Southeast Asia is not short of palm oil mills. Combined, Indonesia and Malaysia have over 1,000 palm oil mills that produce almost 90 percent of global palm oil supply. This results in the generation of around 226 million tonnes of POME yearly.

The demand for biogas has grown because of the need to shift to more renewable sources of energy and to increase electricity penetration within the ASEAN region. According to the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), 107 million citizens in ASEAN member states still lack access to electricity.

One solution to this conundrum is the deployment of renewable off-grid electricity solutions which are standalone grids that are not connected to other power grids and are usually deployed in rural communities where people live in inaccessible, remote areas.

These off-grids can be powered by biogas via the use of a biogas digestor that utilises relatively simple, and user-friendly technology. The digester which resembles a large tank is filled with bacteria that ingests organic waste like POME and releases flammable methane gas.

First, it is fed with organic waste products. The produced gas can then be used to serve a variety of energy needs but is most commonly used for cooking and lighting.

The fully digested waste then exits the biogas system and can be reused as fertiliser for crops. Besides that, the waste water produced during the “ingesting” serves a similar purpose as it is rich in nutrients as well.