result obtained to calculate the concentration of the fertilizer. The experiment is to check the concentration and pH of the potassium-based fertilizer. The prepared sample is analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to obtain the concentration and pH meter to obtain the pH of the fertilizer.
The experiment will be concluded based on the results at the end of the project. To study the content or composition of the ash, spectrophotometer will be used to check the content of the oil palm shell and empty fruit bunches. To check the concentration of the fertilizer, High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) will be used in this experiment.
A thermometer is placed inside the beaker to check and regulate the temperature of the fertilizer. A pH meter is used to measure the pH of the sample every 10 minutes of the experiment. Put 20 ml of potassium oxide in the 100 ml beaker containing the extract from the ash.
To determine the concentration and pH value of each mixture, a small amount of manure sample will be taken in 70 minutes. The author explained the result in tabular form consisting of time taken, temperature used, pH recorded and potassium concentration calculated. Based on the result, the concentration of sulfuric acid will affect the pH value and concentration of the fertilizer.
If the concentration of the sulfuric acid is too high, the fertilizer will be saturated with sulfuric acid and the fertilizer will become acidic due to decreasing pH value. The result shows that as the concentration of the sulfuric acid increased, the pH value of the fertilizer will be lowered. However, due to the limitation of the equipment, the temperature shown at the heater and the magnetic stirrer does not correspond to the temperature inside the beaker.
We need to use thermometer and increase the temperature a little bit higher to achieve the desired temperature, which will affect the result of the experiment. Apart from that, the calculation of the concentration of potassium will be more difficult because we cannot confirm whether the peak we choose is potassium.
CONCLUSION
Anaerobic metabolism of palm oil factory effluent and its use as fertilizer for environmental protection.
APPENDICES
