The potential of palm waste as a source of renewable energy: a case study of Palestine

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Date
2023-01-15
Authors
• Anas Jarrar
• Hasan Totti
• Hamzah Nada
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Abstract
Energy problem has been and still haunting scientists and researchers, as well as the disposal of industrial waste. In this regard, the use of waste biomass to produce biodiesel as a sustainable energy source is expected to be a solution to these problems. This project aims to find a new source of renewable energy mainly in Palestine, and possibly worldwide. Palestine currently relies on fossil fuels as a main source of energy, but it is expected to face several challenges in its availability for several reasons. The most notable of which is the geographical factor as Palestine lacks fossil fuel sources in comparison to Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf countries. Another reason is the political factor as the Israeli occupation controls the sources of energy in Palestine in general and fossil fuels in particular. Palm cultivation is widespread in Jericho and the Jordan Valley, where the number of palm farms in Palestine has reached 571 farms, which contain 311,000 palm trees [1], according to the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture in September 2021. As a living thing Palm trees excrete things they no longer need or which otherwise might be harmful to them. Thus, Palm trees will invariably need to excrete a number of things to remain healthy. According to international studies, a single palm tree produces approximately 15-20 kg of waste annually, i.e. a total of (4,665 tons annually (311 thousand * 15 kg / tree)) is being disposed in useless and environmentally harmful methods such as burning [1]. Where in this project, we searched for alternative ways to benefit from the biomass of this waste as a source of alternative energy in Palestine. Palm biomass consists of the following main components: cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin [11]. In addition, palm has a high content of volatile solids and a low percentage of moisture. Thanks to these factors and components, palm biomass is an excellent source of energy if we turn its waste into fuel, as there is a wide range of thermal and biochemical technologies used to convert the energy stored in palm biomass to several useful forms of energy. In addition to the presence of a low moisture content in palm dates, its wastes are well suited for thermal and chemical conversion technologies such as incineration, gasification and pyrolysis [7]. On the other hand, the presence of a high percentage of volatile solids in the palm biomass indicates its potential for biogas production in anaerobic digestion plants. It is possible to convert the cellulosic content in palm waste into biofuel (bioethanol) by using the fermentation process. In this project, a study was conducted on this issue in Palestine to find out how the owners of palm tree farms deal with this waste and how it is disposed of. We conducted a questionnaire that we published on 40 farmers, which constitutes 7% of the number of farm owners in the Jericho and Jordan Valley area. This questionnaire focused on collecting general information about the nature of the palm tree, such as irrigation methods and trees, their type, problems and challenges faced by this cultivation. In addition to the main points in this research such as, the methods of waste disposal, their quantity and the damages resulting from them. In this regard, farmers used to follow several methods such as burning or simply throwing them in areas close to crops or chopping them and reusing them as fodder. Then, we studied these methods to obtain results and compared between them to reach to the best economic and environmental solution for Palestine in terms of producing energy and reducing wastes and pollution. The idea was strongly supported, as the percentage of farmers who found this as a practical and efficient solution to the problem of the lack of energy in Palestine was 97.5%.
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