A techno-economic analysis of biogas plant from palm oil waste

Renewable energy is one of the vital sources to meet partially the global energy demand of developed as well as developing countries. Biogas plant can be one of the major sources of renewable energy in Malaysia as huge amount of palm oil waste is available. Biogas plant can be of different types of which fixed dome and floating cover are in use in many countries for many years. The bag design is becoming popular in many countries. The fixed dome design is used in various palm oil mills. The generated gas can be used for cooking, lighting, power generation and the sludge can be used as fertilizer for land. Palm oil waste is easily available and inexpensive, the major share of costs are incurred at the initial stage. The operating and the maintenance costs are quite low. In the present work an attempt has been taken to study the technological parameters for commonly used fixed dome biogas plant for two different sizes. The costs related to the fabrication of plant are collected from various sources and the other items were estimated on the basis of available information. Net present worth, internal rate of return, benefit cost ratio and payback period were calculated. On the basis of calculated values it was found that the biogas plant is economically viable and viability increased with the increase of plant size. The technological suitability in the context of prevailing situation, economic viability and future scope of biogas plants has been evaluated. The findings of this study would give some directions and guidelines for future planning and implementation of biogas plants in Malaysia.