Upgrading the fermentability and prebiotic potential of palm decanter cake through fibre-degrading enzymatic treatments

Palm oil milling has produced tonnes of solid waste including palm decanter cake (PDC). The recalcitrant nature of PDC limits its full inclusion in animal feed. This study aims to investigate the effect of fibre-degrading enzyme such as cellulase and xylanase on the prebiotic activity and solid state fermentability of PDC. We used the following commercial enzyme loading: 5U cellulase (5UC), 5U xylanase (5UX) and combined enzymatic treatment 2.5U:2.5U (C25U) per gram of substrate to hydrolyse the defatted PDC. The sugar profile in the effluent was analysed by using high-performance liquid chromatography, and the degree of hydrolysis (DH) was estimated based on the total carbohydrates amount in the effluent. The DH of enzymatic-hydrolysed PDC followed the order of 5UC< C25U <5UX, which was 7.8 %, 44.2 2% and 46.27 %, respectively. The prebiotic activity score of ethanolic extract obtained from the PDC followed the order of untreated < C25U < 5UX < 5UC, which were -1.04, -0.74, -0.10 and 0.58, respectively. To further investigate the role of lignin (which can be eliminated through alkaline hydrogen peroxide treatment (AHPT) on the extent of hydrolysis and the fermentability of enzymatic-hydrolysed PDC, we tested the invasion capacity of fungus Aspergillus oryzae on untreated, and AHPT followed by enzymatic-treated PDC. Pre-treatment of PDC with AHP improved accessibility for enzymatic hydrolysis in which the highest fungus growth rate was observed on the AHP-C25U PDC. Enzymatic treatment succeeding AHPT is a feasible way to improve the fermentability of palm decanter cake.

Palm Oil Decanter Cake Wastes as Alternative Nutrient Sources and Biomass Support Particles for Production of Fungal Whole-Cell Lipase and Application as Low-Cost Biocatalyst for Biodiesel Production

This is the first report on the possible use of decanter cake waste (DCW) from palm oil industry as alternative nutrient sources and biomass support particles for whole-cell lipase production under solid-state fermentation (SSF) by newly isolated fungal Aspergillus sp. MS15 and their application as a low-cost and environment-friendly biocatalyst for biodiesel production. The results found that DCW supplemented with 0.1% K2HPO4, 0.05% MgSO4·7H2O, 1% peptone and 2% urea and pH adjusted to 6.0 was optimal for whole-cell lipase production. The optimal moisture content and fermentation temperature was 60% and 37.5 °C, respectively. Environmentally friendly biodiesel production, through either esterification or transesterification using whole-cell lipase immobilized on DCW as a biocatalyst, was optimized. The optimal reaction temperature for both reactions was 37 °C. The whole-cell lipase effectively esterified oleic acid into >95% biodiesel yield through esterification under optimal water activity at 0.71 and an optimal methanol to oleic acid molar ratio of 2:1, and also effectively transesterified palm oil under optimal water activity at 0.81 and an optimal methanol to oil molar ratio of 3:1. The fuel properties of produced biodiesel are close to the international biodiesel standards. These results have shown the circular utilization of palm oil mill waste for the low-cost production of an effective biocatalyst, and may contribute greatly to the sustainability of renewable bioenergy production.

OPTIMIZATION OF SOYBEAN GROWTH AND PRODUCTION THROUGH THE USE OF COMBINATION OF DECANTER CAKE WITH CHICKEN MANURE (Glycine Max (L.) Merril )

This study aims to obtain the best combination of decanter cake (DC) and organic materials,chicken manure (PKA) on soybean growth and yield at Ultisols.. The research design used wasa Randomized Block Design, with treatment of combination of DC and PKA. The treatmentswere control (recommended inorganic fertilizer: 100 kg / ha NPK), DC 15 ton / ha + PKA 0 ton/ha, DC 10 ton / ha + PKA 5 ton / ha, DC 7.5 ton / ha + PKA 7 , 5 ton / ha, DC 5 tos / ha + PKA10 ton / ha, DC 0 ton / ha + PKA 15 ton / ha. Parameters observed: Number of productivebranches, number of pods per plant, number of filled pods, soybean grain yield . The dataobtained were analyzed by means of variance and DMRT at the 5 percent level. The resultsshowed that the combination of DC and PKA could improve soil chemical properties, and hada significant effect on the number of productive branches, yield components and soybean yield.The best combination for the highest soybean yield was the combination of DC 5.0 tonnes / ha+ PKA 10.0 tonnes / ha.

