Properties of polylactic acid composites reinforced with oil palm biomass microcrystalline cellulose

In this work, polylactic acid (PLA) composites filled with microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) from oil palm biomass were successfully prepared through solution casting. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy indicates that there are no significant changes in the peak positions, suggesting that incorporation of MCC in PLA did not result in any significant change in chemical structure of PLA. Thermogravimetric analysis was conducted on the samples. The T₅₀ decomposition temperature improved with addition of MCC, showing increase in thermal stability of the composites. The synthesized composites were characterized in terms of tensile properties. The Young's modulus increased by about 30%, while the tensile strength and elongation at break for composites decreased with addition of MCC. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the composites fractured surface shows that the MCC remained as aggregates of crystalline cellulose. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) topographic image of the composite surfaces show clustering of MCC with uneven distribution.     

Kinetics of biomass catalytic pyrolysis

The Coats–Redfern method was used to analyze the kinetic characteristics of biomass catalytic pyrolysis, indicating that it can be described by multi-step reactions, rather than as a simple first-order reaction. Friedman model-free calculations were used to describe the starting reaction types and the corresponding initial kinetic parameters. Finally, nonlinear regression of biomass catalytic pyrolysis showed that the reaction mechanism of the whole process could be kinetically characterized by three successive reactions: a one-dimensional diffusion reaction, followed by an apparent first-order reaction, and then by a two-dimensional diffusion reaction. The kinetic parameters and equations were also calculated.     

Ethanol and biomass from Palmyra palm sap

Summary A strain ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae, Y18, has been isolated and characterized for the production of ethanol and biomass from the sap of Palmyra palm. The ethanol and biomass produced by Y18 in batch cultures without aeration were 70 g/L and 6 g/L respectively, from saps containing 150 g/L of sucrose. Under aerobic conditions, the biomass produced was 0.5 g/g sucrose, with crude and true protein contentsentrations of 57 and 52 % w/w respectively.     

SSR mining in oil palm EST database: application in oil palm germplasm diversity studies

This study reports on the detection of additional expressed sequence tags (EST) derived simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers for the oil palm. A large collection of 19243 Elaeis guineensis ESTs were assembled to give 10258 unique sequences, of which 629 ESTs were found to contain 722 SSRs with a variety of motifs. Dinucleotide repeats formed the largest group (45.6%) consisting of 66.9% AG/CT, 21.9% AT/AT, 10.9% AC/GT and 0.3% CG/CG motifs. This was followed by trinucleotide repeats, which is the second most abundant repeat types (34.5%) consisting of AAG/CTT (23.3%), AGG/CCT (13.7%), CCG/CGG (11.2%), AAT/ATT (10.8%), AGC/GCT (10.0%), ACT/AGT (8.8%), ACG/CGT (7.6%), ACC/GGT (7.2%), AAC/GTT (3.6%) and AGT/ACT (3.6%) motifs. Primer pairs were designed for 405 unique EST-SSRs and 15 of these were used to genotype 105 E. guineensis and 30 E. oleifera accessions. Fourteen SSRs were polymorphic in at least one germplasm revealing a total of 101 alleles. The high percentage (78.0%) of alleles found to be specific for either E. guineensis or E. oleifera has increased the power for discriminating the two species. The estimates of genetic differentiation detected by EST-SSRs were compared to those reported previously. The transferability across palm taxa to two Cocos nucifera and six exotic palms is also presented. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products of three primer-pairs detected in E. guineensis, E. oleifera, C. nucifera and Jessinia bataua were cloned and sequenced. Sequence alignments showed mutations within the SSR site and the flanking regions. Phenetic analysis based on the sequence data revealed that C. nucifera is closer to oil palm compared to J. bataua; consistent with the taxanomic classification.     

