ISSUE NO.

87

(April - June 2008)

LEMBAGA MINYAK SAWIT MALAYSIA

MALAYSIAN PALM OIL BOARD
PALM
IL ENGINEERING
KEMENTERIAN PERUSAHAAN PERLADANGAN
DANO
KOMODITI
MALAYSIA BULLETIN NO. 87
MINISTRY OF PLANTATION INDUSTRIES AND COMMODITIES, MALAYSIA

Website: http://mpob.gov.my

CONTENTS
Editorial

RECENT EVENTS

FORTHCOMING EVENTS
2008 MPOB Training Programme

11

2008 MPOB Conferences/Seminars

12

FEATURE ARTICLES
Developing a Biomass Fuel Supply Chain

17

Milling Ideas - Digesters

21

Mongana Basics: Part 12 - Problems

Associated with Oil Separation

23

PALM NEWS

33

TITBITS
Cellulose to Sugar in Single Process Step

43

DATASHEET
Monthly Prices of Crude Palm Oil

45

EDITORIAL BOARD
Chairman
Dato Dr Mohd Basri Wahid
Dato Dr Choo Yuen May
Dr Lim Weng Soon
Dr Ma Ah Ngan
Ab Aziz Md Yusof Ir N P Thorairaj
Secretary
Ir N Ravi Menon
Malaysian Palm Oil Board
Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities,
Malaysia
P.O. Box 10620, 50720 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 603-8769 4400
Fax: 603-8925 9446
Website: www.mpob.gov.my
Malaysian Palm Oil Board, 2008
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Products and services advertised in this
Palm Oil Engineering Bulletin do not
connote endorsement by MPOB.

Editorial

rgentina and Indonesia appear

to be taking the full advantage
of the several weird biodiesel
subsidies at their disposal - all in the
name of biodiesel blend. The irony
is that many may not even be aware
of what is going on amidst the bizarre biodiesel related policies in force
around the oil world. The other biodiesel producers seem to have either been
squeezed out of the race without them
probably even realizing what caused
the calamity or did not have the time
to review and find out what hit them.
Both these nations - by no means any
close neighbours - are able to earn three
separate sets of subsidies for biodiesel.
They both (a) benefit from the export taxes, set low for biodiesel and
high for cooking oil. In Argentina, it is
45% export duty for soyabean oil and
20% export duty for biodiesel. On top
of this, a refund of 2.5% is also offered
as an incentive for exporting biodiesel
(a saving of USD 300 on USD 1000 t-1
compared to the export of soyabean oil).
Likewise, Indonesia also has different
export taxes for palm oil and biodiesel.
The export duty on palm oil is 15% and
for biodiesel 5% - a 10% savings here
amounting to USD 100 t-1. (b) USA also
gives a blending credit of about USD
315 t-1 of biodiesel used for blending irrespective of from where it originated,
local or otherwise. (c) In addition, the
European Union (EU) nations, where
the blends like B99 eventually lands
also offer generous incentives.
In USA, the volume of biodiesel exports in the first-quarter of 2008 have
overtaken the local production volume
with a corresponding rise in biodiesel
see page 2

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

from page 2

imports, which had been steadily increasing initially from Southeast Asia but now
increasingly from Argentina. They are
re-exported as biodiesel blend under the
name B99 meaning 99% biodiesel in the
blend. The targeted market is EU and the
product is enjoying a boom there with
good local incentives to add flavour.
Argentina and Indonesia enjoy lower
export taxes on biodiesel as compared to
the vegetable oil from which it is made.
They also have the specific advantage of
sourcing the feedstock at a significantly
lower price due to the large discount it enjoys when compared to others who have
to source the same feedstock at world

market price thus expelling all competitors.

The vegetable oil price is now welllinked to fossil fuel price through the
technical relation of biodiesel and it is
unlikely that the bond can be broken. The
fluctuations in the pricing of one edible
oil is bound to influence another oil unless edible oils are deliberately liberated
from the fuel line and replaced by non-edible oil like Jatropha oil even though, currently, only some selected oils are in the
biodiesel arena. The current relationship
may not be the best solution considering
the fact that edible products will always
continue to be in demand as the world
population rises.

CALL FOR ARTICLES

The millers are requested to send in articles of relevance to the palm oil industry in Malaysia for publication
in Palm Oil Engineering Bulletin. By sharing your expertise you will be helping the industry and the nation
as a whole. The topics of interest are:
1. Plant modifications done in your mill that resulted in improvements in milling operation or maintenance.
2. Innovations done in your mill that produced improvements in the operation of the mill and that you are
willing to share them with others.
3. Any special work done in your mill that directly resulted in improvements in OER and product quality.
Please submit your article to us and we shall be pleased to publish them in Palm Oil Engineering Bulletin. Feel
proud to have your articles published in this Bulletin that is circulated throughout the industry and MPOB
offices worldwide.

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

Recent Events

PAC Meeting
The 28th Programme Advisory Committee
(PAC) meeting was held from 7 to 11 April
2008 at MPOB Head Office. In case some
of the readers are not aware, the governing
Board of MPOB has established the PAC to
render advice on research projects.
During the annual gathering, PAC will
examines all the research projects to ensure
that they are technically sound and beneficial
for the industry as well as the nation giving
due consideration on environmental
impact. Most of the PAC members have
diverse expertise, knowledge, experience
and background to help the Board in this
regard.
Twenty new members were appointed
during the recent PAC Meeting. They are
listed as below:
Biology Sub-committee
Prof Dr Musa Hassan
Prof Dr Normah Mohd Nor

Contributed by: Noor Asmawati Abd Samad*

Prof Dr Ing Volker Thole

Dr Yong Jiang Shi
Mr Jim Platts
Dr Gee Ping Tou
Prof Dr Stanislav Miertus

Oleochemical Sub-committee
Dr Hans Brand
Dr Vahid Sendijarvic
Technical Promotion and Commercial
Sub-committee
Mr Mohd Nor Kailany
Prof Dr Fatimah Mohamed Arshad
Dr Susan Martin
Dato Henry Sackvillee Barlow
Dr James Fry
Dato Carl Bek-Nielsen
During the meeting,
Dato Sabri
Ahmad, Chairman of MPOB, also hosted
a dinner to entertain the PAC members. On
the final day, PAC members visited FELDA
Biotechnology Centre at Bandar Enstek,
Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.

Food Nutrition and Quality

Sub-committee
Prof Dr Bharat Aggarwal
Prof Sato Kiyotaka
Prof Dr Tom Sanders
Processing and Engineering
Sub-committee
Abdul Halim Ahmad
Lee Keong Hoe
* Malaysian Palm Oil Board, P. O. Box 10620, 50720 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

Recent Events

PAC Seminar
More than 360 participants attended a
half-day seminar organized by MPOB in
conjunction with the 28th PAC meeting at
Dewan Bactris, MPOB Head Office on 10
April 2008.
The seminar had five sessions, namely,
Seminar 1: Nutritional Significance of the
Sn2 Position by Prof Dr Tom Sanders,
Kings
College,
London,
United
Kingdom;
Seminar 2: Building a Knowledge Economy
on the Right Foundation by Jim Platts,
University of Cambridge, United
Kingdom;
Seminar 3: Exploitation of Genomic Resources to Optimize Harvest from the Oil
Palm Crop by Prof Jeremy Roberts, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom;
Seminar 4: Bio-based Polyol and
Polyurethanes - Opportunity for Malaysian
Palm Oil Industry by Dr Vahid Sendijarvic,
Troy Polymers Inc. USA; and
Seminar 5: World Biodiesel Viability Amidst
High Feedstock Price by Dr James Fry, LMC
International, United Kingdom.
The purpose of the seminar was to disseminate and gain knowledge on the latest
developments in the oil palm industry.

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

Course on Trading and

Marketing of
Palm Oil
For the first time ever, MPOB jointly with
the Palm Oil Refiners Association of Malaysia (PORAM) organized an Introductory
Course on Trading and Marketing of Palm
Oil from 5 to 8 May 2008 at MPOB Head
Office. Dato Dr Mohd Basri Wahid, Director-General of MPOB , officially opened the
course.
The purpose of the course was to impart
trading and marketing knowledge to
participants who aspired towards a career in
the palm oil industry and those who wished
to sharpen their palm oil trading skills.
A total of 99 local and international
participants attended the course. The foreign
participants were from Indonesia, Japan,
Singapore, Thailand, United Arab Emirates
and United Kingdom.
The emphases of the course were aspects
related to trading and marketing with
adequate focus on key technical matters
pertaining to processing of palm and palm
kernel oils. They gained the exposure
through a series of lectures and field visits
to plantations, palm oil processing and
handling facilities.

