Fuel Characteristics of Solid Biofuel Derived from Oil Palm Biomass and Fast Growing Timber Species in Malaysia

The fuel characteristics of solid biofuels derived from biomass that is abundantly available in Malaysia are presented. The objectives of the study were to characterize fuel properties of oil palm biomass (empty fruit bunch (EFB) and oil palm trunk (OPT)) and wood from a range of fast growing timber species (Albizia falcataria, Acacia spp., Endospermum spp. and Macaranga spp.), inclusive and exclusive of bark. Among the fast-growing timber species, the higher heating values ranged from 4288 cal g^-1 to 4383 cal g^-1 for wood inclusive of bark, and 4134 cal g^-1 to 4343 cal g^-1 for wood exclusive of bark. The inclusive of bark portion in the biomass sample generally increased the heating value except for Macaranga spp. Empty fruit bunch and oil palm trunk had heating values of 4315 cal g^-1 and 4104 cal g^-1, respectively. Ash-forming elements and trace elements were much higher in the timber species samples inclusive of bark than samples exclusive of bark. On the other hand, oil palm biomass contained higher ash-forming elements and trace elements than the wood from the fast growing timber species. The European energy crops show higher HHV, Cl and Si content but lower K, Mg, Na and P compared to the local biomass used in this study. The data obtained from this study can serve as a foundation for the selection of suitable biomass to be used as solid fuel, or as a reference on the fabrication of conversion systems for the selection of biomass solid fuel.     

Midday Closure of Stomata in the Oil Palm Elaeis guineensis. Jacq.

Under natural climatic conditions in West Africa, midday closureof stomata in 3–6-year-old oil palms occurs only in thelatter half of the dry season, when soil moisture is low andair temperatures are high. Using an infiltration method, attempts were made to determinethe climatic factors which affect stomatal closure. The extentof midday closure is related closely to air temperature andshade temperature under the palm, agreeing closely with thefindings of Meidner and Heath (1959) on onion, but the aperture-temperaturecurves are different for watered and unwatered palms in thedry season, the difference being greater at higher temperatures.Watering reduces closure by changing the aperture-temperaturerelationship. Under natural conditions this effect is usuallyobscured because of lower temperatures in the dry season followingrain. During Harmattan weather, with very low relative humidities,the aperture-temperature relationship broke down. The results are discussed in relation to current views on middayclosure of stomata.     

Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase in Microsomes and Oil Bodies of Oil Palm Mesocarp

Specific acyltransferase activities were detected in microsomesand oil bodies from palm mesocarp in the presence of exogenouslysophosphatidic acid, diacylglycerol and glycerol-3-phosphate.These activities were 2–3 times higher per mg proteinin oil bodies than in microsomes. Diacylglycerol acyltransferasein both preparations required Mg²⁺, dithiothreitol, gelatineand fat free bovine serum albumin for maximum activity at pH8.5. The enzyme had an apparent Km of 0.18 mM for dipalmitin.In both preparations, the enzyme was active with myristoyl-CoA,palmitoyl-CoA, stearoyl-CoA and oleoyl-CoA. When presented witha mixture of two acyl- CoAs, microsomal enzyme showed no selectivitybut oil body enzyme had a preference for oleoyl-CoA over palmitoyl-CoA. (Received October 11, 1991; Accepted December 27, 1991)     

Feasibility Study of Performing an Life Cycle Assessment on Crude Palm Oil Production in Malaysia (9 pp)

Background, Goal and Scope The palm oil industry is one of the leading industries in Malaysia. With a yearly production of more than 13 million tons of crude palm oil (CPO) and plantations covering 11% of the Malaysian land area it is an industry to be reckoned with, also when it comes to environmental impacts. One way to describe and present the environmental impacts is through a life cycle assessment, LCA. This assessment aims to introduce the concept of LCA and perform a screening LCA on crude palm oil production in Malaysia including the stages of plantation, transport and milling. The assessment is largely based on general data and is thus meant to function as an indication of the environmental threads posed by CPO production and as a guideline to CPO producers and local universities on how to perform an LCA on a palm oil scenario. Due to the general data background the results of this report should not be quoted directly for decision making. The Functional Unit, to which all masses and emissions in this assessment have been adjusted, is the production of 1000 kg of CPO in Malaysia. Method Initially an overview of palm oil production was obtained and the outlines and borders of the assessment were determined along with the specific goal and scope of the assessment. The data for the assessment was collected from three different sources: - 1. Earlier studies and statistics on palm oil production in Malaysia - 2. Studies on similar processes, when palm oil related processes were not available - 3. General data from the SimaPro 5 database - The European Eco-Indicator 99 method and European databases included in the LCA software SimaPro 5 have been used for the impact calculations. Results and Discussion The impact processes related to the plantation are the on-site energy use (mainly diesel) and the production of artificial fertilizer. Pesticide use contributes a minor impact due to widely used integrated biological poet management. For transportation the only impact is from combustion of diesel and at the mill the boiler is the sole significant contributor – positively through electricity production and negatively by emissions from the boiler. Impacts from POME (Palm Oil Mill Effluent) are not dealt with in the main assessment, but touched upon in alternative scenarios. The results clearly show that fertilizer production is the most polluting process in the system followed by transportation and the boiler emissions at a tie. The most significant impacts from the system are respiratory inorganics and depletion of fossil fuels, of which the boiler emission is the main responsible for the prior and fertilizer production and transportation are responsible for the latter. It is also evident from the results that crude palm oil production is a significant environmental impact generator in Malaysia due to the vast production quantities. Alternative scenarios revealed that there are significant impact savings to be made by introduction of environmental investments, both regarding the overall impacts and in particularly regarding CO2 emissions. Conclusion A screening LCA was successfully conducted on the Malaysian crude palm oil production thus promising potentials for the palm oil industry to conduct their own inventories and assessments using specific company data. Crude palm oil production in Malaysia is responsible for app. 3.5% of the total environmental impacts in the country and must thus be given attention to reduce impacts. Alternatives such as optimized use of organic fertilizer, environmentally friendlier artificial fertilizer production, rail transport, approved filters at the mill boiler stack and biogas harvest from POME digestion must thus be promoted in the industry. Recommendation . The Malaysian palm oil industry should take steps towards introducing LCA. Exhaustive inventories are likely to open the eyes of many companies towards implementing environmental investments and improve the international competitiveness. In order to retrieve results with a greater accuracy in the future, databases must be created containing life cycle data from Malaysian scenarios and normalization and weighting factors must be designed to reflect Malaysian conditions. The Malaysian authorities must create incentives through increased tariffs on electricity and diesel and/or financial support for cleaner technology investments.     

The Apical Organization and Phyllotaxis of the Oil Palm

The oil palm apex is described, together with investigationsof its phyllotaxis as revealed by apical dissection and measurementson mature stems and axillary structures. The rate of growthof the apex is remarkably low, being correlated with both plastochroneand phyllotaxis height. This is discussed in relation to therates of dry-matter production determined for adult palms. Thephyllotaxis as determined in the apex is remarkably constant,irrespective of extremes of age and habitat, and the same patternis found almost unchanged in the leaf bases on mature stemsgrowing under plantation conditions. Modification of the characteristicphyllotaxis height occurs due to internal factors resultingin the basal swelling of the palm stem and the different phyllotaxisof branching systems, both vegetative and reproductive, andalso due to external factors which cause constrictions in thestem. These modifications result from different rates of longitudinaland radial growth during development, and cause considerablechange in phyllotaxis.