scholarly journals An Overview of the Oil Palm Industry: Challenges and Some Emerging Opportunities for Nanotechnology Development

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farhatun Najat Maluin ◽  
Mohd Zobir Hussein ◽  
Abu Seman Idris

The increase in the world’s oil demand due to the rise of the global population urges more research into the production of sustainable vegetable oilseeds, among which palm oil is the most suitable candidate as it is the most efficient oilseed crop in the world. In an effort to drive the oil palm industry in the areas of food safety and security nanotechnology could offer a sustainable alternative. However, the utilization of nanotechnology in the oil palm industry is still limited. In this review, we aim to encourage the researchers to fully utilize nanotechnology as an alternative solution to tackle the challenges faced by the oil palm industry. Moreover, we also aim to highlight the opportunities for nanotechnology development in oil palm-based related research. The major points are as follows: (1) Nanosensing enables real-time monitoring of plantation status and crop progression, including soil, water and nutrient management, early pest/disease detection, and the spreading of pests/diseases. The use of nanosensing conveniently extends into advanced breeding topics, such as the development of disease-tolerant plants; (2) Nanotechnology could be the answer for the development of integrated management of pest and disease. Active agricultural ingredients can be entrapped or encapsulated into nanocarrier systems to improve their solubility, stability, enhance their efficient delivery to site-specific targets, with longer shelf life, and consequently improved efficacy; (3) Valuable nanomaterials can be isolated and generated from oil palm biomass waste. The utilization of oil palm biomass waste could overcome the issue of the massive production of waste in the oil palm industry and palm oil mills, where oil only accounts for 10% of the biomass, while 90% is comprised of the generated biowastes. (4) Palm oil can be utilized as a green alternative as a capping and stabilizing agent in the biosynthesis of metallic and non-metallic nanoparticles. In addition, nanoemulsion formulations using palm oil in drug delivery systems offer advantages such as low toxicity, enhance bioavailability and solubility of the drugs, apart from being inexpensive and environmentally friendly.

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 01008
Author(s):  
Nor Hasanah Abdul Shukor Lim ◽  
Mostafa Samadi ◽  
Abdul Rahman Mohd. Sam ◽  
Nur Hafizah Abd Khalid ◽  
Noor Nabilah Sarbini ◽  
...  

This paper studies the drying shrinkage of mortar incorporating oil palm biomass waste including Palm Oil Fuel Ash, Oil Palm Kernel Shell and Oil Palm Fibre. Nano size of palm oil fuel ash was used up to 80 % as cement replacement by weight. The ash has been treated to improve the physical and chemical properties of mortar. The mass ratio of sand to blended ashes was 3:1. The test was carried out using 25 × 25 × 160 mm prism for drying shrinkage tests and 70 × 70 ×70 mm for compressive strength test. The results show that the shrinkage value of biomass mortar is reduced by 31% compared with OPC mortar thus, showing better performance in restraining deformation of the mortar while the compressive strength increased by 24% compared with OPC mortar at later age. The study gives a better understanding of how the biomass waste affect on mortar compressive strength and drying shrinkage behaviour. Overall, the oil palm biomass waste can be used to produce a better performance mortar at later age in terms of compressive strength and drying shrinkage.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2120 (1) ◽  
pp. 012001
Author(s):  
Chee Yau Hew ◽  
Li Wan Yoon ◽  
Yoke Kin Wan

