CURRENT STATUS OF BIOMASS UTLISATION IN MALAYSIA Hoi Why Kong Forest Research Institute Malaysia 521 OO, Kepong,

Selangor Malaysia ABSTRACT It is estimated that the total wood wastes generated annually in Peninsular Malaysia is very substantial. During logging operations, about 43% of the total tree volume is left behind in the forest. In the sawmilling industry, about 13% of the sawdust are generated. During processing in the plywood mills, about 53% of the logs are discarded as wastes. Presently most of the sawmills use these wastes are used as fuel to run boilers to provide steam for kiln drying operations. Wood residues are also being used in other industries such as for brick making and tobacco curing. Other current uses are the manufacture of charcoal, briquettes and processed heat through gasification 1.0 INTRODUCTION

Energy is central to human development and progress. It has, today, become a basic human need that is necessary to improve individual quality of life and support social and economic growth. However, energy also has a powerful impact upon our environment, be it local, regional or global. The power of its impact must be viewed more seriously for two reasons. Firstly, the world's energy needs continue to grow, and under the business-as-usual scenario, the projections show a 70 per cent growth in the next 20 years; and Secondly almost 80 percent of the world's energy consumption today is fossil-based, and the business-as-usual projections show new energy demand growth will predominantly be fossil-based, meaning the fossil fuel share of the world's energy consumption is set to become bigger. The world has a daunting task and collective responsibility to ensure all energy development, production, transport, storage and consumption are more carefully managed to ascertain the impact of energy upon our environment is minimal. Whilst the utilisation of fossil energy is causing major local environmental and health concerns, an even bigger global concern is the emission of greenhouse gases and the consequences of global warming. All projections also seem to predict increasing energy prices, and this will certainly translate into inflation and slower economic growth, which will affect the developing countries first and most. Another severe impact upon developing countries will be the increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) studies on a scenario of a doubling of carbon dioxide concentrations reported a 2.0 per cent to 9.0 per cent loss in gross national product (or GNP) for a developing country as compared to a 1.0 per cent to 2.0 per cent loss in GNP for a developed country. Industrialization revolution began in the West almost two centuries ago. Now, when it's the turn for developing countries to become industrialised, it becomes unacceptable. When the North grew, the environment was not an issue of concern. But, when it is the turn for the South to grow, it prevails. Since carbon dioxide is accepted as the largest man-made contributor to the greenhouse effect, let's look the statistics we have from the International Energy Agency. In 1995, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) countries was responsible for more than half of the total carbon dioxide emissions. And, in terms of per capita emissions, OECD recorded 11.08 tonnes of carbon dioxide per capita compared to the world's average of 3.92 tonnes of carbon dioxide per capita, that is, almost four times higher.

Both the developed and developing countries must stand united in the conviction that the welfare of this one earth is our common responsibility and safeguarding it for futurity is our moral duty. International attention and consultations on safeguarding our environment has been going on for almost three decades, since the 1972 Stockholm Conference on Human Environment. But, our differences in opinion and priorities, and more importantly, the great North - South divide continues to impede our resolve to do something, despite the numerous calls of our scientific community to show a greater sense of urgency. This divide is best demonstrated by the tough negotiations and manoeuvring that goes on the Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) since 1995. As we sit together here in Kuala Lumpur to set ourselves a new global priority, the subsidiary Bodies of UNFCCC continue yet another round of consultations in Lyon (France) to seek a way forward for the Sixth Conference of Parties later this year. Our only hope is that there will be equity in what is achieved in the end. The Kyoto Protocol under UNFCCC aims for a 5.2 per cent emissions reduction below that of 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. Though it was initially agreed that there will be no commitments expected from developing countries, catch phrases such as "meaningful participation" have been sprinkled to cajole commitments. One of the mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol that is being popularised is the Clean Development Mechanism (or CDM) which is said to hold great promises for developing countries. However, there are some who wonder if the real purpose of Clean Development Mechanism is to help the industrialised countries meet their commitments to reduce emissions. It is argued that Clean Development Mechanism is the cheaper option for industrialised countries to meet their reduction targets. Under the Mechanism, developed countries will pay for cleaner projects in the developing countries and earn the emissions credits, thereby saving domestic action to cut consumption. We believe from the way the Mechanism is being defined, developing countries will end up competing amongst themselves to get the limited money that developed countries will offer to earn emission credits. This will mean costs for developed countries can go down by as much as a tenth, and it can be even less, if the market is efficient. We hope equity will prevail. The Climate Change negotiations must give a fair deal to developing countries.

