UPM LEADS INNOVATION TO DEAL WITH CLIMATE CHANGES

By Syed Azwan Syed Ali

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 (Bernama) -- The challenges posed by climatic changes have pushed developing countries like Malaysia to switch its attention to the green technology in the effort to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the air.

At the time when the government is committed towards reducing the CO2
emissions, local researchers are looking for the best method to support the move
and among them is the production of 'biochar' (bio-charcoal) that is able to
mitigate the climatic changes.

Biochar is produced by the 'bio-mass pyrolysis' of the oil palm's empty
fruit bunch (EFB) which is able to store carbon underground for the mitigation
measure.

In this context, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) with the collaboration of
local company Nasmech Technology Sdn Bhd, is moving towards constructing a plant
to produce the biochar from the oil palm's EFB in Dengkil, in the state of
Selangor.

With RM3.98 million (US$1.19 million) Technofund from the Ministry of
Science, Technology and Innovation, a group of UPM scientists and researchers
led by Prof Dr Azni Idris constructed a carbonator-driven plant to produce the
biochar from residue materials including the EFB.

'HOME MADE' CARBONATOR BIOCHAR

The project's researcher Dr Mohamad Amran Mohd Salleh said the carbonator is
an innovative technology from Japan and utilises 100 per cent local components.
It is also the first large-scale biochar production plant in the region.

"The carbonator is able to process up to 20 tonnes of EFB a day," he told
Bernama at the universiti in Serdang near here recently.

The carbonator-driven plant at the Seri Ulu langat Oil Palm Mill in Dengkil,
Selangor was fully completed August last year, 10 months after the start of its
construction.

UPM's innovation with the collaboration of Nasmech is seen as the solution
to the bio-mass waste disposal issue particularly the EFB which the country
produces about 188 million tonnes a year.

Usually the EFB is disposed by either composting, incinerating or used as
the direct fuel source for boilers.

BIOCHAR ENERGY SOURCE IS RENEWABLE

Via the biochar innovation, the EFB will be turned into biochar through the
pyrolysis process where it is heated at 300-450 degree Celsius in the absence of
oxygen.

An interesting fact to note is that, apart from 20 per cent of the EFB which
turns into biochar, the process also produces bio-fuel and synthetic gas
(syngas) which is a form of renewable energy.

In the carbonator-driven plant context, the energy is reused as an energy
source for the heating of EFB in the next cycle.

"Biochar is also an alternative to charcoal which is getting more expensive
and difficult to source," he said.

UPM's expert on soil, Prof Madya Dr Rosenani Abu Bakar said biochar is able
to act as a mitigating agent for climate changes.

MITIGATING AGENT

Explaining further, Rosenani said the plants, via photosynthesis, would
absorb the CO2 and sunlight to produce oxygen. The plants would later die and
decompose in the soil, releasing the CO2.

In other words, the dead trees and other plants, similar to the biomass
residues, would release CO2 into the air. It is the otherwise when these biomass
residues were changed to biochar (stable carbons) and stored in the soil.

"This process led to the negative carbon scenario where the accumulative
carbon would be reduced (in the atmosphere). It is a long-term process to reduce
the carbon dioxide in the air," said the UPM Soil Management Department
lecturer.

She said biochar is not exactly a new finding as it has been in used since
thousands of years ago by the people in Terra Preat, Central Amazon, where
charcoal is used to make the soil fertile.

Rosenani said the study had earlier showed that biochar is able to improve
soil fertility by retaining water, absorbing fertiliser and hastening the
action of microbes, believed to be related to the stable carbon composition.

UPM'S CONTRIBUTION TO DEAL WITH CLIMATIC CHANGES

"In this aspect, biochar acts as a conditioner to improve the soil
fertility," she said.

UPM's Agriculture Faculty is studying whether the soil in this country is
suitable for the use of biochar produced by the EFB to boost crops'
productivity, making it the pioneer university in biochar research and
development in this country.

"Biochar is UPM's contribution towards aiding the nation to combat global
climatic changes," said the university's Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Nik Mustapha
R.Abdullah at the Malaysian Biochar Workshop held in the federal capital middle
of last December.

In the United States, biochar is being considered as an agent to mitigate
the climate change. The method is among the ways to reduce green house gas
emission discussed at the United Nations Conference On Climatic Changes (COP15)
held in Copenhagen, Denmark end of last December.

The biochar innovation, if commercialised would be able to reduce up to 3.4
million tones of the 70 million tonnes of carbon dioxide produced by the
nation's manufacturing sector each year. A significant contribution in terms of
reducing Malaysia's green house gas emission.

Now it is up to UPM and its associates to make the commercialisation of
this green tecnology a success as an alternative for the local industries to
move the nation's low-carbon economy, for a more sustainable future.
-- BERNAMA