Pemanfaatan Limbah Kelapa Sawit (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) dan Serbuk Kayu Mahoni sebagai Bahan Baku Biopelet

Abstract

Despite widely known for its use as food, palm’s wastes produced by the plantation aren’t optimally used yet. Palm waste has potential to be made into fuel, one of which is biopellet. This research aims to find out the biopellet’s characteristic made from palm waste and examine the effect of augmenting mahoni sawdust toward biopellet’s quality. Materials used are exterior part of palm plant’s trunks, interior part of palm’s trunks, palm’s midrib, leaves, and mixed materials such as mahoni sawdust (0%, 15%, 30%, 50%). Biopellet was made using 40-60 mesh particle and compressed in 200 oC temperature for 15 minutes. Biopellet characteristics were examined using SNI 06-4369-1996 and SNI 01-2891-1992 standard. Research results show that biopellet’s water content is 0.14% - 2.34%, with volatile matter 62.34% - 76.29%, 1.12% - 13.32% ash content, 0.65 g/cm3 – 0.94 g/cm3 density, calor value as much as 4269.27 cal/g – 4729.99 cal/g, sulphur content 0.012% - 0.038%, nitrogen 0.290% - 1.95%, and chlorine content < 0.01%.