The biggest challenge facing many developing countries today is to provide the basic services to all people, including access to commercial energy services to their poor, particularly the rural poor. Energy as said earlier is central for food preparation, clean water, lighting, education, health and better opportunities for home and village economic activities - all leading to the prospect of a better quality of life. Rural electrification is key to provision of many essential services and central to integrated rural or village development, particularly as we strive to become a digital society. The World Energy Council estimates that 500 kWh (kilowatt-hour) per person per annum should be the minimum target when we plan for rural electrification, taking into account a 20-year growth in rural energy demand. It is estimated that for the 2 billion people, this would translate into 200 GW (gigawatts) of new capacity, requiring an investment of US$600 billion over twenty years. And, this is the estimates for an absolute minimum. The high connection and distribution costs of rural electrification, and poor economies of scale put a very high cost on rural electrification, and a heavy burden on developing countries. A Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) study reported that rural electrification projects tend to provide the desired results only if provided in conjunction with other resources and infrastructure support, making the burden even greater. We recognise that rural electrification cannot wholly be based on the extension of the main electricity grid. In much of the cases, decentralised solutions would be the cost-effective choice, and in many of these cases, renewables like modern bio-mass, solar photo-voltaic, wind, mini/micro-hydro and other renewables would be most suited. Renewable energy being indigenous offers realistic solutions for our rural energy poor, if technological advancements can provide larger capacities for the resource that is locally available. Energy efficiency must, of course, be a key component of these solutions. A key factor that impedes renewable energy solutions is the high front-end cost for the technology, even though the fuel is virtually free. Administrators and utilities often complain that the argument of cheaper or free fuel does not hold because we tend to pay the fuel savings up-front in terms of capital cost for the technology. Of course, there are other reasons besides the high cost of technology, such as because the economies-of-scale are low, the cost of production and supply of these installations run high.

This is where we can pool our resources to create the required market size for bulk production and to support investments in technological advances for greater efficiency and capacity. In Asia and the Pacific, for example, China and India can play a lead role in regional integration for a bigger market size. In Malaysia, under the current five-year development plan which ends this year, we have spent almost half a billion ringgit for rural electrification alone, and a third of this is spent on alternatives systems where standalone solar home systems take the biggest share. Total coverage, today, stands at about 98 per cent in peninsular Malaysia, 75 per cent in Sarawak and 70 per cent in Sabah. More Money will be allocated in the next five-year plan beginning next year, and we hope the lessons learnt thorough the implementation of renewable energy systems over the last five years, will provide the scope for better services in the next five years. We have to continuously upgrade the energy services we provide to our rural communities to fulfil not only their increasing household needs as they begin to afford more end-users, but also to bring more possibilities in education, health, and other social services, as well as income generation. Early next year, Malaysia will be launching a major renewable energy programme that is aimed at gridconnecting small renewable energy co-generation plants to achieve a 5 per cent share of our total electricity demand, by the year 2005. While increasing the renewable energy share of our total energy consumption is the primary objective of this programme, a key motivation for pushing this programme is to promote distributed generation. Palm oil mill wastes have been identified as the biggest renewable energy resource in the country. Although a quarter of this waste is being sent back to the oil palm fields to serve as soil conditioners and fertilisers, a significant number of mills face disposal problems due to stringent environmental regulation. Many of these mills are located at rural sites, and they provide a realistic scope for rural electrification. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, If the next twenty years is a reasonable time-frame within which we aim to meet the challenge of global rural energy poverty and provide reasonable hope to the more than 2 billion people in the developing world, at least 100 million people must be connected annually. In contrast, the rate of connection in the last twenty years has been about 40 million a year. Unless we step up our efforts, we will not be able to provide realistic hope to our rural energy poor. In my personal opinion, only if the 2 billion are connected and have reasonable access to affordable modern energy services, can we claim to have a sustainable global energy system. We cannot possibly claim to work for the sake of our environment and futurity, if we fail to recognise that equity is central to sustainability, and sustainable development. Therefore, renewable energy and resource efficiency must become the cornerstone of all energy supply and consumption. As we can see, the progress and pace towards a sustainable global agency system so far is insufficient to meet the challenge before us. We need to work with a greater appreciation of the existing inequitable distribution, a greater understanding of our actions and our common responsibility, a greater sense of urgency and a greater commitment to international co-operation and partnerships, in order to promote a global energy system that supports sustainable development. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, The new priority in our efforts to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency is to set rural energy poverty eradication without damaging rural environment as our number one goal. This does not preclude conventional fuels. As I said earlier, conventional fuels will hold the predominant share of the world's total energy supply for a long time to come. However, renewable energy offers a more realistic option for many of our rural communities, as the resource is indigenous. We need to focus on the technologies and their costs. We must also make energy resource efficiency a key component of the supply - demand chain. The World Solar Commission and its partners have worked hard towards setting global, regional and national priorities to promote renewable energy and energy conservation of rural poor and the environment. The World Solar Programme 1996 - 2005 has drawn the attention of the governments, intergovernmental bodies, private sector, funding agencies and non-governmental organisations. Many projects are being implemented under this Programme, and the Commission has worked from region to region promoting greater action, through Business and Investment Forums like our meeting today, focussing on the Asia and the Pacific region. The World Solar programme has reached its mid-term point, and the time is right for critical review of its achievements and its goals, as well. In its review, it is hoped that the World Solar Commission will consider how it can support developing countries, and particularly the rural energy poor, in international consultation in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Funding and financing clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency projects and programme for a sustainable future is indeed our biggest challenge. This Forum is specially dedicated to this issue. Looking at the list of speakers, I am confident you will have very meaningful and thought-provoking deliberations, and some new innovative mechanisms that can help us meet this challenge will emerge. I also take this opportunity to put on record Malaysia's appreciation for the support and the global partnership that governments, inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations, funding institutions and the private sector have given the World Solar Programme 1996 - 2005. The World Solar Programme 1996 - 2005, today, stands as the single biggest global initiative through the broad partnerships and co-operation among governments and organisations to promote the adoption and the widest possible utilisation of renewable energy sources and energy conservation. The United Nations General Assembly's support to this initiative is well demonstrated by the two Resolutions, favouring the World Solar Programme 1996 - 2005 that were unanimously adopted in October 1998 and December 1999. On this note, I hereby officially declare open the Business and Investment Forum for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Asia and the Pacific Region 2000. Thank you.

