Characteristics of Purified Lignin Obtained from Metroxylon Sagu Palm Fronds, Oil Palm Fronds, Cratoxylum arborescens, and Eucalyptus pellita via Soda-Methylanthraquinone Pulping

Oil palm frond (OPF) is a new non-conventional fibrous feed for ruminants. Evaluation on the nutritive values and digestibility of OPF was carried out using goats. In a completely randomised design, 20 local male goats were assigned to evaluate fresh and different types of processed OPF. A 60 day feeding trial was done to determine the digestible nutrient intake of fresh, ensiled and pelleted OPF and its response on live weight gain of goat. The pelleting of OPF increased (p<0.05) intake compared to fresh or ensiled OPF. The OPF based mixed pellet (50% OPF with 15% palm kernel cake, 6% rice bran, 6% soybean hull, 15% molasses, 2% fishmeal, 4% urea, 1.5% mineral mixture and 0.5% common salt) increased (p<0.05) nutrient intake, digestibility and reduced feed refusals. The mixed pellet also increased digestible dry matter intake (DDMI) and digestible organic matter intake (DOMI) at 80% and 63% level respectively than the fresh OPF. The increased digestible nutrient intake on the OPF based mixed pellet, resulted in increased live weight gain of goats. Furthermore, OPF has a good potential as a roughage source when it is used with concentrate supplement. OPF based formulated feed in a pelleted form could be used as a complete feed for intensive production of goat and other ruminants.

Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom) is cultivated in Malaysia using rubber tree sawdust (RS). Due to a shortage and the increasing cost of rubber tree sawdust, an alternative substrate is needed. This study was undertaken to evaluate the feasibility of oil palm frond (OPF) as an alternative substrate for the cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus. The OPF and RS were analysed for their elemental compositions. The mycelium growth rate, the time for first pinhead formation and first fruiting bodies, yield, and biological efficiency (BE%) were studied for 100 % OPF, 90 % OPF - 10 % RS, 70 % OPF - 30 % RS, 50 %OPF – 50 % RS, 30 % OPF – 70 %RS, 10 % OPF - 90 % RS and 0 % OPF – 100 % RS substrates supplemented with rice bran and calcium carbonate. The proximate nutritional value of Pleurotus ostreatus first flush was also analysed for 100 % RS and 100% OPF. For mycelium growth rate, time for first pinhead formation and time to first Pleurotus ostreatus crop, the 0% OPF - 100 % RS substrate recorded the shortest time followed by the 10% OPF -90 % RS substrate. The 0 % OPF – 100 % RS substrate gave the highest yield of 135 g (22.6 % BE) whereas 125 g (20.9 % BE) was obtained from the 30 % OPF – 70 % RS substrate. The first flush of Pleurotus ostreatus harvested from the 100 % OPF substrate was richer in protein but lower in fat and carbohydrate compared to the mushrooms from the 100 % RS substrate making it an excellent food for low caloric diet, but OPF alone is not suitable as an alternative substrate for the cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus as it took a longer growth performance with a lower yield of fruiting bodies compared to RS substrate.

Bioethanol and biogas production from oil palm trunk (OPT) and oil palm frond (OPF) investigated within a biorefinery concept. Firstly, bioethanol production from OPT and OPF pretreated two-stage steam explosion by comparing with enzyme hydrolysis and without enzyme hydrolysis in the SSF process, which used S. cerevisiae in fermentation. The amount of bioethanol increased rapidly, which was stable when the fermentation process entered 96 hrs, resulting in the highest amount of bioethanol produced from OPF and OPT equal to 0.31 and 0.40 g ethanol/g glucose of bioethanol yield, which was about 24.96% and 25.99% higher than the non-enzymatic fermentation of OPF and OPT. The total stillage from OPT and OPF distillation produced a methane yield of 164.38 ml/CH4 g COD at 30 days of HRT and an organic loading rate (OLR) of 12.45 g COD/L-day. Biofuels in the biorefinery concept of OPF/OPT material at 1,000 kg produced bioethanol, biogas, and solid residue as 49 L at 95% bioethanol, 7,116 L at 63.05% of methane composition, and 13 kilograms of solid residue.

