Utilization of POME into volatile fatty acid as a source of raw materials for organic acid – A case of circular economy application

One of the leading producers of crude palm oil (CPO) worldwide is Indonesia, with 44.5 million tons of CPO produced in 2021, resulting in the production of 28.7 million liters of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME). Given that POME has the capacity to emit 510 kg of CO2 equivalent per ton of material, its use can be advantageous to the environment, particularly through the elimination of CH4. One of the applications for POME is the production of volatile fatty acids (VFA). Among the subgroup of fatty acids known as VFA are acetic, propionic, iso-butyric, butyric, iso-valeric, and valeric acids. They have two to five carbon atoms. Chemicals, medicines, food, and agriculture are just a few of the many industries that employ VFA. The manufacture of VFA is currently reliant on petrochemicals, however, due to environmental concerns, the switch to anaerobic fermentation will become more intriguing and necessary. Due to the availability of a plentiful supply of feedstock, the high local demand, and the high cost of VFA products, the usage of bio-based VFA from POME truly has a lot of potential and potential. Major challenges to producing VFA from POME still include maintaining the feedstock's quality and the anaerobic digestion process, the low production yield, and the challenging purification procedure. Despite the fact that additional research is required to boost the viability of VFA manufacturing from POME, the enormous potential of POME could ensure the supply of raw materials for VFA manufacture. throughout the long run, it may promote the use of the circular economy concept, particularly throughout the overall business of Indonesia's palm oil industry.