The total land area in Malaysia amounts to 32.90 million hectares [1]. The total land area under natural forest and agriculture in Malaysia is summarised in Table 1 Table 1 Land area under natural forest and agriculture in Malaysia. million ha % of land area _____________________________________________ Natural forest 20.10 61.0 Agriculture 4.89 14.9 ______________________________________________ The major agricultural crops grown in Malaysia is rubber (39.67%), oil palm (34.56%), cocoa (6.75%), rice (12.68%) and coconut (6.34%). One of the major characteristics of the forestry and agricultural sector is the production of large quantities of processing residues which have no economic value. Their presence in recent years poses a major disposal problem now that burning is being actively discouraged by the Department of Environment of Malaysia. Forestry residues Forestry or wood residues are defined as those forms of wood that cannot be marketed at a profit from a given logging or manufacturing operation under the current economic situation and state of technological development. In Malaysia wood residues can be classified as follows: a. Logging residues.

These are residues generated during the various phases of the logging operation. These

residues come in the form of bark, stumps, tops, branches, broken logs, defective logs, injured standing trees and others. b. Primary manufacturing residues. These are residues generated in the primary wood-based industries. These are residues that include slabs, edgings, trimmings, sawdust and others. c. Plywood residues. These are residues generated by the plywood mills in the country. These are in the form of veneer cores, defective ends and irregular pieces of veneer sheets. d. Secondary manufacturing residues.

These are residues generated by the planing mills, moulding plants flooring mills, furniture factories and others. These residues are in the form of sawdust, planer shavings, small pieces of lumber trimmings, edgings, barks, fragments and others. It is difficult to quantify exactly the residues generated from each of these sources. Jalaluddin et al. [14] reported that the estimated amounts of residues generated by the forest in Malaysia are as follows Table 2 Quantity of residues generated by the forestry industry. Source million m3 _________________________________________________ Logging residues 5.10 Primary manufacturing residues 2.92 Plywood residues 0.91 Secondary residues 0.90 _________________________________________________ Total 9.83 _________________________________________________ Agricultural residues Apart from residues generated by the forestry sector, the agricultural sector also generates a huge amount of waste. The main sources of wastes from the agricultural sector is summarised in Table3 [10]. Table 3 Quantity of residues generated by the agricultural sector in 2000. Source million m3 ________________________________________________ Rubberwood residues* 11.32 Oil palm residues 8.69 Rice husk residues 3.41 Total 23.42 ________________________________________________ *Based on an extraction rate of 100.5 tonne/ha and excluding residues left behind during replanting programme. About 75% comes from

