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GS Caltex to Recycle Palm Oil Wastewater in Indonesia
calendar25-06-2025 | linkBusiness Korea | Share This Post:

24/06/2025 (Business Korea) - GS Caltex plans to recycle palm oil wastewater from palm oil factories in eastern Indonesia to secure bio-raw materials and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

GS Caltex announced on June 24 that it has been selected as a project company for the “2025 International Greenhouse Gas Reduction Project Feasibility Study Support Project” promoted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Export-Import Bank of Korea. This project is part of the government’s initiative to support companies’ overseas greenhouse gas reduction efforts, which has been promoted since 2023 to achieve the “2030 National Greenhouse Gas Reduction Target (NDC)”.

Indonesia, the world’s leading producer and exporter of palm oil, faces challenges in palm oil wastewater treatment. Palm oil wastewater is typically processed through several stages of open ponds for organic matter decomposition, during which large amounts of methane (CH4) are released into the atmosphere. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), methane’s global warming potential (GWP) is 28 times higher than that of carbon dioxide over a 100-year period after emission.

GS Caltex is introducing Indonesia’s first palm oil wastewater evaporation concentration treatment facility. Through this, the company plans to suppress palm oil wastewater decomposition, reduce methane generation, and recover palm oil waste by recycling the wastewater. Palm oil waste can be used in biofuels such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Water and sediment recovered during the treatment process will be reused as water for palm plantations and compost. GS Caltex will conduct a six-month feasibility study to evaluate the greenhouse gas reduction effect and economic viability of the project, and if positive results are obtained, will determine the investment scale and timing.

When implementing the palm oil wastewater recycling project in Indonesia, it is expected that more than 120,000 tCO2eq of greenhouse gases will be reduced annually per evaporation concentration facility unit. This is equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed annually by 13.95 million 30-year-old pine trees. The reduced greenhouse gas emissions can be recognized as carbon credits, contributing to the achievement of NDC targets for both Korea and Indonesia.

A GS Caltex official said, “Palm oil wastewater evaporation concentration treatment is easier than the existing methane capture method and has a greater methane reduction effect by preventing decomposition through immediate treatment of palm oil wastewater.” The official added, “Depending on the results of the feasibility study, we plan to consider implementing the project for palm plantations in Indonesia.”

https://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=245372