A Comparative Study on Biogas Production between Day and Night at Sime Darby’s Palm Oil Mill

Freely emitted biogas at palm oil mills has been regarded as untapped energy source nowadays, despite being recognised as major contributor to the global warming. Up till now, most of palm oil mills are still operating with the conventional anaerobic digestion systems which may not spur biogas industry to life. This study shall explore biogas production between day and night under existing mill operating conditions at KKS Bukit Benut Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP). Biogas produced during day time was 62% as compared to 38% during night time with the total methane emission of 490.3 kg/day. The methane concentration recorded at the digester tank ranged from 58.7 to 68.5%. The correlations between various factors that may influence biogas production were investigated. The finding shows that substrate feeding is the most influencial factor leading to high biogas production during day time.