rubber smallholdings [2]. Out of the total quantity of residues generated, only about 9.30 million m3 or 27.0% is used either as fuel for the kiln drying of timber, for the manufacture of bricks, the curing of tobacco leaves, the drying rubber-sheets and for the manufacture of products such as particleboard and fibreboard. The rest has to be disposed of by burning. The use of biomass (particularly rubberwood) for the generation of energy has been going on for the past 30 years. The aim of this paper is to review recent developments in the thermal conversion of biomass into energy. As there have been a large number of developments within research institutions and higher learning institutions, it will not be possible to describe all of them. Only those thermal conversion technologies that appear to be technically promising is discussed. PRESENT USE OF BIOMASS AS FUEL IN MALAYSIA. Biomass Conversion Technologies The energy in solid wastes particularly biomass can be extracted either by direct combustion or by conversion into a more valuable and usable forms of energy. Usually this will be in the forms of solid, liquid or gaseous fuels or upgrading into higher value added products for the chemical industries. Methods are available and being developed to convert the solid wastes into a more useful and usable energy. Their processes are classified into two main groups, the biological and non-biological processes. The biological process or the wet process led to the anaerobic methane generation or the ethanol fermentation production. The non-biological, or dry process, is mainly of the thermal processes. Over the past two decades, the thermal conversion technology has gained much attention worldwide due to its potential in the conversion of wastes into energy in a large scale and economical way. There are three main thermal processes of converting solid wastes into energy pyrolysis, gasification and combustion. Each process gives different range of products. The primary products from thermal conversion processes can be either gas, liquid or solid. These products can be used directly as raw fuel, or they can be subjected to further treatment and processes to produce secondary products such as higher value and quality fuel or chemical products. The utilisation of these residues seems appropriate only in decentralised technological applications in the rural scenario. This is an advantage for the rural folk, on the account of the social development and technological education of the rural region. Priority to its utilisation as fuel, the agro-residues can also compete with other conventional sources for utilisation such as food, animal feed, fiber applications, fertilisers or chemical applications etc. The basis of agro-residues utilisation strategy should therefore be process on site and converted to value-added products and subsequently to goods where they were later dispatched. Biomass are usually of high moisture content and low in bulk density and consequently have relatively low calorific values. The energy content of the wastes varies according to their moisture and residual oil contents. In most agricultural wastes, the size of the wastes does not varies much due to the nature of the crops shape thus making it easier to handle and utilise less energy in the pre-treatment process of the wastes. The case would be different if compare to coal or municipal solid wastes where the physical and

chemical properties are not homogeneous. It have negligible amount of sulphur content and most of them contain low ash compared to coal. With the constrain of harvesting, collecting and transportation cost of biomass, the best utilisation of extracting energy from biomass is at the mill site where the crops are process with abundant of biomass available decentralized energy production. The burning mechanisms of biomass are divided in four stages. Firstly, heating and drying occurs in the non-reacting solid phase. After the moisture have been driven off, with increasing in the surrounding temperature, pyrolysis devolatilisation process occurs. Both the liquid and gas phase pyrolysis oxidise with air where the diffusion flame combustion take place. The volatile matter content of biomass can provide a substantial amount of the total heat released during combustion. When the volatiles have burn out, then the char combustion takes place where oxygen was able to reach the surface of the char. There are two rate-controlling mechanisms for the char oxidation the rate of mass transfer of oxygen concentration to the char surface and the kinetics at the surface. The char will combusted until the ash are formed as long it will not elutriated out of the combustor. Earlier history show that the major direct combustion usage are in the household sector of the rural communities. Presently, direct combustion of biomass were used in large industries to produce power and heat which is the simplest route of energy recovery from this waste materials. There are various combustion technologies available in the market but it suitability depends on the characteristics of the biomass itself. Generally Malaysian biomass could be burn efficiently in a moving inclined bed combustion unit. Staged combustion are used to improve the emissions standard. The combustion of biomass consist of volatile combustion and the char combustion. Therefore, the residence time for the two kinds of combustion will be different. Thus, the design for the combustor will also be different for different type of biomass. The heat from the combustion process can then be used for drying, milling processes and raising steam for electricity generation. In intermediate industries, direct combustion of wood fuels are used for brick and lime making, pottery making, tobacco curing, rubber and tea drying, other agriculture crops and fishery drying. a. Solid wood fuel combustor There has been substantial development in biomass combustion equipment over recent years particularly with industrial unit to use rubberwood as fuel. In Malaysia there are basically only limited local companies that manufactures solid fuel burners for the local market. Guthrie Industries Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. manufactures the New Zealand Waterwide [4] burner system under license. The system was introduced in 1985 for using wood for the drying of rubber-sheets and cocoa beans. The burner is a single compact unit with controlled combustion at the primary chamber. The gas is then reacted in the secondary chamber. Complete smokeless combustion is attained in the third chamber by means of a patented cycloburner resulting in an exhaust gas free of taint and odour. For the drying of cocoa beans the exhaust gas is utilised by firing into the heat exchanger pipes (Model HE Series and WH Series). For the drying of rubbersheets, the exhaust gas is directly fired in the boiler (DF Series). The Waterwide burner has been used by the rubber and cocoa industry for the last five years in the country. Recently there has been keen interest in a direct firing solid fuel burner, with a preheated model with sliding roller doors for charging and an indirect firing/heat exchanger model with 8 different capacities ranging from 315 MJ/hr to 10500 MJ/hr.