Physicochemical characterization of alkaline and ethanol organosolv lignins from oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) fronds as phenol substitutes for green material applications

Two experiments were undertaken using lambs and cows fed steam-treated oil palm frond (SOPF). In the first experiment, 8 lambs received SOPF supplemented with 4 levels of urea: 0 (U0), 8 (U8), 16 (U16) and 24 g urea/kg SOPF (U24) in a replicated 4 x 4 Latin square design. When the lambs were given the above diets, all the measurements for intake and digestibility (dry matter, organic matter and nitrogen) increased in a linear (P < 0.001) manner up to the level of U16, except for intake of nitrogen (N); no further benefits were obtained when more urea was added. Giving 16 g urea per kg could provide sufficient fermentable N for SOPF utilization. Three ruminally cannulated non lactating cross-bred Charolais x Kedah-Kelantan cattle were used in the second experiment to determine the effective degradability of N from cassava foliage (CF), cassava leaves (CL) and soybean meal (SM) suspended in the rumen. The animals were fed with amount of dry matter (DM) that was equivalent to 1.5% of body weight of SOPF supplemented with 16 g of urea per kg. The effective degradability of N from CF, CL and SM was calculated from their residues after incubation in the rumen for 2, 4, 8, 16 and 24 h. Increasing the rate of outflow of particulate matter (from 2, 5 to 8%/ h) from the rumen, resulted in a greater disappearance of N (P < 0.05) from CF than from CL or SM. Because of its relative faster rate of degradation, CF in addition to the provision of fermentable N may also contribute easily degradable cellulose and hemicellulose to SOPF-based diets. The nylon bag technique appeared to be a powerful tool for screening protein supplements. Key words: Degradability, nitrogen, oil palm frond, ruminant, steam treatment, supplementation.

Plant nutrient management, especially organic materials is one of the interesting topics to be studied more deeply in rubber tree plantation. The price of rubber tends to decrease every year. It encourages the planters to utilize organic materials as fertilizer substitute agent. Organic materials have a function to improve the physical, chemical, and biological characteristic of soil. Organic materials, besides from the plantation (in situ) such as weeds, cover crops, and twigs, but it’s also be sourced from outside the plantation (e x situ) such as compost from oil palm industry. Litter poten cy from legume cover crop of Mucuna bracteata (Mb) in immature rubber plant area as soil organic material is big enough that is 2–7 ton/ha/year or 2,5-7 times higher than conventional cover crop. Furthermore, poten cy of nutrient returns to soil from Mb biomass amount 250,98 kg/ha N; 9,08 kg/ha P 2 O 5 ; 72,5 kg/ha K 2 O; and 11,95 kg/ha MgO. The existence of cover crop in immature rubber plant interrows also affect to uniformity of rubber plant, the number of mature rubber, and bark thickness better than conventional cover crop. Waste of oil palm industry such as empty fruit bunches and oil p a lm frond (OPF) also very potential to be used as organic material source to rubber plant. The number of rubber fine roots which is sized < 1 mm in diameter increased up to twice compared with a rubber plant without oil palm empty fruit bunches application. CEC value, C-organic and N, P, K, Ca, Mg content were reported also increased significantly. OPF is agricultural waste that have high lignin and cellulose and with an appropriate composting management become potential to produce manure compost on day 75. In Immature rubber plant, dose of 20 ton/ha increased soil porosity and decrease d in bulk density compared plant without compost of OPF application. The treatment of 20 % compost + 80 % subsoil significantly increased the root dry weight of rubber plant seedling and also increased pH, CEC, C-Organic, P, K, Ca, and Mg soil content. Application of organic matter in plantation can be combine d with “rorak” (small blocked ditches). This condition causes the water plant needs can be fulfilled in dry season hence fertiliz er application will be more efficient and nutrient uptake better. Keywords: Hevea brasiliensis , organic matter, nutrient , Mucuna bracteata , compost

