Utilization of oil palm fiber and palm kernel shell in various applications

Abstract

The agro-industrial sector in Malaysia generates a significant amount of biomass solid wastes, particularly from palm oil mills which produce enormous amount of biomass that includes empty fruit bunches (EFB), palm kernel shells (PKS), oil palm fibers (OPF), and palm oil mill effluents (POME). Oil palm fronds (leaves stem) are available from the plantation during trimming process, and oil palm trunks are available when the plantation are removing old palm trees for new oil palm cultivation. At present, the fibers and shells are utilized (in weight ratio) in boilers for steam generation in most palm oil mills, whereas empty fruit bunches are being utilized as organic fertilizer and mulching purposes. Thus, there are huge challenges as well as opportunities on the development to utilize these abundant biomass resources. The oil palm biomass appears to be the most promising and potential renewable feedstock for the recovery of various fuels and chemicals.