OIL PALM – PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN

Potential of Oil Palm for Ferulic Acid Cultivation

mpob_admin — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 01:33:28 +0000

Ferulic acid is a polyphenolic compound that has been found to exhibit various beneficial properties such as being antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, etc. It is a lesser-known phenolic compound in the oil palm. The presence of ferulic acid was detected in various parts of the oil palm and its products such as the fruits, mesocarp fibre, empty fruit bunch (EFB), palm kernel cake (PKC) and fronds. The amount of ferulic acid that could be recovered from these sources depends largely on the extraction methods. Nevertheless, the oil palm and its products are good sources for the cultivation of natural ferulic acid.

Carbon Footprints

mpob_admin — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 17:13:29 +0000

It will be of academic interest to know how this terminology gained entry into the complex world of confusing terminology jargons. Sometimes I wonder whether these words were coined for the specific purpose of confusing the public rather than to disseminate knowledge. The aim should be to educate the public on the harmful effect of some gases that find their way to the atmosphere through human (inhuman?) activities. I purposely did not use the term ‘greenhouse’ gas here as even the word ‘greenhouse’ gas is not a commonly used word by the general public although they might have read about it in newspapers without really understanding its multi facet components.

A revolutionary concept in plantation management

mpob_admin — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 17:13:43 +0000

There is a drastic weakness in our plantation management system, including mill management as well. It is about time for the plantation management team to review the system in vogue for the past six decades or so. The existing system was suitable when Malaysian plantation industry started from coconut and moved on to rubber. At that time, engineers were non-existent in the plantation industry. The estate manager managed to operate the water pumps or generator using his engine driver who acted as his engineer for the minor engineering activities prevailing in the estates. The engineers came into the scene after the transition to oil palm as the mills needed engineers to operate the plants mainly due to the need for steam engineers to operate boilers. As the planters were mainly British, they had some fundamental knowledge about boilers as during the early days the ships plying between Britain and Malaya had steam boilers and turbines which later gave way to diesel engines. British boilers were world famous during those days.

Development of a pre-treatment plant for residues from the Malaysian Palm Oil Industry

mpob_admin — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 17:13:43 +0000

In the overall chain for the palm oil production, large quantities of biomass by-products are generated, up to almost five times the oil production (on dry weight). Most of the materials are generated in Malaysia and Indonesia, accounting for 87% of world’s palm oil production. The use of these residues as by-products for materials, energy, green chemicals or biofuels offers perspectives for development of an economic and environmental sustainable food oil production chain that fits well in the development of a bio-based economy. This requires that any biomass extraction from oil palm plantations does not negatively affect the nutrient balance and soil organic matter content. The present work describes the development of a 5 t hr-1 pre-treatment plant (PTP) line-up for these materials to arrive at a standardised or commodity product that can easily be handled in road transport and intermediate storage. Results are included for the pre-treatment of (i) empty fruit bunch from the palm oil mill, (ii) both fresh and (iii) plantation dried oil palm fronds, and (iv) oil palm trunks from replanting. A full PTP suitable for processing of all materials includes a two-stage size reduction, belt dryer (suitable for using pre-heated air), and a cubing machine to produce compacted cubes. The technology selection and equipment sizing were fully supported by results of an extensive field test programme carried out in Malaysia with local biomass and with commercially available equipment. The developed PTP lineup is generic with few equipment for all biomass materials assessed (expect for the initial size reduction steps). As all required technologies are commercially available, the PTP can be installed commercially when a project opportunity arises.

Rolek nut cracker – Felda’s experience

mpob_admin — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 17:14:05 +0000

Palm kernel is a secondary product of the palm oil milling process contributing to about 5%–7% of the total fresh fruit bunch processed. Its recovery process involves cracking of nuts and separating it from shells and other particles. Good and efficient recovery process will result in optimum kernel extraction rate (KER) as well as consistent quality of the palm kernel

Biodiesel and edible oil news

mpob_admin — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 17:14:05 +0000

The European Commission (EC) has launched an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy probe into the soaring imports of the US biodiesel, arising from the 29 April 2008 complaints from the EU biodiesel producers channeled through the European Biodiesel Board (EBB). The EU biodiesel producers claimed that the US exports of B99 biodiesel product had flooded the European markets due to US heavy subsidy of up to US 300 t^-1. It resulted in substantial adverse effects on the overall performance and the financial situation of the EU biodiesel industry. The producers group wants the EC to impose as soon as possible countervailing measures against US B99 exports to the EU. According to them, subsidized B99 exports is a trade practice that is not only breaching WTO rules, but is also threatening the very concept of international trade in biodiesel.

Datasheet : Year of planting and oil content

mpob_admin — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 17:14:19 +0000