ENERGY INEFFICIENCY AS A FORM OF
WASTE AT PALM OIL MILLS
One example of waste invisible to the naked eye
is energy inefficiency. Most of the time, engineers
tend to focus on energy efficiency (EE). But once
energy inefficiency is identified as a problem
area, then solutions can be derived to address it.
Here there is a slight distinction – this article is
not about how engineers can ratchet up EE but
instead how they can slash energy inefficiency.
In some ways a top-of-pipe approach is not
just an alternative to, but perhaps superior to an
end-of-pipe approach. Invariably it will involve an
improvement in efficiency of some kind so that
less resources are required to generate the same
results. So, it is question of what can be done at
inception rather than at final disposal.
It invites a convergence and rejuvenation
of traditional manufacturing and engineering
practices to see how we, as engineers, can
help improve the status quo towards a more
sustainable economy without sacrificing the
bottom line. Engineers, through technical
intervention, can create solutions for a better
world. This is continually taking place through
the adoption of innovative approaches by which
companies are creating value.
This approach can reap great benefits if we
are willing to transcend from traditional thinking
to Systems Thinking to arrive at novel solutions.
Traditional Thinking tends to focus on isolated
issues. In comparison, systems thinking focuses
on the inter-connectedness between things,
and the interaction of components over time
and within the context of larger systems to gain
insight into why systems behave the way they do.
When the two methods are juxtaposed, invariably
systems thinking-based analysis will be superior.
It may entail more efforts but has the potential to
yield outcomes that are more comprehensive and
is better able to consider long-term interests.
In applying systems thinking it may be pertinent
to remember Albert Einstein as having said, “If I
had only one hour to save the world, I would spend
55 minutes defining the problem, and only five
minutes finding the solution.”
This quote illustrates an important point, that
is, before jumping right into solving a problem,
we should step back and invest time and effort
to improve our understanding of it. The definition
of the problem is usually the focal point of all our
problem-solving efforts. As such, it makes sense
to devote as much attention and dedication to
problem definition as possible as it tends to
correlate to the quality of our solution. The practice
of Design Thinking adopts a similar approach.
While digital technologies are relatively recent
phenomena, engineering technologies driven by
scientific breakthroughs have been around for
decades. Engineers would do well to be more
receptive and find innovative ways of adopting or
adapting them to evolve new solutions.
Within the concept of WtW, systems thinking
has been applied to improve resource efficiency,
including energy efficiency at a palm oil mill as
a test case. The results and the patents that
resulted are shared in this article.
Ever since renewable energy (RE) came to
the fore, Malaysia has touted palm oil mills as
points of aggregation of biomass resources for RE
generation. In traditional thinking, the noticeable
empty fruit bunches (EFB) and palm oil mill
effluent (POME) discharged at palm oil mills were
seen in isolation as mill waste resources suitable
for monetising through biomass power plants for
dedicated electricity generation. Meanwhile, the
other process residues that are being channelled
into boiler furnaces in large quantities to power
the mills’ energy needs have been obscure and
somehow slipped the attention of engineers.
These overlooked biomass materials are the
pressed oil palm mesocarp fibre (MF) and palm
kernel shells (PKS), which are mostly recycled as
boiler fuel for high-pressure steam generation.
Adopting systems thinking to drive design, focus
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