Oil Palm Fruit Bunch
Oil Palm Fruit
CASE STUDY:
Applying Systems Thinking to Identify and
Address Process Inefficiencies at Palm
Oil Mills
Applying systems thinking enabled an engineer
to discover the following component areas of
inefficiency at palm oil mills:
a. Imbalance between process steam supply
and demand
The problem arises in practice because of the
nature of sterilisation of palm fruits at the mill –
currently carried out as a batch process – that
demands intermittent steam supply while the
process steam supply is constant. This gives rise
to frequent imbalances between process steam
supply and demand, which results in steam blowoff
to atmosphere alternating with high-pressure
steam make-up from the boiler.
Applying systems thinking provided the insight
to formulate a novel method to exploit the large
(almost 100%) fresh-water make-up for steam
generation in the mill to mitigate and isolate the
steam imbalance problem.
The method adjusts the admission of process
steam for feedwater heating depending on the
imbalance between the supply and demand of
process steam as a mechanism for buffering
the intermittent and fluctuating nature of steam
demands. The thermal storage capacity in the
boiler feedwater system facilitates the method.
The method serves to arrest or greatly
attenuate process steam pressure fluctuations,
thereby shielding the erratic steam demand from
imparting itself onto the CHP plant, whereby
Oil Palm Mesocarp Fibre
Palm Kernel Shells
allowing the CHP plant to operate in steady state
and efficiently. It helps curb process steam losses
and steam make-up while maintaining a steady
process steam pressure across the balance of
mill processes. Steady state operation and lower
steam demand also facilitate existing boiler
operations to function at higher thermal efficiency
levels.
A patent has already been granted for the said
new method.
73