InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Empty fruit bunches (EFB), one of the major residues generated by the palm oil industry, are being developed as a potential biomass fuel for industrial boilers through a research collaboration between Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and Japan’s Sumitomo Heavy Industries (SHI).
According to information obtained by InfoSAWIT from BRIN, the collaboration is developing technology that could enable boilers to operate using up to 100% EFB as fuel, without requiring fossil fuels or other biomass materials as a mixture.
The research covers several stages, including fuel upgrading, combustion-characteristic testing and boiler design development tailored to the properties of EFB.
BRIN’s Head of the Energy Conversion Research Center, Tata Sutardi, said direct utilization of EFB still faces several technical challenges. The material has relatively low calorific value, while its moisture, alkali and chlorine content are relatively high.
These characteristics can affect combustion efficiency and potentially accelerate damage to boiler systems. For that reason, BRIN is evaluating the characteristics of EFB after different upgrading processes before the material is applied to combustion systems.
Five EFB Fuel-Upgrading Methods
BRIN is examining five approaches to improve the quality of EFB as a boiler fuel: fuel washing, hydrothermal treatment, torrefaction, decarbonization and biological treatment.
The methods are being assessed based on their ability to produce EFB fuel with characteristics more suitable for boiler combustion.
According to BRIN, the upgrading processes have shown improvements in calorific value while reducing moisture, alkali and chlorine levels in the EFB material.
BRIN researcher Taopik Hidayat said the research is focused on a full-firing concept, in which boilers operate using 100% EFB without fossil fuels or other biomass being added.
Following the upgrading process, each type of EFB fuel is being tested at laboratory scale using a fluidized-bed boiler simulator at the B.J. Habibie Science and Technology Park in Serpong.
The testing is intended to compare the performance of different upgrading methods and evaluate their technical and economic suitability.
SHI Equipment Supports Combustion Testing
The combustion tests are also supported by a Fuel Analysis Module supplied by Sumitomo Heavy Industries.
The equipment consists of an Ashing Furnace and Fluidizing Furnace, which are used to assess biomass combustion characteristics following the fuel-upgrading process.
Installation and commissioning of the equipment took place from August 11 to 28, 2026, at the Energy Laboratory of the B.J. Habibie Science and Technology Park in Serpong, Banten.
From the five methods under study, BRIN and SHI will identify the technology to be advanced to the next development stage. The selected technology will then undergo scale-up before being tested at SHI’s Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) Boiler Pilot Plant in Niihama, Japan.
Taopik said the laboratory combustion tests are expected to provide data on how far the different fuel-upgrading approaches can improve the characteristics and performance of EFB as a boiler fuel.
Boiler Design Also Adapted to EFB
The collaboration between BRIN and SHI is not limited to improving the quality of EFB fuel. The research also includes the development of boiler designs tailored to the characteristics of upgraded EFB.
This integrated approach covers fuel upgrading, combustion testing and adaptation of boiler-system designs.
For Indonesia’s palm oil industry, the research could provide another pathway for increasing the utilization value of palm oil residues. EFB, traditionally treated as an industrial residue, is being investigated as an alternative biomass fuel for boilers and as part of efforts to diversify energy sources and develop lower-carbon technologies.
BRIN-SHI Research Collaboration Continues
The EFB boiler technology is part of a broader research partnership between BRIN and SHI that began in 2024.
The two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Research and Innovation Collaboration in Low Carbon Technology and Manufacturing on October 22, 2024.
The partnership continued with an agreement on the development of biomass boilers based on EFB fuel, signed on February 26, 2025. Cooperation on the Fuel Analysis Module was subsequently strengthened through an agreement signed on May 18, 2026.
According to BRIN, as reported by InfoSAWIT, the series of agreements is intended to establish a technological foundation for using EFB as boiler fuel, from selecting suitable upgrading methods and evaluating combustion characteristics to developing compatible boiler systems.
The research is also being positioned within Indonesia’s broader efforts to develop biomass-based energy and lower-carbon technologies in support of the country’s Net Zero Emission target for 2060, according to BRIN. (T2)
