Produção de biogás e energia elétrica a partir do efluente líquido da palma de óleo (Elaeis guineensis) no estado do Pará.

Abstract

In this work, we intend to demonstrate the importance of a biogas production system in order to optimize the use of liquid residues arising from the oil palm production process, a residue called POME (Palm oil mill effluent), which contains a high concentration of organic matter, being a potential source of biogas production for the generation of electricity and biofuel. In this context, the objective is to evaluate the process of producing biogas and electricity through a covered anaerobic lagoon based on the POME implemented by an industry in the State of Pará. For this, information was gathered about the industrial process, the type of effluent treatment that is used and its components, and the process of transforming liquid waste into a new product. Visits were carried out in the industry to learn about the facilities, monitor the operation of the system and the operation of the equipment used to capture biogas and convert it into electricity. Data regarding the COD, pH and temperature parameters that are used for the operational control carried out in the lagoon were made available. The system started operating in February/2021, but the data referred to the period from May/2021 to April/2022. The average values obtained in the operation of the system referring to the pH was 7.43 and the temperature of 38.30 °C with a VOC of 24.73 kgCOD/m³.day. The anaerobic lagoon showed a COD removal efficiency of approximately 91% and an average production of 139.04 m3 /day of methane. The methane produced from the industry's POME generated an average of 28.01 MWh of electricity in the aforementioned period, which were used to power the industrial plant. In view of the results analyzed, the viability of using the liquid effluent from the processing of the oil palm fruit for the generation of biogas and electricity is confirmed, thus contributing to the improvement of the quality of the final effluent.