Benefits of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) Bunkers

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is a major environmental polluter, but an unavoidable by-product in the palm oil process. While sustainable palm oil has been recognised for its contribution toward economic growth throughout the world, it’s important to think about environmental pollution. In this post, we’ll explain the benefits of POME bunkers and how they can be used in commercial agriculture.

What are EFB/POME bunkers?

At Growing Designs, we designed POME bunkers as a sustainable solution to the issue of palm oil mill effluent. Our process takes empty fruit bunches (EFB) – the biomass produced formed during the production of palm oil – combines it with POME and other mill wastes, and composts the entire mass into valuable, stable fertiliser.

This fertiliser can then be used as a substitute for around a third of most plantations’ inorganic requirements. Our POME bunkers are specially designed with an aerated floor and high-pressure fan system to ensure the substrate remains aerobic and inhibiting methane. The bunkers are controlled remotely on temperature and oxygen to optimise the composting conditions.

The benefits of EFB/POME composting

If you currently have a palm mill facility that has POME as a by-product, there are some important benefits of installing our composting bunkers.

Environmentally friendly

Palm oil mill effluent is a hazardous by-product of the palm oil industry, so it’s important to minimise the impact on the environment.
POME is 100 times more polluted than municipal sewage, which shows just how hazardous this can be to health and the planet. Methane is 30 times more damaging to the atmosphere than CO². Our bunkers help minimise the impact on the environment by converting it into a useful substrate and at the same time mitigating methane emissions.

Cost-effective

Although there is an up-front investment involved in having EFB/POME bunkers installed in your facility, there is a long-term cost-benefit of having a stable, sustainable valuable fertiliser made from a by-product.

And as we said before, it can be used as a substitute for around a third of most plantations’ inorganic requirements and enable RSPO and other accreditations.

Tailored sizing

If you currently have composting facilities but they’re taking up valuable space, EFB/POME bunkers have a small footprint, saving valuable space for your operations. We can design and manufacture the bunkers to suite the size of the mill and any seasonal variation.

Find out more about POME bunkers today

At Growing Designs, we are specialists in organic composting and agricultural waste management. If you’d like to find out more about our innovative EFB/POME bunkers and how they can work for your facility, call us today to speak to an expert: 0118 971 4414