Possibilities of Sustainable Bioenergy Generation from Palm Oil Mill Effluent using Anaerobic Technology

The chapter describes the most potential application for the energy recovery process from palm oil mill effluent (POME) in the form of biohydrogen and biomethane. Most research value is reported massively from the lab scale and the performance tremendously reaches a significant value as depicted by the strategy of the two phase anaerobic digestion (TSAD). Interestingly, the process modification and improvised anaerobic dark fermentation still occupy in recent years, especially on the substrate characteristics, operational factors, reactor configurations, and co-digestion strategies, etc. The potential of low-cost technology and application in existing palm oil is the major consideration in assessing the appropriate scaling-up biohythane development, as the POME requires the combination between ponding and reactors which is the most intensified practical model to apply. Exploring the potential of palm oil mill effluent as a viable substrate for dark fermentation, the significance of two-stage anaerobic digestion (TSAD) for hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4) production, operational conditions, and the associated challenges are discussed in this chapter.