Catalytic processes towards the production of biofuels in a palm oil and oil palm biomass-based biorefinery

In Malaysia, there has been interest in the utilization of palm oil and oil palm biomass for the production of environmental friendly biofuels. A biorefinery based on palm oil and oil palm biomass for the production of biofuels has been proposed. The catalytic technology plays major role in the different processing stages in a biorefinery for the production of liquid as well as gaseous biofuels. There are number of challenges to find suitable catalytic technology to be used in a typical biorefinery. These challenges include (1) economic barriers, (2) catalysts that facilitate highly selective conversion of substrate to desired products and (3) the issues related to design, operation and control of catalytic reactor. Therefore, the catalytic technology is one of the critical factors that control the successful operation of biorefinery. There are number of catalytic processes in a biorefinery which convert the renewable feedstocks into the desired biofuels. These include biodiesel production from palm oil, catalytic cracking of palm oil for the production of biofuels, the production of hydrogen as well as syngas from biomass gasification, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) for the conversion of syngas into liquid fuels and upgrading of liquid/gas fuels obtained from liquefaction/pyrolysis of biomass. The selection of catalysts for these processes is essential in determining the product distribution (olefins, paraffins and oxygenated products). The integration of catalytic technology with compatible separation processes is a key challenge for biorefinery operation from the economic point of view. This paper focuses on different types of catalysts and their role in the catalytic processes for the production of biofuels in a typical palm oil and oil palm biomass-based biorefinery.     

Comparative life cycle assessment of rapeseed oil and palm oil

Background, aim and scope  

The environmental effect of globalisation has been debated intensively in the last decades. Only few well-documented analyses of global versus local product alternatives exist, whilst recommendations on buying local are vast. At the same time, the European Environmental Agency’s Third Assessment concludes that the resource use within the EU is stabilising at the expense of increased resource use for import of products to the EU. Taking its point of departure in vegetable oils, this article compares rapeseed oil and palm oil as a local and a global alternative for meeting the increasing demand for these products in the EU. By using detailed life cycle assessment (LCA), this study compares the environmental impacts and identifies alternative ways of producing rapeseed oil and palm oil to the EU market in order to reduce environmental impacts.     

Mineral deficiency symptoms of the oil palm

Summary Young oil palms in sand culture experiment developed symptoms of nitrogen, potassium and magnesium deficiencies involving a homogeneous yellowing, a marginal yellowing and an orange chlorosis respectively. All these deficiencies resulted in poor growth and a reduced root development. A further experiment showed that Little Leaf Disease was caused by boron deficiency. Magnesium and potassium deficiency symptoms were also induced in this experiment. Sulphur deficiency symptoms, consisting of a yellowing of the young leaves, an interveinal chlorosis and necrosis, were induced in a factorial sand culture experiment and a second missing element trial. Insufficient available nitrogen, potassium, magnesium and boron all have an adverse effect on the production of inflorescences.It is considered that Plant Failure disease is caused by a poorly developed rooting system which may result from magnesium, boron and, possibly, potassium deficiencies.No evidence has been obtained to support the view that Confluent Orange Spotting is caused by potassium deficiency.     

Effects of palm oil and transesterified palm oil on chylomicron and VLDL triacylglycerol structures and postprandial lipid response

The effects of positional distribution of triacylglycerol (TAG) fatty acids to TAG structures in chylomicrons and VLDL, and to postprandial lipemia, were studied in 10 healthy premenopausal women using a 6-h oral fat load test and a randomized, double-blind cross-over design. Molecular level information of TAG regioisomerism was obtained with a tandem mass spectrometric method. The positional distribution of fatty acids in chylomicron TAGs was similar to the respective dietary fat; 79% of the analyzed regioisomers in palm oil and 84% of the analyzed regioisomers in transesterified oil were found in chylomicron TAGs 3 h after the oral fat loads. VLDL TAGs were equal after the two fat loads in all but one regioisomer. Similarities in the fatty acid compositions of chylomicron TAGs suggest that palmitic acid was absorbed equally from both test fats. The proportion of palmitoleic acid in the chylomicrons was increased. Fat with palmitic acid predominantly in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions caused a larger incremental area of total TAGs in plasma and reduced plasma insulin values at the beginning of the postprandial response (0-90 min) compared with fat with palmitic acid randomly distributed. The relationship between TAG molecular structures in dietary fats and in lipoproteins provides new means for understanding the effects of fatty acid positional distribution on human lipid metabolism.     