Abstract The huge amount of biomass waste and palm oil mill effluent (POME) generated during oil extraction has prompted the need for a more sustainable framework in waste management. Since oil palm biomass waste is rich in lignocellulosic content, it can be potential to be converted into green energy such as bioelectricity via different pathway of processes such as the thermal conversion pathway and biochemical conversion pathway. This study proposes a mathematical approach to synthesise a sustainable supply chain of biomass to electricity by implementing the combined heat and power (CHP) system in palm oil mill. The optimum pathway of supply chain based on the technical, economical, and environmental aspects is generated. The purpose of this approach is to assists the industry players or owners to make decision in choosing the location of the pre-treatment technology, transportation method, location of power plant and configuration of CHP. A generic superstructure is first developed to achieve the objective. Then, a series of generic mathematical equations will then be formulated based on the pathways demonstrated in the generic superstructure. The mathematical equations involve general mass and energy balance, cost computation and carbon emission. The fuzzy optimisation concept will be adopted in this research to trade-off the conflicting objectives (maximize profit and minimize carbon footprint) in order to generate the optimum pathway. A palm oil-based bioelectricity supply chain case study in Selangor, Malaysia is solved to illustrate the presented approach. According to the optimised result in this case study, a total of 3,753.36 MW of bioelectricity can be generated per year. The result proved that the optimum pathway is feasible by comparing with the existing oil palm biomass-based power plant in Sarawak, where only 375 MW of electricity is generated by oil palm biomass. On the other hand, RM 7.25 million per year of net profit is estimated with a payback period of 2.81 years. Moreover, the CHP system is able to achieve 570 million kg CO2 per year.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1192 (1) ◽  
pp. 012028
Author(s):  
N H S Jafri ◽  
D N Jimat ◽  
N F M Azmin ◽  
S Sulaiman ◽  
Y A Nor

Abstract The oil palm industry is known as the primary producer of biomass in Malaysia. The massive production of oil palm biomass has resulted in a significant waste disposal problem. This study aims to assess the potential of waste derived from oil palm plantations and processing mills to be transformed into value-added products for various applications. The study was conducted on three oil palm estates managed by Boustead Rimba Nilai Berhad using data on the generation rates of fresh fruit bunches (FFB), crude palm oil (CPO), and oil palm biomass waste from 2018 to 2020. The availability of FFB, CPO, empty fruit bunches (EFB) and excess fibers, and palm oil mill effluents (POME) in 2030 was predicted using a forecasting approach, with trend analysis as the tool of choice. From 2018 to 2020, the output of FFB, EFB and excess fibers, as well as POME grew by 16%, 14%, 23%, and 14% respectively. Based on trend analysis, the projection of FFB, CPO, EFB and excess fibers, and POME outputs in 2030 is expected to be 80%, 56%, 92%, and 56% respectively, which are greater than the figures recorded in 2020. The state of the palm oil industry in Malaysia was described in this study and also highlighted the potential of oil palm biomass in various industries and as a source of green energy. Oil palm biomass can be commercialized in a wide range of value-added products.


Pastura ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Ida Indrayani ◽  
James Hellyward ◽  
Yozil Alveni

This study was to determine the carrying capacity of palm oil plantation and oil palm industry waste could be used as beef cattle feed in West Sumatra. This study used a desk study method, it was the activity that searched secondary data such as the results of other relevant studies, official documents and other important records in several government agencies and other relevant institutions. The analysis showed people carrying capacity of palm oil plantations folk in West Sumatra with the utilization of forage, leaves no stick and palm frond as cattle feed as a whole can accommodate about 390 913 head of cattle. While carrying capacity of byproduct of palm oil processing wastes amounted to 465 812 head of cattle. Overall, therefore, the palm oil plantation folk, the state and the private sector is able to provide beef cattle feed to 856 725 head of cattle. It concluded that beef cattle still have a chancethe to be developed by use oil palm plantation and byproducts as a substitute for forages.Key words: oil palm plantation, carrying capacity, oil palm industry waste, beef cattle feed


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 5077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Royston Uning ◽  
Mohd Talib Latif ◽  
Murnira Othman ◽  
Liew Juneng ◽  
Norfazrin Mohd Hanif ◽  
...  