Production of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) fronds lignin-derived non-toxic aldehyde for eco-friendly wood adhesive

Oil palm frond seems to be among the best alternative substitution fillers in thermoplastic composite (WPC) as it is abundantly available and its lignocellulosic properties offer great usability. There is still lack of preliminary studies on the basic effects of oil palm frond’s particle size and its loading in polypropylene matrix. Thus, this paper focuses on studying the mechanical and physical properties of oil palm frond–polypropylene composite in the effects of both particle size and filler loading. Composites with 10–50 % filler loading were fabricated with four different sizes from unscreen particles towards the fines which are 425, 250, and 75 µm. The findings performed a significant difference at 95 % confident level in all tested samples which are flexural MOR, flexural MOE, tensile strength, tensile modulus, elongation at break, and water absorption behavior. Largest size showed the best mechanical properties among the others, which is contradicted to previous reports on wood particle thermoplastic composite. These findings are useful as a guide throughout the future researches based on oil palm frond and polypropylene matrix.

This study investigates the potential of ozonolysis pretreatment on oil palm frond (OPF) for enhancing total reducing sugar (TRS) recovery. The OPF is pretreated by ozonolysis prior to two-step acid hydrolysis. The effect of ozonolysis pretreatment on the physico-chemical properties of OPF is scrutinized followed by the effect of process parameters on lignin degradation and TRS recovery. The presence of lignin-rich and cellulose-rich fractionates are proven by TGA. The XRD reveals crystallinity after pretreatment is increases while crystal size reduces indicating the removal of amorphous lignin region. The structure of OPF is disrupted during the pretreatment revealing the cellulose rosette structure in treated OPF as shown by FeSEM. Ultimately, TRS recovery increases up to 62.3 % with 90 % lignin degradation. This testifies ozonolysis is pertinent for enhancing sugar yields in acid hydrolysis. Among the process parameters, OPF particle size is the most significant followed by reaction time, moisture content, and ozone flowrate. The findings of this work contribute to new information about the pretreatment of biomass by ozonolysis.

The rate of oil palm production in Malaysia increases annually and as a result, the oil palm wastes, especially oil palm trunk (OPT) and oil palm fronds (OPF) remain abundant. A suitable way of converting this abundant waste to renewable energy is through thermochemical conversion. Thus, this study investigates the characteristics of OPT and OPF biomass, for use as feedstock in thermochemical processes like gasification, pyrolysis, and combustion. The analysis carried out includes; ultimate (CHNSO) and proximate (thermogravimetric) analysis, calorific value, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and x-ray fluorescence (XRF). Both feedstocks exhibited potential for use as fuel in biomass thermochemical conversion. The CHNSO analysis showed the presence of sufficient carbon, hydrogen and oxygen elements in both feedstocks, with carbon being the highest 45.42% in OPT and 43.35% in OPF. The percentages of nitrogen and sulphur which are required to be less for a good fuel were also obtained in low quantities for both fuel; 0.47% and 0.13% in OPT and 0.76% and 0.45% in OPF, respectively. The thermogravimetric analysis revealed both feedstocks to be having high volatile matter 62.28% in OPT and 66.10% in OPF. Meanwhile, sufficient fixed carbon content of 26.18% in OPT and 25.68% in OPF with low ash content of 9.82% in OPT and 6.32% in OPF were obtained in the analysis. FESEM and XRF were used to investigate the surface morphology, elemental and mineralogical nature of the samples. The findings were compared with those of other biomass and non-biomass materials. The EDX graph showed the presence of carbon and oxygen in a higher amount while in the XRF analysis CaO and K2O were the major oxides present in both OPT and OPF, with a low amount of SiO making the feedstocks less prone to agglomeration during thermochemical conversion.