At present some of the models are retrofitted into existing diesel dryers. b. Rotary pyrolysis combustor On an industrial scale, the town council of the State of Trengganu had in 1988 installed an industrial scale rotary pyrolysis-combustion system with a capacity of 100 tonne/day [5]. This system is the biggest biomass combustor system to be installed in the country. The unit is coupled to a waste heat boiler with a superheater and a four stage steam turbine. The system is capable of supplying 1.5 MWe into the national grid. c. Power plant operated on rice husk A mechanically agitated furnace formerly known as the King-Chastain (KC) Energy Reactor for combustion and pyrolysis of rice husk has been installed at three different sites in the States of Perak, Selangor and Kelantan. The system was produced and developed by Producers of Rice Mills Energy Systems (PRM) from Stuttgart, Arkansas, USA. The system has a continuous reactor with a capacity of 200-1500 kg/h with a autofeeder operating at 13% moisture content. All the three units have been commissioned on a drying capacity of 5 tonne/hr of paddy in mid 1988. A present non of the system is connected to a steam generator. d. Power plant operated on rice husk Another two power plant that involves the direct combustion of rice husk is located in the State of Kedah. Each plant has an output capacity of 350kW each. The first system is the Parkinson System built by Parkinson Cowan, U .K. in conjunction with Terry Corporation, USA. The boiler is a 3 pass horizontal fire tube type with a fluidised bed furnace Husk is delivered into the furnace by a pneumatic feeder from a husk silo. After an initial heating by an oil burner, the husk ignites and burns without auxiliary fuel. The steam turbine is a 3 stage Terry turbine with a capacity to drive a 350 kW generator. The second system is the lmaco System installed by the Industrial Machinery Company of USA. In this system, the furnace is an air suspension furnace, lined with refractory. A mechanical feeder is used to feed the vertical cyclonic furnace. The boiler in this system is a water tube type. The generator output of this system is also 350kW. The fuel consumption of both systems is approximately 1 tonne/hr of husk of which 30% were obtained from existing stockpile while the rest from the husk output from the rice mill. The electricity generated are utilised in the milling and drying of rice. Wood briquette manufacture Wood briquetting is simply the process of converting loose wood wastes into a dense, compact and consolidated unit through the application of high temperature and pressure. Generally, no binders is required because the granular material becomes self binding at an elevated temperature of 1630C and pressure. There are currently five wood briquetting manufacturing companies in Malaysia. The most commonly used briquetting press in Malaysia is the screw extrusion type. These extruders are simple to operate and require only two workers to maintain. Typically each extruder can produce about 120kg of briquettes per hour. The briquettes produced are about 30cm in length and hexagonal in shape (typically with a 1cm hole in the centre to assist combustion). The extrusion pressure is about 2 tonne/cm2. The

briquettes have a dark brown, glossy exterior with the usual colour of sawdust inside. They are easy to break and readily absorbs moisture when exposed. If soaked in water they will crumble within a few minutes. However, the addition of about 30% of charcoal fines to the sawdust will ensure that the briquetted products to be much more resistant to moisture content variation. Briquetting technology is still new in Malaysia. The financial analysis of a briquetting plant in Malaysia is summarised Table 4 [14]. Table 4 Estimated initial costs in a commercial briquetting plant. Items Cost (RM) ____________________________________________ Machinery 900000 Land and building cost 239037 ____________________________________________ Working capital Labour cost 58950 Material stock 118200 General expenses 124000 ____________________________________________ Total investment 1340187 ____________________________________________ 4RM=1$.The financial analysis of the briquetting plant in Malaysia based on export price to South Korea is summarised in Table 5 Table 5 Financial analysis of a briquetting plant in Malaysia.(RM) Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total ___________________________________________________________________ Sales revenue 2358000 2751000 2751000 7860000 ___________________________________________________________________ Raw material 72000 84000 84000 240000 Direct wages 180000 213000 254000 647000 Packing material 198000 254100 279510 731610 Transportation 540000 693000 762300 1995300 ___________________________________________________________________ Total direct cost 1278000 1580100 1715910 4574010 ___________________________________________________________________ Office rental 12000 13200 14520 39720 Telephone/Telegram 24000 26400 29040 79440 Office expenses 12000 12000 12000 36000 Traveling expenses 48000 48000 48000 144000 Upkeep of factory 72000 92400 101640 266040 Salary and allowances 120000 132000 145200 397200 Depreciation 150000 150000 150000 450000 ___________________________________________________________________ Total overhead 438000 474000 500400 1412400 ___________________________________________________________________