Recent Events

Visit of Deputy Minister of

Plantation Industries and
Commodities to MPOB
The Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Senator A. Kohilan
Pillay and his delegation visited MPOB
Head Office on 6 June 2008.
Dato Sabri Ahmad, Chairman of MPOB;
Dato Dr Mohd Basri Wahid, DirectorGeneral and senior officers of MPOB greeted
the Deputy Minister and his delegation on
arrival at MPOB Head Office.
The Director-General gave a briefing
on MPOB before the delegation proceeded
to visit several research facilities in
MPOB, namely Margarine Pilot Plant,
High Oleic Pilot Plant, -SME Pilot
Plant, Microbial Technology Engineering
Centre (MICROTEC) and Tissue Culture
Laboratory.

Transfer of Technology
Seminar
The Minister of Plantation Industries and
Commodities, Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui
had officially launched the Transfer of
Technology (TOT) Seminar 2008 on 17 June
2008 at MPOB Head Office.

value, generate wealth and contribute to the

well-being of the oil palm industry country.
Until the year, MPOB had launched 378
technologies/products and 23 services. In
2008, 34 new technologies and products and
16 services had been launched, increasing
the technologies to 412 and services to 39.
During that event, Datuk Peter Chin
also had launched a new product namely,
INXBIO and a book written by Dato Dr
Mohd Basri Wahid, Director-General and Dr
Kalanithi Nesaretnam, Director of Product
Development and Advisory Services,
entitled Healthy Ageing with Tocotrienols
New Discoveries.
The Minister also witnessed the signing of agreement between MPOB and Ancom Crop Care Sdn Bhd on Development of
Glyphosate Formulations Using Palm-based
Adjuvants and their Herbicidal Efficacy in Controlling Weeds and signing memorandum of
understanding between MPOB and Innovax
Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Chemical Company of Malaysia Berhad (CCM) on Oil Palm
Phenolics-based Products.
Datuk Peter Chin also officially
launched MPOB Biotechnology Building
in conjunction of the TOT Seminar 2008.
In conjunction with the launching of the
building, Dato Dr Mohd Basri Wahid also
presented a specially made stamp to Datuk
Peter Chin Fah Kui. The Deputy Minister
of Plantation Industries and Commodities,
Senator A. Kohilan Pillay; Datuk Wira
Ismail Saleh,
Secretary-General of the
ministry and Dato Sabri Ahmad, Chairman
of MPOB, also attended the event.

TOT Seminar is organized by MPOB annually to ensure the industry is aware of the
latest research results available for adoption
and commercialization. Adoption of new
technologies will increase productivity, add

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

Recent Events

GSAS Seminar
A total of 130 participants attended the
MPOB Graduate Students Assistantship
Scheme (GSAS) Seminar at MPOB Head
Office on 19 June 2008. Dato Dr Mohd
Basri Wahid, the Director-General of MPOB,
officially opened the seminar.
The objectives of the seminar were to
emphasize on human capital development
in order to enhance the nations capability
to compete globally, to strengthen national
unity and to bring about a better distribution
of income and wealth and higher quality of
life among the people.
To date, MPOB has sponsored 104
students under the scheme, 50 of them
have graduated and currently serving
and contributing to the nation in various
sectors.

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

Forthcoming Events

2008 MPOB TRAINING PROGRAMME SCHEDULE

CODE
NO.

TITLE

DATE

VENUE

Bil. 4: Wilayah Tengah

19 21 Ogos

Hotel Allson Klana

Putra, Nilai,
Negeri Sembilan

Bil. 5: Permintaan Industri (PPNJ)

28 30 Julai

Hotel Prime City,

Kluang, Johor

31 Julai

KKS PPNJ Johor

21 23 Oktober

FELCRA Johor*

Oktober*

Kulim, Perak

26 Ogos

Hotel Imperial, Miri,

Sarawak

Hotel Orient Star,

Lumut, Perak

7 28 July

MPOB HQ

13 14 Ogos*

Hotel Seri Malaysia,

Bagaan Lalang,
Selangor

Feb. Julai

MPOB UKM

COURSES

Oil Palm

A.1.1

Kursus Kemahiran Menggred

Buah Sawit

Peperiksaan PPNJ
Bil. 6: Permintaan Industri (FELCRA)
Bil. 7: Permintaan Kerajaan (JTM, KSM)
Bil. 8: Permintaan Industri (FELDA)
Peperiksaan Kemahiran Menggred
Buah Sawit
Peperiksaan Bil. 10: Sarawak
Peperiksaan Bil. 11: Semenanjung
A.1.2

10th Intensive Diploma in Oil Palm

Management and Technology
Course
Semester III

A.1.3

Kursus Pengurusan dan Tapak

Semaian Sawit

A.1.4

Kursus Operator Mekanisasi

Ladang

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

11

Forthcoming Events
CODE
NO.

DATE

VENUE

30 June 8 July

MPOB HQ

Exam. Semester III

28 29 Aug.

MPOB HQ

A.2.2

The 21st MPOB Oil Palm Products

Surveying Examination

18 20 Nov

MPOB HQ

A.2.3

Welder Certification Palm Oil Industry 3G

SMAW

March, June, Sept.

SIRIM, Shah Alam

A.2.4

Reclamation Welding Technology in Palm

Oil Industry

April, June, Aug.

SIRIM, Shah Alam

2
A.2.1

TITLE
PALM OIL
Diploma in Palm Oil Milling
Technology and Management**
Semester III

2008 MPOB CONFERENCES/SEMINARS

B

CONFERENCES/SEMINARS

1.

Persidangan Kebangsaan Pekebun Kecil

Sawit

2.

2008 National Seminar on Biofertilizer,

Biogas and Effluent Treatment in the Palm
Oil Industry

2.

National Seminar on Palm Oil Milling,

Refining, Technology, Quality &
Environment

11 12 November

Casuarina, Ipoh,
Perak

14 15 August

Mines Resort City,

Selangor

15 16 December

Kota Kinabalu,
Sabah

Notes: * To be confirmed.
+ By invitation.

** Course approved under PROLUS scheme of Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Berhad.
For enquiry or further information, please contact:
HRD & Conference Management Unit
Tel. No.
: 03-87694400 ext. 4865, 4860, 4867
Fax No.
: 03-89257549
E-mail
: rubaah@mpob.gov.my
MPOBs website : http://www.mpob.gov.my

12

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

Feature Article
Developing a Biomass Fuel Supply Chain
Pola Singh*

nergy plays a central role in the economic development of a country.

As the global economy expands,
there will be a corresponding increase in the
amount of energy demanded, particularly
fossil fuels. One of the consequences of the
greater use of energy (by burning fossil fuels) is the higher level of emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which
is the biggest source of global warming.
Meanwhile, oil and gas prices will continue
to trend upwards because of persisting political uncertainties in the West Asia and the
voracious appetites of China and India. Our
own oil reserves are expected to run dry in
10 years.
Harnessing Renewable Energy
Mindful of the need to develop alternative
forms of energy, the government in 2001
introduced the five-fuel policy with renewable energy (RE) added as the fifth fuel (to
the four that comprised oil, natural gas, hydropower and coal). The objective was to
give greater importance to green energy in
the energy equation of Malaysia. This policy gave recognition to renewable sources of
energy as the way forward in energy development sustainability.
Besides turning to solar energy, which
still remains relatively expensive to harness,
* 21, Jalan Abang haji Openg 2,
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

the government was keen to make use of the

abundant biomass waste in oil palm estates
and turn it into a valuable biomass fuel.
The idea was for the palm oil mills to produce electricity using the biomass waste as
fuel and sell any excess to the national utility company. These mills have traditionally
produced electricity and steam for their own
use, mainly using mesocarp fibre (MCF)
and palm kernel shell (PKS) and cost-wise,
it will mean merely upgrading their existing
system to produce more electricity for sale.
It has been estimated that the palm oil mills
currently generate about 500 mW of electricity for their own use. In addition, palm oil
effluent, a by-product of the milling process
can be tapped as it can produce biogas (containing about 60% to 70% methane) which
can serve as an additional source of energy.
Turning Palm Oil Waste
to Energy
The quantum of solid palm oil waste available at the 400 palm oil mills nationwide is
certainly impressive. With about 4 million
hectares of oil palm plantations in the country and every hectare producing an average
of 20 t of fresh fruit bunches (FFB), about
80 million tonnes of FFB are produced per
annum. After the palm oil has been extracted, about 25 million tonnes of the residue
remain consisting of empty fruit bunches
(EFB), MCF and PKS. If we include the palm
fronds and trunks left in the fields, the waste
residues from our golden crop will be even
higher.

