Lessons-learned from waste briquettes and pellets study in Sumbawa

Written by Wiwin Iswandi Djola (Study Coordinator)

Marine debris is one of the biggest challenges for the marine life. With Yayasan Komunitas Penjaga Pulau, last year, I had a chance to explore solutions for this problem with young people of Sumbawa. We agree that behaviour change is a very complicated aspect of waste management. We thought, but, what if we can change waste to worth?

With the generous support from the Rufford Foundation, we were able to produce five products from waste: (i) briquettes and pellets from pure plastics waste, (ii) briquettes and pellets from combination of plastics and coconut shells, (iii) briquettes and pellets from combination of plastics and corn cobs, (iv) briquettes and pellets from coconut shell only, and (v) briquettes and pellets from corn cobs only. The process of making these products were very daunting because most of the processes were done manually (i.e., not using machinery). We tested them in laboratory for its calorific values.

We plan to publish the results in a peer-reviewed journal article. But we can share with you now that the laboratory test results were very promising. The products meet the Indonesia National Standard for co-firing (energy mix) in electricity plants. Waste briquette calorific values are higher than waste pellets. Briquettes require carbonisation process, while pellets do not. The type of plastics for briquettes and pellets are Low Density Polyethylene Plastic (LDPE) which is not recyclable and comprises the majority of plastic waste in the village.

Opportunities:

• Briquettes and pellets from plastic waste can only be used in electricity plants because the local people cannot use it for cooking as more studies need to be done so as not to harm the people. However, the local community can use briquettes and pellets from biomass waste such as coconut shell, rice husks, and corn cobs for cooking using the biomass stove.

• The capacity of the coal-based electricity plant in Lombok is 75 MW. Substitution of coal with waste to energy (including biomass and reduce-derived fuel – RDF) is planned to gradually increase from 5 % to 30%. The need for biomass and RDF to substitute coal is high

• Corn harvests are massive in West Nusa Tenggara Province during, more than 900,000 tons per year. This can be a reliable source of waste from biomass for waste to energy. For energy mix in electricity plants, plastic waste can be combined with biomass.

To be financially viable, we think that a district-wide or province-wide study on the potential of the biomass and waste should be undertaken. We also learned that price for waste/biomass briquette and pellets in Indonesia is still very low compared to other countries. However, as mentioned in the opportunities above, potential markets are available. The question now is, how do we seize this opportunity? Finally, I’d like to thank Dimas Mardiyanto, Muhammad Sadir, Lalu Kukuh Mahendra, Nandita Pasya Salsabila, and All Kabete Bajo Group Members for their time, energy, and discussions.

For more information, please contact ykpenjagapulau@gmail.com