Palm oil production is a key industry in tropical regions, driven by the demand for affordable vegetable oil. Palm oil production has been increasing by 9% every year, mostly due to expanding biofuel markets. However, the oil palm industry has been associated with key environmental issues, such as deforestation, peatland exploitation and biomass burning that release carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, leading to climate change. This review therefore aims to discuss the characteristics of oil palm plantations and their impacts, especially CO2 emissions in the Southeast Asian region. The tropical climate and soil in Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, are very suitable for growing oil palm trees. However, due to the scarcity of available plantation areas deforestation occurs, especially in peat swamp areas. Total carbon losses from both biomass and peat due to the conversion of tropical virgin peat swamp forest into oil palm plantations are estimated to be around 427.2 ± 90.7 t C ha−1 and 17.1 ± 3.6 t C ha−1 year−1, respectively. Even though measured CO2 fluxes have shown that overall, oil palm plantation CO2 emissions are about one to two times higher than other major crops, the ability of oil palms to absorb CO2 (a net of 64 tons of CO2 per hectare each year) and produce around 18 tons of oxygen per hectare per year is one of the main advantages of this crop. Since the oil palm industry plays a crucial role in the socio-economic development of Southeast Asian countries, sustainable and environmentally friendly practices would provide economic benefits while minimizing environmental impacts. A comprehensive review of all existing oil plantation procedures is needed to ensure that this high yielding crop has highly competitive environmental benefits.


2015 ◽  
Vol 786 ◽  
pp. 393-397
Author(s):  
Roejhan Md Kawi ◽  
Z.B. Razali ◽  
Muhammad Naufal Mansor ◽  
C.D.M. Asyraf

Farm workers in the Oil Palm industry in Malaysia are extremely exposed to the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) which is directly affected to the production outputs. This paper is to discuss the way to reduce the MSDs biomechanical load by using a new design of ergonomic palm oil fruit harvesting device. According to the observation, manual harvesting process by using conventional device or device was highly risk to undergo MSDs due to repetitive awkward posture. Thus, new device is proposed for reducing the effect of MSDs. Electromyography (EMG) evaluation was conducted to determine the reliability and the efficiency of the proposed method to reduce the risk of MSDs. Results of EMG show that the using of the proposed device provides less pain compare to the conventional device.


Food Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (S6) ◽  
pp. 11-18
Author(s):  
S.N. Sulin ◽  
M.N. Mokhtar ◽  
M.A.P. Mohammed ◽  
A.S. Baharuddin

The issue of food safety is a major concern in the oil palm industry as it will affect national income. 3-MCPD and GE are contaminants formed during the refining of palm oil, mainly in the deodorization step. Palm oil was reported to contain one of the highest levels of these contaminants amongst all vegetable oils. Both 3-MCPD and GE are characterized as a possible risk to human health. This review aimed to provide a comprehensive summary of the 3-MCPD and GE precursors and mitigation strategies to minimize the 3-MCPD and GE formation. Therefore, the oil palm industry should address these issues and find ways to comply with food laws, acts, regulations, and standards enforced by local and international authorities.


Author(s):  
C. Hoffmann ◽  
C. Weise ◽  
T. Koch ◽  
K. Pauly

Palm oil represents the most efficient oilseed crop in the world but the production of palm oil involves plantation operations in one of the most fragile environments - the tropical lowlands. Deforestation, the drying-out of swampy lowlands and chemical fertilizers lead to environmental problems that are putting pressure on this industry. Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) together with latest photogrammetric processing and image analysis capabilities represent an emerging technology that was identified to be suitable to optimize oil palm plantation operations. <br><br> This paper focuses on two key elements of a UAS-based oil palm monitoring system. The first is the accuracy of the acquired data that is necessary to achieve meaningful results in later analysis steps. High performance GNSS technology was utilized to achieve those accuracies while decreasing the demand for cost-intensive GCP measurements. <br><br> The second key topic is the analysis of the resulting data in order to optimize plantation operations. By automatically extracting information on a block level as well as on a single-tree level, operators can utilize the developed application to increase their productivity.<br><br> The research results describe how operators can successfully make use of a UAS-based solution together with the developed software solution to improve their efficiency in oil palm plantation management.


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