Feasibility study on palm oil processing wastes towards achieving zero discharge

Abstract

To sustain a greener image of the palm oil industry, the producing countries have been placing remarkable efforts to promote palm oil as an environmental friendly product. This paper aims to report a study regarding the wastes generated in local palm oil mills. Study was conducted to seven palm oil mills of different capacity, years of operation commencement, and management background. Attention is given to milling wastes as they represent a wider potential for beneficial reuse and probably leads to monetary returns, large quantity, and more environmental hazardous. Milling wastes included lignocellulosic palm biomasses namely the empty fruit bunches (EFB), oil palm shells (OPS), mesocarp fibres, palm oil mill effluent (POME), and palm oil mill sludge (POMS), as well as the solid wastes generated as a result from further processing of these biomasses into the palm oil fuel ashes (POFA) and palm oil clinkers (POC). An agro-industrial waste profile for palm oil mills was computed based on the thirteen years operation and production data. Management approaches of these palm oil mills on the by-products were also summarised. The information will be attention-grabbing for estimation and later prediction of the oil palm wastes accessibility, hence offer a statistic for future references.