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

17

Feature Article
As their supply of MCF and PKS far exceeds their fuel requirements, EFB is traditionally not used as fuel. Instead the latter
is returned to the field for mulching and as
nutrients. Although the government tried
hard to encourage the palm oil mills that
had abundant biomass waste at their doorstep to venture into the electricity business,
hardly any took up the offer for various reasons. Most of the owners argued that electricity generation was not their core activity
and that it was risky given the fixed low sale
price to the utility and that they would be
better off concentrating on what they know
best. But there has been a recent change in
the mindset of millers in their willingness to
venture into this business.
RE Entrepreneurs
To fill the vacuum, a new breed of RE
entrepreneur took up the governments offer to set up small power plants (less than
10 mW in capacity). But the major problem
that this group of entrepreneurs faced was
that they did not own oil palm plantations
or mills nor was there any existing biomass
supply chain to source their fuel supply.
Many palm oil mills with plantations are not
interested in selling their EFBs while others
may agree to short-term delivery agreements. This is because they expect higher
prices in the near future due to an increase
in the number of non-energy competitive
uses of biomass waste. At the moment, EFB
is used for making paper and pulp, particleboard, medium density board and desert
control mat. With more RE plants being
planned, the demand for biomass fuel and
its price will only head upwards.
Long-term Security of Supply
Therefore, the uncertainty of availability of long-term supply of biomass fuel remains a major barrier in encouraging more
RE developers to venture into this emerging power-generation business. Reliability
of continuous fuel supply is critical to the
full operation of a power plant. Without an

18

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

agreement for the long-term supply of biomass fuel, it will be virtually impossible for
a prospective generator to secure a bank
loan to build his plant.
The amount of biomass available for
power generation is also influenced by the
seasonal nature of palm oil mill operations.
During the high season, palm oil mills operate between 18 to 20 hr day-1 but during
the low season, they operate for about 10
to 12 hr. Longer operational hours translate to more EFB being produced and
therefore more fuel for the biomass-based
power plants, and the reverse holds true.
Biomass-based power plants need a regular
supply of fuel, irrespective of whether it is
high or low season. This is the challenge for
biomass fuel suppliers to ensure a regular
supply of biomass feedstock despite the
low season. Efficient logistics and transport as well as sourcing of EFB from palm
oil mills throughout Peninsular Malaysia,
for example, will serve as a daunting challenge, particularly during the low season.
In the light of uncertainty in securing biomass feedstock on a long-term basis, Tenaga
Nasionals initial requirement of a performance target was difficult to comply with but
it was announced in August last year that
this requirement will be waived. This means
that the RE developer will not be liable to
pay a penalty in the event of not producing
the minimum agreed units of electricity.
Higher Price for RE Electricity
As price was one of the major barriers
to entry, RE developers welcomed the news
that Tenaga had agreed to increase the purchase price of green electricity from 19 to 21
sen kWhr-1 with immediate effect. With the
higher price and more favourable terms in
the power purchase agreement, more palm
oil millers, led by the Bell Group, are now
venturing into this nascent RE-based power
generation business. The price increase has
served as an encouragement for palm oil
millers who had been waiting on the sidelines.

Feature Article
Biomass Fuel Supply Chain
Unlike the well-developed supply chain for
oil, natural gas and coal, there is practically
none for biomass as a source of fuel. Other
than a few localized suppliers and transporters, there are no companies specially involved in the supply, transport and logistics
of biomass fuel.
With greater demand and amid uncertainty in supply, some enterprising businessmen may venture into the buying and
selling of biomass. The actions of a few traders will inevitably lead to the establishment
of an unofficial biomass market, provided
the government takes the initiative to provide incentives and other forms of encouragement. If the 350 mW target in the Ninth
Malaysia Plan (2006 - 2010) is to be achieved,
it has been estimated that 10 million tonnes
of biomass waste per annum will have to be
utilized and transported. This quantity is
more than enough to facilitate the establishment of a viable and lucrative biomass fuel
trade.
In view of this impending biomass fuel
market, the immediate step would be the establishment of a biomass repository by the
Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), where
expressions of interest by buyers and sellers can be registered and parties requirements matched. Over time, as the RE subsector grows, the market for biomass fuel
will evolve as entrepreneurs spot opportunities in the trading of various types of biomass. Meanwhile, the government, through
MPOB, can take concrete steps to work out
the framework, including operating rules
and regulations, for the development of an
efficient biomass fuel market/exchange.
All of these efforts will certainly help
overcome the security of supply of biomass
in the long-term and a nascent biomass fuel
market can be expected to emerge.

Fuel Characteristics of Biomass

However, daunting challenges lie ahead,
particularly in terms of the characteristics
of EFB. Biomass is a low-density feedstock
with a low-energy content compared to coal
or oil.
EFB is bulky and requires huge storage
space. The high moisture content (65%) affects its burning properties as the energy
content is low. In its original state, EFB cannot be considered a fuel unless it is pre-treated - it needs to be dried and compressed into
bales. The quality of EFB deteriorates the
longer it is stored untreated. Fungi will develop; it will become less combustible and
more importantly, from an environmental
point of view, the fuel will release methane
the longer it is stored. Due to such characteristics, entrepreneurs will have to find a way
to engage in a just-in-time inventory system so that the biomass feedstock is utilized
as soon as it arrives at the power plant.
Two issues arise with the transport of
biomass: achieving lowest possible cost and
avoiding road and community congestion
during delivery. The use of rail transport
should not be discounted. An efficient collection and transport system will be essential. As EFB is not a high value commodity,
the economics and viability of transporting
this bulky fuel may also pose a challenge,
especially when biomass is widely dispersed across the country. Using lorries and
trucks to transport EFB from low demand
areas to high demand areas across the peninsula would also inevitably raise the price
of biomass.
Further Research
To ensure the viability of the biomass fuel
market, MPOB will have to intensify re-

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

19

Feature Article
search efforts in the following areas:
the economics of transporting the bulky
biomass fuel over long distances by
road, rail or a combination of both;
delaying the decay and quality of biomass through time;
the economics of converting EFB into
pellet form to facilitate transport; and
viability of using dedicated conveyor
belts within a specific area.

20

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

Conclusion
Many thriving businesses may be founded
with greater use of biomass for the power
sector, such as the development of a biomass fuel market. Not only will RE developers be assured of a ready supply of biomass
(albeit slightly higher prices) but oil palm
estate owners and millers will enjoy multiple returns and more importantly, all of the
waste will generate revenue and contribute
significantly to the bottom line of plantation
companies and palm oil mill owners.

Feature Article

Milling Ideas - Digesters

N Ravi Menon*

he mill engineers should spend

some time sitting quietly on a
chair visualizing how the present
milling technology could be improved. This
may be a difficult exercise as there will be
innumerable problems to attend to related
processing issues, while stationed in the
mill. While pondering on such topics, I
was awakened by some new milling strategies that invaded my mind and I felt that
they could improve the way our processing
plants are configured.
In this issue, let us discuss the way our
digesters are installed in the press station.
Is there any particular advantage in having
a dedicated digester/press configuration
like the ones we have in most mills? I would
give considerable weight to digester drainage as efficient digester drainage should entail good pressing with the least nut breakage. It is not uncommon to see nut breakage
in press cake exceeding 35% against a target
of less than 15%. The obvious reason is high
press cone/plate pressure, which in some
mills is set at even 80 bar or more. One mistake follows another and the mills end up
fighting the consequences of a mistake; in
this case poor drainage. If the digester drainage had been done efficiently, there would
be no necessity to increase the pressure on
pressing in the first place.

Mills have no doubt spent a lot of energy

to improve digester drainage but were of no
avail as almost all of them were only able to
perform for short spells. In some mills, the
drainage pipe network could be likened to
the tentacles of an octopus but despite its
initial performance very soon the tentacles
became cold and lifeless when the drainage
pipes experienced blockages on all fronts.
What did the mills do then? Just gave up
and did nothing.
Let us now look at the configuration
from a totally different perspective. Why
should one digester be dedicated to only
one press and that too located so closely
that even the regular digester liner renewal
becomes a nightmare with the press standing in the way. When talking about digester
liner renewal, the task is performed in the
worst way imaginable in all mills. The liner
by right should be a right concentric cylinder and when fitted should be concentric
with the stirrer arm shaft axis so that the
blade tip clearance is kept to a minimum.
But with the conventional way of changing
worn off liner plates, the centre lines of the
cylinder and the stirrer shaft are no more coaxial resulting in large blade tip clearances
inevitably leading to poor digestion; the
net result?- poor digestion and un-ruptured
cells. All these can contribute towards high
oil losses.