Total direct and 1716000 2054100 2216310 1412400 overhead cost Net profit 642000 696000 534690 1873590 % Return on sales 27.23 25.33 19.44 72.00 revenue ___________________________________________________________________ In the calculations the following assumptions are made: a. The labour cost for the plant has been estimated by considering the requirement of skilled and unskilled labour throughout the year for both the operation and maintenance of the plant. The direct wages are estimated to increase by 10% annually b. Raw material cost has been estimated from the yearly production of carbonised briquettes. Due consideration is given for the weight losses while conveying, drying, separating and briquetting of the raw material. c. Plant power cost is estimated from the energy requirement of each equipment and its operation period, It is not possible to measure the exact power requirement of each equipment without affecting the production output of the factory. d. Other assumptions made are a 10% annual increment in the cost of packing materials, transportation, office rental, telephone and telegrams, upkeep of machinery and factory, salaries and allowances. The depreciation of machinery is taken as 20% of fixed rate. Pyrolysis of biomass Of the various thermal technologies available, pyrolysis seems to have the highest potential to be explored and developed for the production of liquid oil known as pyrolytic oil. Being liquid, the oil is a high energy density fuel and therefore is easily transported and stored. The oil can be burnt directly in steam generation plants, or converted to high-grade fuel in a bio-refinery plant, or alternatively burnt in a gas turbine. The upgraded oil of higher calorific value and quality fuel oil could be used in the internal combustion engines and other thermal engineering system. Therefore, pyrolysis for the production of the liquid fuel can be considered as an attractive means of the utilization of solid wastes. Pyrolysis conversion process is defined as thermal degradation of biomass without complete combustion that is in the absence of air or with very limited amount of oxidising agents. Depending on the type of process used, three main products, which are formed, are char (solid), pyrolytic oil (liquid) and gaseous fuel of low heating value. The process runs in a reactor where heat is applied to the solid waste and as a result the volatile matter is separated from the char residue. The volatile matter is composed of gases and condensable vapours. They are then cooled below their dew point to obtain liquid products and the remaining is in gaseous form. The nature and relative proportions of the pyrolysis products depend very much on the pyrolysis method and the process parameters. Recent studies found that the most important operating parameters are the residence time, operating temperature, heating rate, feed rate, particles size, operating pressure and the presence of catalyst. The chemical and physical compositions, moisture and ash content of the biomass also determined the quality of the products. More research work presently are aiming toward

finding the optimum process conditions which will give higher yield and better quality liquid oil product A typical pyrolysis process developed at the Forest Research Institute is that wood is heated in air tight ovens or retorts in a limited supply of air. The high temperature in the oven breaks down the wood into gases, a watery mixture of oil and char. By various modifications, it is possible to produce different proportions of charcoal and other liquid products. A typical pyrolysis yield from rubberwood is shown in Table 6. Table 6 Pyrolysis product yield per dry tonne of rubberwood. Products Yield (kg) __________________________________ Charcoal 360 Acids 50 Tars 80 Spirits 15 Gases 200 ___________________________________ The quality of charcoal was found to be comparable to that of industrial grade with an average fixed carbon of 80%. The pyroligneous acids were found to be suitable for use as a coagulant in the natural rubber industry. Tar, when distilled can be used as a plasticizer comparable to Durex R, a petroleum based products. Although the spirits form a minor proportion of the product fraction, they can be used for denaturing ethyl alcohol. The gas was found to have a calorific value of 8000 kJ/kg and can be used as a fuel to supply heat to the retort. Wood gasification Biomass gasification has the potential for providing clean gaseous fuel for combustion in boiler and in internal combustion engines for power generation and process heating. Charcoal are usually used rather than the wood itself so as to produce gases which is relatively free of tar, water and the corroding components. Downdraft gasifier is the popular design which specifically eliminate the tars and oils from the gas for gas engines uses. The moisture is driven off at the top drying zone before entering the pyrolysis zone. The tars and oils passes through the bed of hot char where they are cracked to simpler gases. The gas velocity is low in the downdraft gasifier and the ash settles throughout the bottom grate so that very little is carried over with the gases. Prior to the utilisation of the gas in engines, the gases are pass through the dry cleaning system, which usually consists of cyclone, filter bags and gas coolers. Presently, the latest technology on gasification is the biomass integrated gasification combined cycle where initially it was designed for coal gasification which uses the pressurised fluidised bed system. In Malaysia, the conversion of wood into gaseous fuels to produce electricity has been found to be a promising system particularly in the rural areas. The comparative cost of generating electricity through gasification and by the conventional diesel engine system for a 35 kW power output in Malaysia is illustrated in Table 7 and Table 8.

