Palm oil empty fruit bunches (POEFBs) can be converted into levulinic acid (LA) and furfural, which are among the top building-block chemicals. The purpose of this study was to investigate separate and simultaneous kinetic model parameters for LA and furfural production from POEFBs, which were pretreated by soaking in aqueous ammonia (SAA). The highest LA yield, which was obtained at a reaction temperature of 170°C after 90 min in an acidic solution with a concentration of 1 M, was 52.1 mol%. The highest furfural yield was 27.94 mol%, which was obtained at a reaction temperature of 170°C after 20 min in an acidic solution with a concentration of 0.5 M. SAA pretreatment affected activation energy in glucose degradation reactions and favoured direct conversion of hemicellulose to furfural. The activation energy of LA production (EakHMF) increases with higher acid catalyst concentration, and the activation energy of furfural production (EakXYN) decreases with higher acid concentration. These trends in the activation energy occurred in both separate and simultaneous kinetic models. Simultaneous kinetic model is better to calculate kinetic parameters of LA and furfural production than separate kinetic models because the simultaneous kinetic model had a lower sum of square error (SSE) when estimating kinetic parameters.

New energy and renewable widely available in Indonesia. One of them is the biomass that can be used with gasification technology. Biomass is an organic matter to which derived from biological materials. This research was used integration gasification system with a gas engine, which works more properly with CO, and H2. The advantage of this biomass power plant compared the environmental impact on other types of plants such as coal-fired power plants, diesel power plants, etc. Therefore the potential of environmental impacts was generated, it is necessary to calculate quantitatively through the life cycle assessment methods. This research aimed to calculate impact assessment on electricity production from a Biomass Power Plant system through a life cycle assessment with boundary cradle to grave in Indonesia. The study revealed that greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of electricity production from an empty fruit bunch palm oil mill was 0.15 kg CO2-eq kWh–1. The gas engine was the highest GHG emission contributor during its life cycle. Empty fruit bunch as a source of biomass for electricity production was considered as climate-friendly power plant system due to its potential in reducing GHG emission from palm oil production and released lower GHG emission.

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The research was purposed to produce environmentally friendly biomass pellets as syngas fuel. The produced pellets dimension is 18 mm to 25 mm (length) and 4.5 mm (diameter). The best pellets made from single material is palm shell pellets with gasification time of 85 min · kg -1 biomass. The best pellets made from material mix is sugarcane bagasse and palm shell pellets, with similar gasification time. The palm shell pellets met the standard except for ash content. Pellets made from mixed material have less caloric value. Emissions test on gasification process has passed the emissions quality standard. Nomenclaturehp horse power h hour min minute kg • h -1 kilogram/hour kg • m -3 kilogram/cubic meter kJ • kg -1 kilojoule/kilogram mg • kg -1 milligram/kilogram mg • m -3 milligram/cubic meter MWe MegaWatt equivalent * Corresponding author. Tel.: +62 812 990 9695;

Tanaman nyamplung atau hutaulo merupakan tanaman yang tumbuh di banyak tempat di Indonesia. Tanaman ini menghasilkan biji yang mempunyai kadar minyak yang tinggi dan dapat diubah menjadi biodiesel. Salah satu masalah dalam proses purifikasi (pencucian) biodiesel kasar adalah kebutuhan air dan energi yang tinggi untuk pemanasan air tersebut. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk melakukan purifikasi/pencucian kering biodiesel dan menggantikan metode pencucian dengan air dan proses pengeringan. Percobaan dilakukan dengan mereaksikan minyak nyamplung dengan metanol (MeOH) pada suhu 65ºC menggunakan katalis NaOH 1% dari berat minyak. Rasio molar minyak nyamplung dan metanol adalah 1 : 11,5. Pencucian kering biodiesel kasar dilakukan dengan penambahan cleaning agent (CA), arang aktif (AA), dan campuran cleaning agent dan arang aktif (AACA). Pencucian kering dilakukan dengan mereaksikan biodiesel kasar dengan CA (1%, 3%, dan 5%), AA (1%, 3%, dan 5%), AACA (1%, 3%, dan 5%) dilanjutkan dengan penyaringan vakum. Hasil percobaan menunjukkan bahwa penambahan campuran CA dan AA (5%) ke dalam biodiesel menunjukkan hasil terbaik dalam memperoleh kandungan fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) sesuai SNI sebesar 96,5%.