Biomass from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) has the potential to be used as feedstock for bio-Dimethyl Ether (bio-DME) production through the gasification process. Bio-DME has the potential to replace liquified petroleum gas (LPG) and biodiesel as it has similar characteristics to both fuels. Therefore, this study was aimed to evaluate previous research on the OPEFB-based bio-DME and its sustainability, to identify existing gaps in the research and to formulate directions for valuable future research. The results showed that pertinent performances with simulation and technical analyses should be conducted with different process configurations and under different scenarios. Based on this review, a number of further topics should still be investigated, including the economic feasibility of OPEFB conversion into bio-DME at different locations and plant capacities; the simulation of OPEFB bio-DME plant using an indirect synthesis method and technical analysis of pilot plant; and the sustainability of OPEFB-based bio-DME in Indonesia on islands with a large concentration of oil palm plantations
Keywords: assessment; biomass; bio-DME; OPEFB; sustainability
*Corresponding author: Tel.: (+62) 877 75320179
E-mail: rudy.heryadi@breny.my.id