Table 7 Comparison between a gasifier and diesel system. Characteristics Gasifier System Diesel System __________________________________________________________________ Installed capacity 35 (kW) 35 (kW) Lifetime (yr) 10 15 Initial investment RM 6250 9375 Cost ex-works 3125 3125 Freight, insurance, spares 938 1250 __________________________________________________________________ Total investment a 10313 13750 __________________________________________________________________ Operating hours (hr/yr) 3000 3000 Load factor (% of full load) 80 80 Total kWh/yr 84000 84000 __________________________________________________________________ Fuel cost Diesel (ltr/yr)b 9744 31416 Cost per year ( @RMO.80/ltr) 7795 25133 Rubberwood used (tonne/yr)c 124 Cost per year (@ RM4O/tonne) 4940 __________________________________________________________________ Total fuel cost 12735 25133 __________________________________________________________________ Other cost Labour cost RM/yr d 3600 1800 Total maintenance cost e 1050 525 Total lubricants cost f (RM/yr) 1260 840 __________________________________________________________________ a Gasifier cost based on local fabrication cost and diesel engine locally assembled. b. For diesel engine, diesel consumption = 0.374 l/kWh For dual fuel for gasifier = 0.116 l/lWh c Specific fuel wood consumption for gasifier = 1.47 kg/kWh d For gasifier, 2 workers For diesel gen-set, 1 worker e Maintenance cost = RM 0.0125/kWh f Lubricant cost. = RMO.0125/kWh = RMO.01 51/kWh Table 8 Results of economic analysis. Cost components (RM) Gasifier Diesel ________________________________________________ Annualised capital cost 1678 1808 Annual operating cost -Fuel (diesel) 7795 25133 (wood) 4940 Labour 3600 1800 Maintenance 1050 525 Lubricants 1260 840

_______________________________________________ Total annual cost 20324 30106 ________________________________________________ Energy cost 0.242 0.358 ________________________________________________ From Table 8, for every kWh of electricity generated, there is a net saving of RMO.116 or 32% of the cost of generating electricity by diesel engine. In rural areas where wood is available, gasification is a very feasible system. Biogas Biogas is produce from the anaerobic bacterial decomposition of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. In Malaysia, the potential are in the palm oil mills which generate about 3.5 tonnes of liquid effluents per ton of palm oil produced. Anaerobic process were used during which biogas of 28m3 per ton of POME (palm oil mill effluent) is produced. Utilising the gas in gas engine could generate 1.8 kWh per m3 of biogas. There also biogas production from palm oil mill effluent to product methane gas for power generation and process heating. The biogas with methane content of 60-70%, 3040% C02 and small traces of hydrogen sulphide is used as fuel in steam boilers and thermal heaters in the palm oil refinery. In a conventional palm oil mill, about 2.5m3 of POME is generated for every tonne of palm oil produced. About 28m3 of biogas are generated for every m3 of POME treated. In a gas engine it was reported that about 1.8kWh of electricity could be generated from one m3 of biogas. Usually the gas are distributed nearby the palm oil mill to other industries which uses gases such as ceramic products industry or palm oil refining industries. Landfill Gas Landfill sites contain buried organic matter from municipal solid wastes. As this organic matter decomposes it produces a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide known as landfill gas. Presently, there are increasing number of interest in Malaysia to convert the liability into an asset by using the landfill gas to produce energy for sale. Since landfill sites have negligible gas storage capacity these greenhouse gases migrate from the landfill into the atmosphere. The need of regulations which will require the control of landfill gas emissions by means of extraction or combustion of the gas. The substantial methane content of landfill gas has enabled it to be utilised as a fuel source for industrial heating, steam production or power generation. Landfill gas is generated by the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter deposited in landfills. It consists mostly of about 55% methane and 45% carbon dioxide together with water vapour and minor quantities of organic compounds. In utilisation of the extracted gas from the landfill site, process required to remove moisture and particulate matter and enrichment of the methane gas prior utilising as gas for power generation. Gas wells are drilled into the landfill site at particular intervals and are linked via an underground piping network to a central gas compression and processing facilities. Palm diesel Biomass can be converted into transportation fuels such as ethanol, methanol, biodiesel and other liquid fuel products and additives derived from these materials. Its could be used in neat form or blended with gasoline. Palm diesel (Palm oil methyl ester) has successfully run on unmodified engines of buses, truck and taxies under trial run