Incorporation of Rice Husk Ash with Palm Oil Mill Wastes in Enhancing Physicochemical Properties of the Compost

Rice husk ash (RHA), palm oil mill effluent (POME) sludge and decanter cake can be utilized together in compost production to minimize the environmental pollution. This study aims to evaluate the role of different composition of RHA in enhancing the physicochemical properties of palm oil-based compost. The composts were prepared by mixing different composition of RHA, in the range of 0% to 30%, with 1:1 (wt/wt) weight ratio of POME sludge and decanter cake. The moisture content, water holding capacity, pH, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), silica (Si) contents, and C:N ratio of raw materials were analyzed by using CHNS and WDXRF analyzers. The composting process was conducted in compost containers for 60 days, in which the temperature and pH of the composts were monitored daily. The finished composts were analyzed for physicochemical properties as same as raw materials. For physical properties of finished composts, RHA30 had the highest moisture content and water holding capacity which was 1.9 to 23.8% (wt/wt) and 4.2 to 26.8% higher compared to other finished composts, respectively. For chemical properties, the highest N and P contents were recorded by control compost. However, for K and Si content, the elements were found to be higher in RHA10 and RHA30, respectively, compared to other finished composts. Overall, RHA, POME sludge and decanter cake combination in compost production can create a well-balanced condition for the compost to perform effectively as an organic fertilizer. The addition of 5% to 10% RHA in compost formulation made from palm oil mill wastes is suggested to achieve the desirable condition.

Optimization of palm oil extraction from decanter cake using Soxhlet extraction and effects of microwaves pre-treatment on extraction yield and physicochemical properties of palm oil

Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied to study the optimum condition of palm oil extraction from oil palm decanter cake (OPDC) using Soxhlet extraction and nhexane as solvent. The main objective of this study was to achieve maximum oil extraction by determining the optimum of two parameters such as reaction time and solid to solvent ratio. The optimum parameters were found to be at 4.92 hrs of reaction time and solid to solvent ratio of 1:10. The proposed model shows R2 value of 0.78 where the experimental parameters were significant to the result. The optimized data was employed for comparison of oil yield for OPDC without and with microwave pre-treatment. OPDC with microwave pre-treatment yielded 3.289±0.047 g of palm oil which was higher than OPDC without microwave pre-treatment which yielded only 3.107±0.085 g of palm oil. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis also revealed the abundance of C-H alkene stretch and C=O stretch, two major functional groups indicated the presence of fatty acid within the palm oil derived from both samples. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of decanter cake provided evidence that the OPDC with pre-treatment has more shrinkage on the surface after Soxhlet extraction compared to OPDC without pretreatment. Results of this study revealed that RSM helps to optimize parameters in agricultural processing.

UTILIZATION OF PALM OIL MILL SOLID WASTE AND INORGANIC FERTILIZERS ON CHINESE KALE (Brassica alboglabra) IN EX COAL MINING SOIL

The purpose of this experiment is to evaluate the best combination of inorganic fertilizers and organic material from palm oil mill waste decanter cake, which give the best Chinese kale growth and yield at ex-coal mined soils. This is a pot research, conducted at Agricultural Farm, Agriculture Faculty, Jambi University, using RCBD with one factors and 11 treatments of combinations of NPK + Decanter Cake fertilizer from palm oil mill solid waste. The parameters observed were increase in plant height and number of leaves, leaf area and plant fresh weight. The results showed, the best treatments for increasing plant height and number of leaves was achieved at 50% of NPK from recommended doses with DC 20 ton/ha or 75% of NPK with DC 20 tons per hectare. For leaf area and plant fresh weight (yield), was achieved at 50 percent of NPK from recommended doses + DC 15 tons per hectare. The conclusion of this research is to increase chienese kale growth and yield in ex-coal mining soil can be done by fertilizing NPK 50 percent from recommended doses + decanter cake 15 tons per hectare.