The prevalent problem of partnership is the difficulty of supplying green feed. Palm oil frond was the most available palm oil waste for feed utilization by partnership because both partners were located in palm oil plantation area. For optimum feed utilization, palm oil frond was to undergo particular process through ammoniation with urea and fermentation with MOL (local microorganism) from cow manure. The objective of this activity was to introduce the processing technology of palm oil frond by ammoniation and fermentation in partner groups. The variables of this activity were palm oil frond ammoniation, fermented palm oil frond, and mol from cow manure. This social service activity was conducted by extension method, training and demonstration, as well as group supervision and partnership. The result of this event demonstrated that partner groups were able and skillful in processing palm oil frond through ammoniation and fermentation, as well as creating MOL from cow feces as fermentation starter. Ammoniation palm oil was characterized by ammoniac smell and intact green texture. Good quality fermented palm oil frond was tapai- like fragrant, moldless and mucus-free yellowish green. Ammoniation and fermented palm oil frond had good palatability as observed from the response of cow’s immediate intake on the first administration without necessarily long adaptation. Conclusion: Processing technology of palm oil frond was well accepted and applicable in partner groups as solution to green feed problem. K eywords : ammoniation, fermentation, mol cow manure, palm oil frond, cattle feed

In this study, lignocellulosic biomass from oil palm trunk (OPT) and oil palm frond (OPF) of oil palm tree, Elaeis guineensis, were treated using the microwave-alkali (Mw-A) method, and their chemical constituents, namely cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, were analyzed. A number of instruments, i.e. FESEM, FT-IR, and XRD, were employed to analyze the morphology and structural changes of biomass. After the Mw-A pretreatment, it was revealed that the amount of cellulose released was up to 41.55% for OPT and 64.42% for OPF. There was also a huge degree of reduction in hemicellulose, up to 64%, but lignin removal saw a fair reduction with only 15.33% for OPT and 17.97% for OPF. The results revealed that the Mw-A pretreatment is capable of disrupting the OPT and OPF.

Five male dairy goats (Saanen), 4.6 month old with a body weight of 21.4 (SD±1.6) kg, were used to examine 5 dietary urea treatments in a 5×5 Latin Square experimental design. The five levels of urea were 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 g urea/kg DM of steam-treated oil palm fronds (OPF) and dry matter intake tended (p>0.05) to increase with increasing urea supplementation up to 30 g/kg OPF (77.7 g/kg BW 0.75), but decreased (p<0.05) with 40 and 50 g urea/kg OPF (67.4 and 63.7 g/kg BW 0.75, respectively) supplementation. Similarly, dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber and hemicellulose digestibilities increased (p<0.05) with the addition of urea to 30 g/kg OPF but thereafter decreased (p<0.05) with 40 and 50 g/kg OPF. Ruminal pH, ruminal NH 3-N concentration and plasma urea concentration increased linearly (p<0.01) and quadratically (p<0.01) as a consequence of addition of urea to the diet. Excretion of total purine derivatives (PD) by goats fed 30 g of urea/kg OPF was highest (p<0.05) followed by goats fed 20, 40, 10 and 50 g of urea/kg OPF. Microbial N (g N/day) and efficiency of microbial N supply expressed as g N/kg organic matter apparently digested in the rumen were higher (p<0.05) in goats fed 30 g of urea/kg OPF (5.5 g N/day and 22.0 g N/kg DOMR, respectively) than in goats on 10 and 50 g of urea/kg OPF treatments. However, the former did not differ from goats fed 20 g of urea/kg OPF (3.9 g N/day and 16.6 g N/kg DMOR, respectively). Ruminal VFA concentration, protein/energy ratio, N absorption and N retention increased (p<0.05) with the addition of urea to the diet up to 30 g/kg OPF but decreased (p<0.05) with 40 and 50 g/kg OPF. This implies that the optimal level of urea supplementation in an OPF based diet was about 30 g urea/kg OPF.

Effect of Pretreatment Process by Using Diluted Acid to Characteristic of oil Palm's Frond

The capability of ultrafiltrated alkaline and organosolv oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) fronds lignin as green corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in 0.5 M HCl solution