programme. Later, crude palm oil (CPO) were used directly on Esbett engines fixed with the oil heating device on several Mercedes cars were successful demonstrated on trial basis. However, to date none of these biofuels are commercially feasible in Malaysia. Energy from Municipal Solid Wastes On an industrial scale, the town council of the State of Trengganu had installed an industrial scale rotary pyrolysis-combustion system with a capacity of 100 tonnes/day. This system is the biggest municipal solid waste combustor system to be installed in the country. The unit is coupled to a waste heat boiler with a superheater and a four-stage steam turbine. The system is capable of supplying 1.5 MWe to the national grid. Palm Oil Solid Waste Fibers and empty fruit bunches are used in making mulch mat for planting medium and medium density fibres board. Depending on the quality of the waste, it can be produce to make animal feeds with some added ingredients or be pelletised to make fuel pellets. Char are used to make activated carbon for water treatment and gas adsorbent materials, pollution control materials, carbon sieve materials for gas separation and microwave shielding material. Pyrolysis oil from oil palm shell contains a substantial amount of phenols that could be extracted to produce resins. The palm fronds, fibers and empty fruit bunches could be used in the manufacturing of pulp, furfural and lignin. The palm oil mill effluent (POME) are could be converted in producing bio-plastic from the waste effluent. CONCLUSION Peninsular Malaysia generates large amounts of wood and agricultural residues, the bulk of which are not being currently utilised for any further downstream operations. To fully tap the economic potential, the government has actively encouraged industries that are able to reduce the wastage. Various studies conducted in Malaysia have indicated that the use of biomass as a source of energy is one of the most promising ways of effectively using the residues. REFERENCES 1. Anon., Profile of the Primary Commodity Sector in Malaysia. Ministry of Primary Industries Malaysia 1995, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 177pp. 2. Anon., Annual Report of Rubber Industry Small Holders Development Association, Peninsular Malaysia, 1995 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 3. Bridgwater A.V and Hoi W.K., Biomass resources for energy in Malaysia. Paper presented at the 5th European Conference on Biomass for Energy and Industry, 9-13 October 1989, Lisbon, Portugal. 4. Fong S.K., The Guthrie Waterwide burner system. An alternative heat source. Guthrie Industries Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Kelang Selangor. 5. Farid N.A., Biomass production and technology in Malaysia. Paper presented at Experts Consultation on charcoal\prodution and Technology in S.E.Asia, May 1983, Bangkok, Thailand.

6. Hoi, W.K , Charcoal production and technology in Malaysia. Paper presented at Experts Consultation on Charcoal Production and Technology in S.E Asia, May 1983, Bangkok, Thailand. 7. Hoi, W.K., Production of charcoal by the transportable metal kiln. Paper presented at Rural Technology Conference, December 1~985, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 8. Hoi, W.K., Kajian pengeluaran arang dengan menggunakan dapur arang beehive. M.Sc thesis, National University of Malaysia, 1987 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. 9. Hoi, W.K, Razak M.A, Puad E and Azmi, M.H ,Wood as a potential source of energy. Paper presented at the Conference of Forestry and Forest Products Research 90, October 1990, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, Selangor, Malaysia. 10. Hoi,W.K, An assessment of the total quantity of forestry and agricultural residues generated in Malaysia, 1997 (unpublished). 11. Kam, S., Technical information of KNS Machinery Manufactures Sdn. Bhd, 1989, Lot 9616, Jalan Kuchai Lama, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 12. Razak,M.A and Hoi,W.K., Development of wood energy in Malaysia. Paper presented at New and Renewable Sources of Energy in ASEAN, December 1989, Manila, Philippines. 13 Razak M.A and Hoi,W.K.,Wood briquetting- An investment opportunity in Malaysia, 1996 (unpublished), 2Opp. 14 Jalaluddin, H, Derus,A.R and Wong,W.C.,Wood residues and its utilisation in Peninsular Malaysia. Paper presented at National Seminar on Management and Utilisation of Industrial Wastes, 1984. Agricultural University of Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.