* Malaysian Palm Oil Board,

P.O. Box 10620, 50720 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

21

Feature Article
Now coming back to our topic, the digester must release most of the oil contained
by the mash before it is admitted into the
press so that it can be pressed comfortably
with the least pressure to avoid high nut
breakage. The easiest way appears to be to
have separate digester station where all the
digesters are stationed to receive sterilized
fruit (Figure 1). It is not necessary to have
complicated digester drainage as the whole
content can be discharged into a digested
mash conveyor that can feed a number of
presses. The oil can be drained from the digested mash conveyor through a perforated
bottom into an oil gutter that joins the press

juice gutter. Hot water can be added to the

digested mash conveyor so that most of the
crude palm oil is separated in the conveyor
itself. In this way, not only the problem of
digester drainage is addressed but also the
digester liner renewal is performed in a professional way free from defects. In the Stork
press arrangement, its built-in feed screw
essentially does the same job as the digested mash conveyor but press overhaul was
cumbersome compared to the more popular Devecker press (Figure 2). The relatively easy maintenance that is possible in the
Devecker presses made them the preferred
choice in Malaysia and elsewhere.

Figure 1. Segregated digester station.

Figure 2. Configuration of a Stork screw press.

22

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

Feature Article
Mongana Basics:
Part 12 - Problems Associated with Oil
Separation**
N Ravi Menon*

WERKSPOOR CENTRIFUGE WITH

CONTINUOUS DISCHARGE OF
SEDIMENTS

he bowl is a star-shaped, 6 spokes

rotor. A nozzle is fitted at the end
of each of the branches. A constant
volume of water is (5.4 t hr-1) discharged
through the nozzles. The level of the
interface is not set by gravity discs but by
two inverted centrifugal pumps (fixed
rotor and rotating liquid). One of these
pumps supplies enough water to ensure full
discharge of liquid through the nozzles dash
- the diameter of which could vary from
(2 to 2.3 mm).
This machine has been used for various
types of crude oil pumping especially the
crude oil discharged by the screw press. The
limiting factor as regards to capacity is the
amount of aqueous phase to be separated
from the crude oil and not the quantity of
oil. With a constant discharge of 5.4 t hr-1 of
water, it has been possible to collect up to 7 t
of oil per hour. The main advantage of the
machine is its ability to deal with crude oil
* Malaysian Palm Oil Board, P.O. Box 10620, 50720
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
** Continued from p. 27 of Palm Oil Engineering
Bulletin Issue No. 86.

containing from 0% to 100% of oil without

performing any adjustment in its settings.
Among factors affecting the efficiency of the
machine, the following are worth noting.
Hourly throughput. Contrary to what
may be believed, the efficiency of oil
removal from the crude oil is directly
proportional to the hourly output and
therefore inversely proportional to the
dwelling time in the machine. The
analytical results versus the crude oil
hourly output are shown in the Table 1.
It is difficult to give a satisfactory
explanation to the fact, why a longer
dwelling time of the crude oil in the bowl
should lead to a reduction in the extraction
of oil from the NOS. A logical explanation
could be that during periods of low hourly
inputs , a larger volume of make-up water
is admitted into the machine to maintain
its stipulated throughput. As a result, the
larger intake of water might create eddies
in the bowl and this could affect separation
adversely. This problem has been referred
to the maker of the centrifuge. The other
factors are:
the temperature. This must be kept at
95C;
variable feed rate. The abrupt variations
in the amount of crude oil fed into

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

23

Feature Article
TABLE 1. EFFECT OF THROUGHPUT ON THE OIL CONTENT OF NOS

Oil on NOS
Percentage of results lower than 15%

Less then 2.5

(t hr-1)

2.5 to 4.5
(t hr-1)

More than 4.5

(t hr-1)

23.8%

19.9%

18.9%

15%

28%

38%

53

54

45

Number of samples

the centrifuge are not conducive to

efficient separation; and
boiling of crude oil and period of
ebullition. Table 2 gives the residual
amount of oil in NOS (a) versus the
time during which crude oil is boiled
and also (b) versus dilution.

The 100% dilution appears to lead for

getting the best results. It seems also that
boiling either through direct steam injection
on by means of steam coils is sufficient to
induce a satisfactory extraction of oil. In the
above cases involving 100% dilution, boiling
was carried out either by steam injection
or by steam coil (12% and 11% oil on NOS
respectively). Each result is the average of
eight tests carried out on samples taken
whilst the machine was operating at three
different throughputs.
The wear of the continuous discharge
sludge centrifuge appears to be less severe
than in the case of the previous one. The
nozzles, although made of special metal;
have to be renewed periodically. In a
comparison between the resistance to
abrasion of nozzles made of two different

metals, it was established that tungsten

carbide is eight times as durable as stellite
(cobalt alloy).
In the case of crude oil containing a large
amount of sediments, the strainer placed in
the feeding chamber displayed a tendency to
clog up although the size of the perforations
were larger than that of the sediments.
The screen can be cleared by a spray
of water or simply by applying slight
vibrations to the chamber. At the time of
the trial, a device to impart vibrations to the
strainer was being designed.
The continuous discharge sludge
centrifuge of the type under discussion
presents a number of advantages in respect
of automatic operation. After starting the
machine and adjusting the self-regulating
make-up water addition, all that is required
is to ensure that crude oil does not overflow
from the feeding chamber. By fitting an
automatic float valve to maintain a constant
level the machine operates by itself and
requires no supervision. Several factors may
however perturb the machine operation;

TABLE 2. EFFECT OF DILUTION AND BOILING TIME ON THE OIL CONTENT ON NOS
(results expressed in % oil on NOS)

24

Dilution
(%)

Not boiled

Brought to
boiling

Boiled for
15 min

Boiled for
30 min

Boiled for
90 min

Boiled for 100

to 180 min

0
100
200

55
22
22

11
-

11
20

11
27

30
12
-

43
-

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

Feature Article
they are as follows: insufficient crude oil
temperature, insufficient pressure of the
make-up water (at least 3 m) and clogged
discharge nozzles.
The last point is important. It has been
observed that as soon as one nozzle gets
blocked, sediments accumulate in that
branch of the star and consequently eddies
occur in the bowl. This induces abnormally
high losses of the oil in the discharged
effluent.
In order to avoid them, the strained
crude oil must be protected from exposure
to sources of contaminations. Moreover,
a quick response indicator must be fitted
to signal a drop in the throughput of the
nozzles. Such an indicator may consist of
the bell controlled by the time of filling the
recording basculators. The inertia of such
a system is low since it is at worst equal
to the time taken for one of the basculator
compartments to fill up. At Mongana, the
time to fill up one section was 40 s when
operating the centrifuge at 5.4 t hr-1. The
clogging of one of the nozzles was therefore
detected by the increase in the time required
to fill up one compartment (48 s).
A number of problems specific to the
machine have still to be studied. Among
these:
reason for the sudden emulsifications
of some oil;
effect on oil removal of plates with
perforations close to the centre
(lengthening of the zone of oil
extraction);
gurgling sounds detected in the bowl;
and
slow and recurring variations of the
machine capacity.
A flow meter was fitted on the upper
water pipe and a tachometer was also provided. They were not standard equipments
but were however, necessary to maintain
efficient control of the machine. The centrifuge can be converted into a purifier by
increasing its speed of revolution, charging

the plates and reversing the direction of the

pumps. Difficulties are experienced however as a result of these modifications.
The Star-rotor Sludge Centrifuge (Stork)
This machine discharges effluent
continuously as the previous centrifuge but
operates without a pump. The evacuation
of oil from the bowl is controlled through
a valve placed on the outlet pipe located
at the centre of the bowl. Its disadvantage
compared to the previous machine is to
yield oil containing more moisture and
more impurities (several percentage units
against 0.7% moisture and less than 0.01%
impurities); also the absence of a regulator
of the oil water interface. It may happen
therefore that through the throttling of the
oil discharge, the bowl fills up with oil and
the latter is eventually discharged through
the nozzles. The machine is particularly
adapted to the treatment of sludge or oily
water. No make-up water is required. The
water content of sludge is high enough. Its
efficiency of separation is slightly lower
than that of bowl and plate centrifuges.
Compared to the intermittent discharge
centrifuge (Titan), these machines offer the
advantage of being rugged, continuous and
less prone to wear. Its operation requires
only limited supervision. The very principle
on which it is designed precludes its
utilization as a purifier.
Settling Characteristics of Crude Oil that
is Study of the -Coefficient
Clarification losses occur in the sediments trapped in the centrifuge bowl and
in solids of the discharged effluent. In both
cases, the loss consist of the free oil, which
can be recovered and of the oil bound to the
NOS. Methods are evolved to assess them
separately. They consist in the prolonged
centrifugation in a laboratory machine of
the material to be analysed. They made it
possible to evaluate also the -coefficient or
the centrifuge efficiency. The latter is solely
governed by the amount of free oil lost since
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

25

Feature Article
the amount of oil bound to the NOS is practically constant.
The efficiencies of three different types
of centrifuges were determined and was
found to the close to 1 or at any rate higher
than 0.99. The -coefficient or the settling
characteristics was determined in the case
of the oil derived from various types of fruit
processed according to various extraction
techniques.
The settling characteristics are not
constant.
They are governed by the
NOS content of the crude oil and by the
composition of the NOS. In the best possible
conditions, cellular debris are likely to
retain 15% to 25% of oil, whereas the oil
content of the insoluble constituents of the
NOS (fibre for instance) can be brought
down to approximately 10%. As regards
the water soluble constituents of the NOS
(pectin for instance), their oil content after
centrifugation is close to nil.
As has been mentioned before, half of the
constituents of the NOS are soluble in water
or at least can be solubilized. The amount
of oil bound to the NOS is therefore close to
10%. The settling capacity can therefore be
established by calculation. Its reliance has
been established experimentally.
Purification

It consists in removing traces of impurity
and a few tenths of percentage unit of
water still present in oil after static settling
or centrifugal separation. Four different
machines were tested, three with bowl and
plates revolving at 6000 rpm (de Laval, Titar,
Melotte) and one with a spindle shaped
bowl revolving at 15 000 rpm (Sharples).
The separation of the solids is equally
effective in any of these four machines with
an output ranging from 350 to 3500 kg of oil
per hour. A slightly brighter oil appears to
be derived from the machine with plateless
bowl in which accelerations higher than
10 000 g are applied.