Climate change affecting oil palm agronomy,and oil palm cultivation increasing climate change,require amelioration

Palm oil is used in various valued commodities and is a large global industry worth over US$ 50 billion annually. Oil palms (OP) are grown commercially in Indonesia and Malaysia and other countries within Latin America and Africa. The large‐scale land‐use change has high ecological, economic, and social impacts. Tropical countries in particular are affected negatively by climate change (CC) which also has a detrimental impact on OP agronomy, whereas the cultivation of OP increases CC. Amelioration of both is required. The reduced ability to grow OP will reduce CC, which may allow more cultivation tending to increase CC, in a decreasing cycle. OP could be increasingly grown in more suitable regions occurring under CC. Enhancing the soil fauna may compensate for the effect of CC on OP agriculture to some extent. The effect of OP cultivation on CC may be reduced by employing reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plans, for example, by avoiding illegal fire land clearing. Other ameliorating methods are reported herein. More research is required involving good management practices that can offset the increases in CC by OP plantations. Overall, OP‐growing countries should support the Paris convention on reducing CC as the most feasible scheme for reducing CC.     

熔盐热裂解生物质制生物油

为探讨热裂解条件对熔盐中生物质热裂解制生物油的影响,在自行设计的反应器中,以摩尔比为7∶6的ZnCl2-KCl混合熔盐作为热裂解的热载体、催化剂和分散剂,考察了500 ℃时添加的金属盐和生物质原料的影响,并采用气相色谱-质谱仪 (GC-MS) 对生物油的主要组成进行了分析。结果表明：添加的金属盐显著影响热裂解产物得率,稀土金属盐显著提高生物油得率,降低生物油的含水率,添加摩尔分数为5.0％ LaCl3时生物油得率为32.0％,含水率为61.5％;水稻秸秆热裂解的生物油和焦炭得率较高,稻壳热裂解的气体得率较高;金属添加盐对生物油组成有较强的选择性,LiCl和FeCl2对生物质向小分子裂解具有较强的催化作用,而CrCl3、CaCl2和LaCl3对生物油二次裂解具有抑制作用。研究结果为熔盐热裂解生物质制生物油提供了参考。     

Upgrading of liquid fuel from the pyrolysis of biomass

Pyrolysis of biomass was carried out in a fluidized bed unit (5 kg/h) with the objective of maximizing liquid yield. Liquid product formed in pyrolysis was separated into two phases: water phase and oil phase. The oil phase was upgraded by sulfided Co-Mo-P catalyst in an autoclave. Effects of reaction conditions on the product distribution were investigated, and optimal conditions were therefore concluded. Comparison was made by analysis between the raw oil phase and the upgraded liquid fuel. The significant difference between the raw pyrolytic oil and the upgraded oil was that the former was methanol-soluble while the latter was oil-soluble.     

Comparative study of pyrolysis of algal biomass from natural lake blooms with lignocellulosic biomass

Pyrolysis experiments were performed with algal and lignocellulosic feedstocks under similar reactor conditions for comparison of product (bio-oil, gas and bio-char) yields and composition. In spite of major differences in component bio-polymers, feedstock properties relevant to thermo-chemical conversions, such as overall C, H and O-content, C/O and H/C molar ratio as well as calorific values, were found to be similar for algae and lignocellulosic material. Bio-oil yields from algae and some lignocellulosic materials were similar; however, algal bio-oils were compositionally different and contained several N-compounds (most likely from protein degradation). Algal bio-char also had a significantly higher N-content. Overall, our results suggest that it is feasible to convert algal cultures deficient in lipids, such as nuisance algae obtained from natural blooms, into liquid fuels by thermochemical methods. As such, pyrolysis technologies being developed for lignocellulosic biomass may be directly applicable to algal feedstocks as well.     

Proposed mechanisms for red palm oil induced cardioprotection in a model of hyperlipidaemia in the rat

High-cholesterol diets alter myocardial and vascular NO-cGMP signaling and have been implicated in ischaemic/reperfusion injury. We investigated the effects of dietary red palm oil (RPO) containing fatty acids, carotonoids, tocopherols and tocotrienols on myocardial ischaemic tolerance and NO-cGMP pathway function in the rat. Wistar rats were fed a standard rat chow+/-RPO, or a standard rat chow+cholesterol+/-RPO diet. Myocardial mechanical function and NO-cGMP signaling pathway intermediates were determined before, during and after 25 min ischaemia. RPO-supplementation improved aortic output recovery and increased myocardial ischaemic cGMP concentrations. Simulated ischaemia (hypoxia) increased cardiomyocyte nitric oxide levels in the two RPO supplemented groups, but not in control non-supplemented groups. RPO supplementation also increased hypoxic nitric oxide levels in the control diet fed, but not the cholesterol fed rats. These data suggest that dietary RPO may improve myocardial ischaemic tolerance by increasing bioavailability of NO and improving NO-cGMP signaling in the heart.