The chief difference between the

machines is the amount of solids that can
be retained in the bowl and the eventual
dehydration that may occur therein.
Two of the centrifuges can hold 2 kg of
wet sediments, i.e, 0.4 kg of dry solids in the
bowl (Melotte and Sharples). These two
machines do not permit direct dehydration.
The other two provide for dehydration, the
first through the natural air draught created
by the rotation of the bowl and the second
through provision of fan since natural
ventilation is not sufficient. The advantage
of the latter machine is to eject the sediments
automatically through the operation of a
suitable valve (Titan).
All these centrifuges yield purified
oil containing less than 0.01% impurities,
which is the detection limit of the standard
determination procedure and less than
0.35% of water. The moisture content can be
reduced to about 0.05%, if the centrifuges
are used at low throughput.
DEGUMMING
It is a well-known fact that crude oil contains substances of a complex nature, which
are soluble or at least dispersible in freshly
produced oil but which precipitate under
certain conditions, particularly through
ageing of the wet oil. These substances are
described in the palm oil industry as mucilage. They consist mainly of phosphatides. Some oils (soyabean oil for instance)
contain exceptionally high amounts of mucilage. Before use, they should be suitably
treated in order to remove them. The mucilage content of palm oil is very low, hardly
more than a few hundredth of a percent. A
number of users of palm oil have however,
complained about the deposit found in oil
which they regard as just another impurity
similar to sand, fibre and organic debris,
which are normally present in the oil.
Carefully controlled shipments of oil,
in which strict conditions of cleanliness
were achieved, failed to induce a marked
see page 31

26

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

Feature Article
from page 26

improvement. In the course of storage and

transport, precipitates materialized at the
bottom of the land or ship tanks.
These precipitates are described as
impurities of maturation. Users of palm
oil eliminate mucilage in the course of the
alkaline refining in the case of utilization as
a basic material for margarine production
or by treatment with surfactants in the case
of industrial utilization (metallurgy and
plating).
An attempt was made to separate
the impurities of maturation into basic
constituents. The oil was mixed with water
at a high temperature (90C). The resulting
substance consisted mainly of soap. Table 3
gives the relevant information.
Industrial techniques of mucilage
removal (degumming) are numerous. They
are covered by a number of patents (30, 31,
32).

The industrial techniques can be

classified as follows:
degumming by alkaline treatment;
degumming by acid treatment;
degumming by organic and mineral
salts;
degumming by absorption;
degumming by physical methods
(ultrafiltration, passage through an
electric field); and
degumming by aqueous treatment.
The last of the above methods was
implemented at industrial scale at Mongana
although to our knowledge it has never been
used for palm oil before.
This involves the following steps:
precipitation of the mucilages by
aqueous treatment;
separation of the precipitate and
possible; and
the purification of the precipitate.

TABLE 3. IMPURITIES OF MATURATION

%
Ether extract
13.85%

100%

FFA
Soap expressed in g for 100 g of FFA
(molecular weight 256)
Nitrogen: 0.53% as proteins
Phosphorous
Ash

1.51
2.92
3.44
0.11
3.01
10.99

Extraction
residue
86.15%

Soap expressed in g for 100 g of FFA

(molecular weight 256)
Not readily hydrolysable soap

Ash 30.9%

FeO3
SiO2
CaO
MgO
Residue

38.4
4.5
9.10
3.51
0.60
0.00
17.69

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

31

Feature Article
Dry mucilage dissolve or are dispersible
in oil. They swell under the effect of
moisture absorption and form substances,
which agglomerate and become insoluble in
oil. As a result of the high moisture content,
their density is higher than that of oil.
Mucilage can be made to absorb moisture
through the following processes:
intimate mixing of purified oil with
water;
addition of water during the centrifugal
extraction of the digested mash;
centrifugation of oil coupled with
addition of water in the machine using
a suitable gravity disc;
steam injection using an ejecto-mixer;
and
centrifugal straining of a water and oil
mixture through a fine strainer.
Several of the above methods are
continuous.
The time of contact between oil and water
varies from one process to another. Strict
control of temperature must be achieved
failing which the hydrated mucilage can redisperse in the oil.
The separation of the precipitate can be
made by static settling or better still and
quicker by centrifugation. In that case,
the precipitate can either be retained in
the centrifuge bowl or eliminated together
with excess treatment water. The raw
mucilage can be partially dehydrated by
centrifugation.
Unlike some vegetable mucilage, such
as the lecithins of soyabean and groundnut,
those of palm oil after exposure to air and
are not hydroscopic. They consist of waxy
white coloured powder, which keeps
indefinitely.
Degumming modifies the physical
properties of palm oil, particularly as
regards the characteristics of solidification.
It does not seem to affect bleachability but
leads to markedly lower Wesson loss. It
32

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

may quite possibly to have an effect on the

oil resistance to oxidation and consequently
in an indirect manner on bleachability. It
should be noted that the drying of oil to less
than 0.1% moisture as is required to avoid
acidification totally prevents the separation
of maturation impurities.
CLARIFICATION OF SCREW PRESS
CRUDE OIL
The clarification is organized according to
the process flow in a palm oil mill. Crude
oil is collected in a tank where dilution with
hot water takes place. Dilution is continuous
and can be controlled by an appropriate
equipment (double tank basculator). The
diluted crude oil is brought to boiling point
by live steam injection. It is then strained
through a 20 mesh rotary screen (3000 rpm).
The strained material is then fed into a large
capacity sand cyclone and recycled from two
to three times through it with the overflow
returned to the strained oil receiving tank.
That tank is provided with steam injection.
All steam injectors are equipped with a
silencer, which reduced noise and also
vibrations.
The diluted crude oil is centrifuged in a
bowl and plates centrifuge with continuous
discharge of the solids. The make-up
water is provided by a constant level tank
fitted with a heat exchanger controlled by
a thermostatic steam valve. The amount
of effluent discharged by the machine is
recorded by a basculator. The amount of
make-up water is measured by a flow-meter
of the mercury column type.
The instantaneous throughput of the
crude oil is therefore known at all times.
Clarified oil is collected in a calibrated tank.
It is then heated up by a thermostatically
controlled device and passed through a
centrifugal purifier and finally to a drier
after which it is pumped into the storage
tank.
Clarification and purification are
completely automatic and continuous and
only require supervisory labour.

Feature Article

Palm News
COLLABORATION BETWEEN
MALAYSIA AND INDONESIA
A dialogue with European Union (EU)
members of the Parliament and the World
Sustainability Conference in London both
slated for September this year will be the
earliest grounds to test the collaboration
between Malaysia and Indonesia to counter
anti-palm oil propaganda in Europe.
Plantation Industries and Commodities
Minister, Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said,
the events would be the first for both
countries to stand on the same platform
and respond to any accusation raised by
the EU Parliament members and during the
conference on their palm oil industries.
Speaking at a news conference here,
he said, the agreement to have a common
stand on the matter was reached during a
Third Joint Committee Meeting on Bilateral
Cooperation on Commodities between the
Malaysian and Indonesian Governments
in Kuta, Bali on April 25. The issue on
promoting palm oil usage among the
European countries had taken up the larger
portion of the meeting where Datuk Peter
Chin led the Malaysian delegation while the
Indonesian team was led by their Agriculture
Minister, Dr Anton Apriyantono.
Datuk Peter Chin said, the meeting
had been significant with the details of
framework for actions had been discussed
to consolidate their positions as the worlds
largest oil palm producers and their
influences in the world market. Currently,
Malaysia and Indonesia are producing 85%
of the world palm oil supplies that translate

to about 33 million tonnes annually. He

said that he expected the EU Parliament
members and participants at the conference,
which will also have international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), to
accuse oil palm plantations in Malaysia and
Indonesia to have caused carbon emission
and forest destruction.
The West would be also informed of the
success of Malaysia in preserving nearly
50% of the country with virgin forests as
compared to just about 19% in certain European countries. Malaysia and Indonesia
would also explain how palm oil is a perennial crop that could be planted once but yet
be able to produce fruits continuously for at
least 25 years, against the competing crops
such as soyabean, oilseed or sunflower that
have to be planted annually, causing more
destruction to the environment.
IOI GETS MPOBS BEST ESTATE CR
AWARD
Recently, The Star Online reported that IOI
Group has diligently undertaken corporate
responsibility (CR) activities in an admirable
manner for over a decade. As a testimony to
IOIs good CR initiatives, one of the latest
prestigious awards secured by the Group
include the Malaysian Palm Oil Boards Best
Estate CR Award won by its Ulu Estate in
Pamol, Sabah last month.
It is heartening to see that the company
actually implements measures to ensure
that its vision is put in practice where it matters. Its CR principle, which is encoded in
Vision IOI formulated in 1995, emphasizes
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

33

Feature Article
on achieving commercial success in a balanced, responsible way by addressing the
interests of stakeholders. This simple guiding principle ensures that CR, as we see it,
is part and parcel of how we do business,
said Group Executive Director, Datuk Lee
Yeow Chor.
Its key CR initiatives include good business practices and sustainable cultivation,
education, environment and wildlife conservation, community and employee welfare. Lee told StarBiz IOI believes that concern for the environment is an integral part
of sustainable oil palm cultivation and this
has governed the Groups practice for many
years. We have practised zero burning
and biomass preservation in clearing land
for new planting or replanting over the past
15 years, he said.
Every year, large volume of biomass
such as empty fruit bunches (EFB), mesocarp fibre and kernel shells are produced
at its palm oil mills as by-products. Three
years ago, IOI installed a biomass steam
plant to produce steam to power its refinery
in Sandakan utilizing EFB fibre and kernel
shell, Lee said. The Group is commissioning a 15 MW biomass power plant this year
using EFB and shell in the same refinery. IOI
also uses the organic-rich effluent produced
at its crude palm oil (CPO) mills as a supplementary fertilizer for the Groups estates.
The Group has invested in new
processing technology for its CPO mills,
which will reduce the effluent pollutants
level. According to Lee, the Groups efforts
towards practicing sustainable agriculture
and sustainable palm oil production have
intensified in the last five years through
its participation in the Roundtable on
Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). IOI is
one of RSPOs founding members and
subsequently, became a member of its
executive board.
Lee said, we have undergone a number
of sustainability audits by several regional
and international bodies and intend to
obtain the RSPO certification for some of
34

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

our estates during the next few months.

Other measures to minimize the impact
on environment include integrated pest
management, soil management, terracing
and restoration of the riparian reserves
to reduce soil erosion while barn owl nest
boxes are set up for pest control. Buffaloes
are also used instead of mini tractors for
crop evacuation to reduce the usage of diesel
and the subsequent emission of greenhouse
gasses.
Lee said, the measures resulted in the
efficient use of land, which translates into
lower fertilizer, pesticide and energy usage,
which in turn delivers significant benefits to
the environment. The IOI Groups annual
palm oil yield is also significantly above
the national average despite a dramatic
reduction in the land to produce the same
amount of palm oil. Based on the Groups
planted 150 000 ha, Lee said, this will result
in the saving of an astonishing 70 000 ha of
valuable land.
For its employees, Lee said, the Group
strives to ensure its estate workers live in
safe and comfortable surroundings. A complete range of amenities provided ranges
from proper housing, schools, nurseries,
places of worship, community halls, sundry
shops, sports and recreational facilities, police stations and flood relief centres. To enhance employees health and safety, it provides free medical treatment at clinics with
X-ray and ambulance facilities.
In
environment
and
wildlife
conservation, IOI also plays an active part in
caring for the endangered wildlife species.
Initiatives include a deer farm at Nangoh
Estate, Proboscis monkey (Nasalis carvatus)
sanctuary at Bayok Estate and cultivation of
soft to semi-hard wood jungle trees in floodprone areas to save the orang utan and other
wildlife.
Lee said, the CR initiatives undertaken
by IOI Group and sister organization
Yayasan Tan Sri Datuk Lee Shin Cheng were
constantly evolving according to prevailing
time and circumstances. He said, we

Feature Article
realise that our efforts alone are not sufficient
and we welcome opportunities to work with
other like-minded organizations to advance
the agenda of human capital development
and environmental preservation further.
YTL-SV CARBON HOPES TO HANDLE
1000 PROJECTS
Malaysian power-to-telecoms conglomerate,
YTL Corp took a majority stake in what it
said was the countrys largest carbon credit
consultancy on Friday, looking to capitalize
on growing opportunities in the palm oil
sector.
The Kyoto Protocols Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows companies
in developing countries to qualify to sell
carbon credits, or Certified Emission Reductions, in global commodity markets when
they cut their output of environmental
harmful substances.
Global trade in carbon markets was up
80% last year at 40 billion Euros (RM 61.9
billion), dominated by a European Union
(EU) trading scheme. But a 12 billion Euro
market under the Kyoto Protocol faces an
uncertain future after the EU firmly linked
it to global talks to hammer out a successor
agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, which
expires in 2012.
The new Malaysian firm, YTL-SV Carbon, expects to be handling 1000 projects
within three years, against 30 now, if the
talks on a successor to Kyoto prove successful. Soeren Varming, Managing Director told reporters, palm oil is where the
big opportunity is in Malaysia, he added.
The paradigm is changing, from a waste
producer to a sector that will actually utilize
the waste.
Malaysia, the worlds second largest
producer, expects crude palm oil output to
rise to 16.5 million tonnes this year from
15.8 million in 2007, as soaring prices for
the commodity have led to conversion of
marginal land into plantations. The joint
venture has worked on biogas projects to
turn plant waste from palm oil mills into

power and compost ventures that turn

organic waste into fertilizers, as well as
mini-hydro projects. Varming said, CDM
allows, in some cases, an incremental project
income that will go straight to the bottom
line, in other cases, it allows projects you
would never have thought of before, and in
yet others, youll see new business models
become possible, because the income stream
of the carbon credits allows this.
Malaysias oil palm industry faces
accusations from Western environmental
groups that it is destroying rain forest
to grow palm oil, but YTL-SV Carbons
environmental strategies could help blunt
such attacks. YTL Chief Executive Francis
Yeoh said, biomass and biogas are very
high in emissions that cause the greenhouse
effect, so if we could recycle them and
give it a commercially viable story, that
would help keep our palm oil industry
from being attacked so much. Besides
Malaysia, YTL-SV Carbon was targeting
projects in Southeast Asian neighbours
such as Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, the
Philippines and Thailand, Varming said.
E. coli TO PRODUCE OUR BIOFUEL?
Last month, the Economist raved about the
new generation of lean, clean diesel cars
arriving belatedly in America (Diesels
second coming, 4 April 2008). With oil
pushing USD 120 a barrel, the diesels fuelsipping charms delivers about 30% more
miles per gallon (MPG) than regular petrol
- created a shortage of diesel fuel around
the world. Soaring prices followed the
shortage. Over the past year, the average
price of diesel in America has risen by 117%
twice as fast as petrol. It is now 20% more
expensive than regular gas. Rising prices
like these could easily negate diesels MPG
advantage.
Half of all new cars bought in to Europe
are diesels; Europeans have pretty well
hogged the supply of diesel fuel from oil
refineries as well as from renewable crops.
In fact, much of the biodiesel produced in
the United States from soyabeans and corn
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

35

Feature Article
(and subsidized by American tax payers
to the tune of USD 1 per 3.78 litres) winds
up in Europe, where it benefits from still
further subsidies. Thats great for farmers in
the Midwest, but offers little consolation to
motorists across America.
Now comes news that another major
source of diesel Southeast Asia, where its
refined from palm oil is drying up. Refiners
throughout the region are closing biodiesel
plants and canceling new ones. Most are
being priced out of the business by the
soaring cost of palm oil, which has been
rising even faster than crude.
With China and India getting richer,
growers find they can make more money
nowadays from selling palm oil for cooking
rather than fuel. Malaysia, which has enough
esterification capacity to produce more than
1 million tonnes of biodiesel, turned out
only 80 000 t last year.
Its not as though conventional oil
refiners can add more diesel capacity in a
hurry. For one thing, the catalytic crackers
used by refiners in America are optimized to
produce as much petrol as possible typically
about 50% of every barrel of oil, with diesel
accounting for little more than 15%.
In Europe, hydro-crackers that produce
25% petrol and 25% diesel are more
common. But adapting American refineries
to produce more diesel will take years. In
the meantime, the motor industry is pinning
its hopes on biodiesel. But growing crops for
fuel instead of food is becoming politically
difficult in many parts of the world. Besides,
biodiesels contribution using traditional
crops will be modest at most.
Its a matter of scale. Europe has over
10 million tonnes and America around 4
million tonnes biodiesel capacity. Compare
that with the 490 million tonnes of diesel
that Europe and America consumed between
them last year. To meet just Americas onethird share would require all the arable land
in the country be planted with soyabeans
for biodiesel.
36

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

Few countries have anything like

enough arable land to feed themselves and
grow biofuels at the same time. There has
to be a better way. One answer could be
synthetic biology - a set of tools for building
novel functions into biological systems to
solve engineering problems. To engineer
a hydrocarbon like diesel, start with a
fermentable sugar or starch in the usual way.
In terms of energy produced per hectare of
land, sugarcane is a better bet than sugar
beets, corn or soyabeans.
Next, forget about distillation. It may
be an old and honourable way of making
alcohol, but its appallingly wasteful in
energy terms. Just heating the fermented
broth ready for distilling into ethanol
consumes around 40% of the energy in
the alcohol produced. Instead, take a
common bacterium like E. coli, which lives
in the gut, or a yeast-like fungus such as
Saccharomyces, which easily turns sugar
into copious quantities of alcohol. Scour the
world for suitable enzymes that speed up
the whole process and deliver the molecular
features being sought. Finally, tweak the
enzymes to make them do their jobs better,
and stitch their genes into the microbe being
used as a fermentation factory.
Ten years ago such an endeavour would
have been unimaginable. But thanks to
the development of cheap and fast DNA
sequencing and synthesis tools, such
microbial engineering is becoming routine.
Amyris Biotechnologies, a company in
Emeryville, California, that spun out of
the University of California at Berkeley
several years ago, has pioneered a way of
custom designing microbes to produce a
whole range of specialized hydrocarbons
including molecules that are exact replicas
of artemisinin, an anti-malarial drug, as
well as fuels like petrol, diesel and aviation
spirit.
The key to Amyriss success has been
a class of hydrocarbons called isoprenoids
(by-products, like synthetic rubber, that result from cracking naphtha or oil). Like al-

Feature Article
cohols, isoprenoids are also found widely
in plants and animals, and are actually the
most common hydrocarbons produced in
the human body. Enzymes that can manipulate them are therefore fairly common. That
makes tailoring bugs to synthesize specific
hydrocarbons a lot easier. Unlike the biofuel produced by distilling witches brews
of soyabeans or corn, Amyriss hydrocarbons are engineered to have precisely the
same molecular structure as their oil-based
equivalents and are hence one-for-one replacements for fuels on the forecourt today.
As such, engines notice no difference when
running on them, save for the synthetic diesels greater consistency and its 80% reduction in emissions compared with petroleum
diesel.
Last week, Amyris announced a deal
with Crystalsev, one of Brazils largest
ethanol distributors, to create a renewable
diesel made from sugarcane. In Brazil,
where sugar cane grows like a weed, ethanol
plants typically produce around 9 kWhr of
energy for every tonne of cane crushed. The
Amyris process promises to raise that figure
20-fold. The aim is to have a demonstration
plant up and running in Brazil by 2010, with
large-scale commercial production starting
a year or two later.
RETURN OF RUDOLF DIESEL
At the 1900 Worlds Fair in Paris, Rudolf
Diesel exhibited an engine that could run
on oil from vegetables and plants. But
Diesels design was eclipsed by automobile
engines that ran on petroleum-based fuel.
Today, though, with concerns about the
environment and the supply of oil, diesel
engines and the sustainable options for
running them are getting a second look.
Auto industry analysts expect sales of
diesel-powered cars in the United States to
triple in the next decade, and many of those
drivers will be looking for plant-based fuel,
biodiesel, to put in their tanks.
Biodiesel is made from processed
vegetable or plant oil, and can be used in
diesel engines on its own, or blended with

petroleum-based fuel. Here in Berkeley,

California, the pumps at Biofuel Oasis
dispense diesel made from used cooking
oil.
The fueling station is a co-operative,
owned by five women. Margaret Farrow
says, Oasis was opened to offer a
sustainable option to the petroleum-derived
diesel offered by big oil companies. Its a
clean-burning fuel. Its more efficient than
gasoline. Its biodegradable, non-toxic,
non-flammable, she says, adding that its
good for the environment, too. In terms
of greenhouse gasses, if you use biodiesel,
theres no net increase of carbon dioxide
going into the environment.
Since Biofuel Oasis opened in 2003,
about 2500 customers have pulled in to fill
up. For Sandra Lupien, coming here is an
ethical choice. An important point for me
about using biodiesel is to make sure that
were using biodiesel that is made from
recycled vegetable oil, oil picked-up from
restaurants thats just going to be thrown
away anyway, instead of using oil processed
from new crops.
There are two types of biodiesel fuel:
fresh or virgin biodiesel is made from crops
such as soyabeans. Then theres the biodiesel
fuel made from recycled vegetable oil which
only a few fueling stations besides the Oasis
sell currently at USD 1.10 litre-1, about 5
cents less than regular diesel fuel and 10
cents more than gasoline in California.
Even though diesel is more expensive
than gasoline, litre for litre, its cheaper to
run a diesel car. Diesel engines are designed
to be more efficient than gasoline engines, so
they provide higher fuel efficiency. But it can
be more of a challenge to find a place to fill
up a car that runs on diesel. Not all service
stations carry diesel, and pumps serving
up biodiesel are rare indeed. Nationally,
there are only about 1600 biodiesel fueling
stations, with most clustered in the graingrowing states of the Midwest, and a few
along the coasts.

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

37

Feature Article
The biodiesel sold at Oasis comes from
Yokayo Biofuels, the only commercialscale plant in northern California that
manufactures the fuel from used vegetable
oil. Kumar Plocher founded the company in
2001, and it now produces about 3700 litres
of biodiesel fuel every day.
Plocher has a fleet of biodiesel-powered
trucks that collects used cooking oil from
about 700 restaurants across northern
California. Once at the processing plant,
the oil goes through a series of screeners,
high speed shakers, hot tanks and washes
to remove food residue and water. The
separated food products are composted,
and the filtered oil begins its transformation.
Treated with methanol and potassium
hydroxide, also known as lye, the vegetable
oil molecules break down. Plocher explains
that this step is the most dangerous aspect
of the operation, people ask if biodiesel is a
dangerous fuel. Once youve actually made
it and purified it, its completely non-toxic
and non-hazardous.
But Plocher admits there is still a great
deal of negativity surrounding biodiesel
fuels. Right now the [public sentiment]
about biofuels in general and, certainly,
biodiesel as well as ethanol, is very
negative. He points to news reports and
studies focused on the diversion of food
crops for fuel and the environmental costs
of clearing land for biofuel crops. And he
counters, its very easy to show that this
kind of biodiesel that we are making has
serious net positives. But if youre going to
take a hectare of someones food garden
and replant it to make energy, theres
problems with that. Plocher says, because
of the huge amount of land required to
grow biodiesel crops often land where
food crops had been grown some biodiesel
producers are importing palm oil from the
tropics to make their fuel. But thats not a
perfect solution, either. Not only are there
increased transportation costs, but the
growing demand for palm oil has caused
the destruction of rain forests in Malaysia,
Indonesia and other tropical countries.

38

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

Kumar Plocher serves on the National

Biodiesel Boards Sustainability Task Force,
working to develop a road map for the
industry. With an eye on its impact on the
environment and the global food supply, he
says, the search is on for sustainable, super
biodiesel crops, stuff that doesnt compete
with food, that you can get a whole lot of
energy per hectare. He says, soyabeans
provide only a tiny amount of oil, and
mustard seed and sunflowers are somewhat
more productive. But there are trees that
actually grow well in California and across
a lot of the United States called Chinese
Tallow trees. They can give you upwards
of 4730 litres a hectare. We are looking into
those. Difficult to harvest but they can be one
of the real feedstocks of the future. Algae
is another possibility, he says, we can get
(tens of thousands of litres per hectare) with
algae ponds. So there are all kinds of more
sustainable choices for the future.
Whatever its made from, industry
experts expect biodiesel to be an important
part of the energy supply of the future.
PTT PCL BUYS 95% SHARE OF PT AZ
ZHARA OF INDONESIA
The Thai state-run oil giant, PTT Pcl has
taken over a major palm oil plantation in
Kalimantan, the Indonesian province on
Borneo island, PTT Prasert Bunsumpun
said on Sunday. In a three-country deal,
Singapore-based, PTT Green Energy Co.
Ltd (PTTGE), a PTT subsidiary, bought 95%
of PT Az Zhara of Indonesia for USD 22.27
million, or about 708 million baht. The deal
was brokered by Sabra Brothers, a PTTGE
subsidiary.
PT Az Zhara grow oil palm on 40 500
ha (roughly 253 000 rai) on Kalimantan.
The company has current plans to construct
a plant to produce crude palm oil at the
plantation site by 2012. PTT plans to sell
the palm oil both locally and for export,
said Mr Prasert. He did not announce any
plans to export the oil to Thailand, where
palm oil is used extensively in production
of biodiesel.

Titbits

CELLULOSE TO SUGAR
IN SINGLE PROCESS STEP
An enzyme isolate has allowed researchers
in the US to process cellulosic material into
biofuel-ready sugar in single step.

The enzyme, which they have called
ethazyme, was isolated from bacteria Saccharophagus degradans by molecular geneticist, Rob Weiner and cell biologist, Steve
Hutcheson at the University of Maryland.
According to the pair, the isolated enzyme
was shown to break down cellulosic materials into biofuel-ready sugars a process that
took one step and at lower cost and with
fewer caustic chemicals than current methods.
This, they say, allow them to generate
bioethenol from a wide range of cellulosic
sources, most of which are currently considered waste streams. These include waste
paper, brewing by-products, agricultural
waste such as corncobs and straw, and the
energy crop switchgrass.
If the process can be scaled up to produce
commercial volumes of bioethanol, then the
enzyme itself could be highly valuable. In
December 2007, the US Senate passed an

energy bill that mandates all oil companies

must blend about 83 million tonnes per year
of cellulosic ethanol with domestic petrol by
2022.
Producing ethanol successfully from
cellulosic sources at commercial volumes,
in an economically-viable process is the
holy grail of biofuel production and key to
the commercialization of so-called second
generation biofuels. The main issue is the
breaking down of the hardy cellulose polymer that forms the cell walls of all plants.
The problem can be seen in cows, which
spend all their time chewing and processing
grass. Their method, if directly transferable
would be commercially inefficient: the grass
passes from stomach to stomach where it is
degraded by a number of different enzymes
and it regularly has to be regurgitated to
mechanically break down the materials.

Dan Mote Junior, President of University of Maryland says, [this new process] makes affordable ethanol production a
reality and makes it from waste materials.
This benefits everyone and supports the
green-friendly goal of carbon-neutrality.

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

43

Datasheet

PEN. MALAYSIA : MONTHLY PRICES OF CRUDE PALM OIL

(local delivered - RM t-1)
Year

Jan

Feb

1980 1 096 1 140

Mar

Apr

May

1 045

999

882

Jun
862

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Average

841

815

777

702

911

958

919

1981

991 1 017

979

967

967 1 093 1 038

899

888

923

930

880

964

1982

938

978

950

939

959

909

733

688

734

652

688

784

829

1983

792

749

725

785

850

810

824 1 068 1 265 1 329

1 300

1 412

991

1984 2 122 2 029

1 586

1 465 1 698 1 450 1 035

981 1 004 1 108

1 222

1 198

1 408

1985 1 212 1 192

1 296

1 497 1 385 1 229 1 020

847

753

662

674

781

1 046

1986

672

582

485

604

555

595

552

463

446

581

726

684

579

1987

765

811

738

749

734

762

719

712

748

784

806

957

774

1988 1 184 1 029

899

963

975 1 126 1 166 1 036

968 1 000

1025

980

1 029

1989

946

964

950

918

954

888

783

676

717

754

714

602

822

1990

671

661

693

672

702

677

680

677

678

678

773

847

701

1991

882

844

854

785

793

777

827

843

795

818

863

884

837

1992

919

912

954

944

892

940

899

857

883

897

957

946

917

1993

992 1 043

1 023

971

886

848

848

827

827

753

790

880

890

1994

992

1008

995

1 085 1 223 1 276 1 195 1 410 1 454 1 417

1 634

1 718

1 284

1995 1 538 1 616

1 700

1 502 1 420 1 427 1 457 1 425 1 346 1 417

1 431

1 395

1 473

1996 1 245 1 221

1 199

1 253 1 281 1 160 1 067 1 126 1 188 1 152

1 184

1 223

1 192

1997 1 315 1 347

1 281

1 299 1 315 1 215 1 180 1 233 1 389 1 619

1 669

1 849

1 358

1998 2 404 2 312

2 264

2 362 2 499 2 350 2 432 2 482 2 409 2 349

2 377

2 228

2 378

1999 2 197 1 923

1 671

1 698 1 553 1 276 1 103 1 143 1 324 1 263

1 205

1 199

1 450

2000 1 160 1 079

1 121

1 230 1 107 1 054 1 017

2001

722

816

743

796

985

926

773

811

758

997

988 1 215

999

862

1 059

1 113

895

697

786

2002 1 180 1 124

1 151

1 175 1 262 1 449 1 391 1 496 1 410 1 408

1 576

1 646

1 364

2003 1 659 1 612

1 504

1 461 1 480 1 518 1 503 1 399 1 430 1 677

1 867

1 839

1 544

2004 1 790 1 894

2 001

1 978 1 874 1 549 1 476 1 483 1 555 1 470

1 483

1 421

1 610

2005 1 338 1 305

1 428

1 434 1 415 1 403 1 409 1 354 1 388 1 456

1 423

1 391

1 394

2006 1 413 1 445

1 428

1 410 1 423 1 397 1 447 1 605 1 529 1 515

1 690

1 865

1 511

2007 1 930 1 927

1 959

2 209 2 472 2 609 2 634 2 538 2 582 2 771

2 965

2 933

2 531

Source: MPOB.

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

45

3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

300
200
100
000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0

Average Crude Palm Oil Price

Datasheet

46

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

51

52

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

ue to the increased cost of printing, the advertisement rate for 2008 is RM 700 per issue for
an A4 size page of black and white, whereas the cost for colour is RM 900. One year of
complimentary vendors list advertisement is given for every one page A4-size colour or black
& white advertisement. Advertisers are required to submit to us either their own black and
white artwork or colour separation films. Cheque should be made payable to the Malaysian
Palm Oil Board. If you have any queries, please contact the following at MPOB.

Tel: 03-87694400

Fax: 03-89262971

Dr. Lim Weng Soon ext: 4406 N. Ravi Menon ext: 4467 Lim Soo Chin ext: 4676
E-mail: milleng@mpob.gov.my
Advertising Schedule for MPOB Palm Oil Engineering Bulletin
Issue

Quarter

Deadline for
Registration

Deadline for
Submission
of Artwork

88

July - Sept 2008

30 July 2008

30 Aug 2008

89

Oct - Dec 2008

30 Oct 2008

30 Nov 2008

90

Jan - Mar 2009

30 Jan 2009

27 Feb 2009

91

Apr - June 2009

30 Apr 2009

30 May 2009

REPLY-SLIP
Dr. Lim Weng Soon/Ir. N. Ravi Menon
Engineering and Processing Division
Palm Oil Engineering Bulletin
MPOB
6, Persiaran Institusi
Bandar Baru Bangi
43000 Kajang, Selangor
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN ADVERTISEMENT FULL PAGE ADVT.
1. We confirm our intention to advertise in the MPOB Palm Oil Engineering Bulletin.
Company:
Address:

E-Mail:

Contact Person:

Tel. No.:

Fax No.:
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2. The artwork is attached/will be sent on

3. Please find enclosed *crossed cheque no.:
(

for your further action.

for RM
) being payment for the advertisement fee.

4. Thank you.

(Date)

(Company chop)

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

MPOB PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN - FULL PAGE

ADVERTISEMENT

53

ollowing a decision by the Editorial Board to further increase the role of Palm Oil Engineering Bulletin to serve
the Industry better, a new addition called Palm Oil Mill Vendors has been introduced similar to Telekom Yellow
Pages to assist mill engineers to know where to source materials or services pertaining to the industry. In order to
make this useful, we need the co-operation of the mill engineers/managers to persuade their vendors to advertise
in the Vendors List for a nominal fee of RM 100/year (four issues). If you have any queries, please contact the
following at MPOB.

Tel: 03-87694400

Fax: 03-89262971

Ir. Ravi Menon ext. 4467 or e-mail: nravi@mpob.gov.my

Ms. Lim Soo Chin ext. 4676 or e-mail: milleng@mpob.gov.my

REPLY SLIP
Dr. Lim Weng Soon/Ir. N. Ravi Menon
Engineering and Processing Division
Palm Oil Engineering Bulletin Advertisement
MPOB, 6, Persiaran Institusi, Bandar Baru Bangi, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia.
We wish to advertise in the MPOB Palm Oil Engineering Bulletin Vendors List
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Please select the headings from the list given below (not more than five headings) under which you wish to advertise.
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PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87

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STAMP

Chairman
The Editorial Board
Palm Oil Engineering Bulletin
Malaysian Palm Oil Board
P.O. Box 10620
50720 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
56

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 87