‘Good Riddance’: Sorting out ‘Bad’ Residues from the Swedish Biofuel Economy

Crude palm oil (CPO) and palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) are rich sources of bioactive compounds. PFAD is a by-product of palm oil refinery that produce palm frying oil. Physical refining of palm oil by deodorization produces palm fatty acid distillate. CPO and PFAD contain some bioactive compounds such as vitamin E (tocopherol and tocotrienols), phytosterol, and squalene. Bioactive compounds of CPO and PFAD are vitamin E, phytosterols, and squalene. Vitamin E of CPO and PFAD mainly comprised of tocotrienols and the remaining is tocopherol. Phytosterols of CPO and PFAD contained beta sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol. Tocotrienols and phytosterols of CPO and PFAD, each can be separated to produce tocotrienol rich fraction and phytosterol rich fraction. Tocotrienol rich fraction from PFAD has both antioxidant and cholesterol lowering properties. Bioactive compounds of PFAD silmultaneously have been proven to improve lipid profile, and have hepatoprotector effect, imunomodulator, antioxidant properties, and lactogenic effect in animal test experiment. It is possible to develop separation of bioactive compounds of CPO and PFAD integratively with the other process that utilizes fatty acid.

Palm Fatty Acid Destilate (PFAD) to be used as a raw material for making oleochemical products, solid lubricant. This is caused by the composition of fatty acids contained in PFAD not much different from the composition of fatty acids found in palm oil. This study aims to determine the formulation of solid lubricants (grease) from PFAD and compound metal soap (Al-Ca) as thickener which has characteristics close to SNI solid lubricants and know the quality of solid lubricants produced. The method used in the manufacture of solid grease (grease) consists of two stages. The first stage is the process of making mixed metal soap (Al-Ca) by mixing PFAD and Al(OH)3-Ca(OH)2 and analyzing the mixed metal soap. The second stage is the manufacture of solid lubricants (grease) from mixed metal soap (Al-Ca) and PFAD as well as analyzing the resulting product.Based on the research that has been done, the optimum solid lubricant obtained according to SNI standards is in the composition of A:B1, A1 is the ratio of Al(OH)3:Ca(OH)2 = 90%:10% and B1 is the ratio of metal soap:PFAD = 90 %:10%, so the density is 0.95gr/ml and the penetration value is 194 (25 °C).

Life-cycle energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of palm fatty acid distillate derived renewable diesel

Typically, a mineral based oil from petroleum refining has been widely used as automatic transmission fluid (ATF) in the wet clutch application. However, it has two major disadvantages: (1) It causes pollution to the environment and (2) It is a non-renewable source. Thus, Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD) is explored as an alternative lubricant for the wet clutch application. In present study, tribological behaviour of PFAD is first sought using a pin on disk tribo-tester and then its behavior will be compared with the behavior obtained in the commercial ATF. It is found in the friction analysis that PFAD has good anti friction ability at low speeds. In addition, PFAD generates almost identical dynamic friction coefficients obtained in the commercial ATF at velocity of 0.4m/s to 0.9 m/s. A slight positive slope in the friction coefficient–velocity graph indicates that PFAD has tendency to have anti-shudder properties, which can improve engaging quality of the wet clutch. However, PFAD has two weaknesses; low viscosity index and less anti wear ability. Some additives should be added into PFAD so that it can give better friction level and less wear rate.

Replacement of dietary fish oil with palm fatty acid distillate elevates tocopherol and tocotrienol concentrations and increases oxidative stability in the muscle of African catfish, Clarias gariepinus

Indonesia, as one of the biggest palm oil producers and exporters in the world, is producing large amounts of low-grade oil such as Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD) from palm oil industries. The use of PFAD can reduce the cost of biodiesel production significantly, which makes PFAD a highly potential alternative feedstock for biodiesel production. In this paper, the esterification of free fatty acid (FFA) on PFAD was studied using rice husk ash (RHA) as heterogeneous catalyst. The rice husk ash catalyst was synthesized by sulfonation using concentrated sulfuric acid. The RHA catalyst were characterized by using different techniques, such as porosity analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, total number of acid sites and elemental analysis. The effects of the molar ratio of methanol to PFAD (1-10%), the molar ratio of methanol to PFAD (4:1-10:1), and the reaction temperature (40-60°C) were studied for the conversion of FFA to optimize the reaction conditions. The results showed that the optimal conditions were an methanol to PFAD molar ratio of 10:1, the catalyst amount of 10 wt% of PFAD, and reaction temperature of 60°C.

Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions and energy balances of a biodiesel production from palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD)

This study aimed to evaluate the interaction between Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD) and high-tannin mangrove fruit extract (Sonneratia alba) on the in vitro digestibility of dairy cattle feed fiber fractions. The experimental design used a completely randomized factorial 3×4 pattern with three replicates. The first factor was the PFAD level (0%, 3%, 6%) and the second factor was the mangrove fruit extract dose (0%, 0.5%, 1%, 2%). Fermentation was carried out using the Tilley and Terry (1963) rumen stage method using fresh goat rumen fluid. The parameters observed included the digestibility of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), hemicellulose, and cellulose. The results showed that PFAD, mangrove fruit extract, and their interaction had a significant effect (P<0.05) on the digestibility of NDF and cellulose, but did not have a significant effect on ADF and hemicellulose. The combination of 3% PFAD and 0.5–1% extract provided the highest digestibility. Increasing PFAD and tannin reduced digestibility due to the fat coating effect and the formation of tannin complexes with structural carbohydrates. The combination of PFAD and mangrove tannin can be optimized as a functional feed additive based on local resources that improves rumen fermentation efficiency without reducing fiber digestibility.

Crude palm oil contains approximately 1% minor components, including carotenoids and vitamin E (tocopherols and tocotrienols), which contribute to the stability and nutritional properties of palm oil. Palm oil is considered one of the best sources of vitamin E. The vitamin E content in palm oil is unique because it is composed of tocotrienols rather than tocopherols. Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) is the volatile organic material recovered as a valuable by-product in the deodorization of palm oil. Several processes have been proposed for recovering tocopherols and tocotrienols from PFAD. For this separation process, it is necessary to develop a processing procedure to extract the valuable tocotrienols and other minor components from PFAD using molecular distillation. Molecular distillation occurs at low temperatures and reduces the problem of thermal decomposition. High vacuum also eliminates oxidation that might occur in the presence of air. The rate of evaporation is controlled by the rate at which the molecules escape from the free surface of the liquid and condense on the condenser. The effects of feed-flow rate and temperature of distillation on extraction of minor components from PFAD are based on concentrations, distribution coefficients, and relative volatilities. The separation of tocotrienols from PFAD approached maximum values at low temperatures and fell drastically as temperature increased. For the optimum conditions for the extraction of tocotrienols with high yield and purity, it is necessary to determine the effect of processing variables on the extraction of minor components (i.e., tocotrienols, α-tocopherol) from the PFAD in terms of concentrations in the liquid and vapor phases, to reveal the behavior of target components in the evaporation process, and to determine the evaporation and volatility properties of tocotrienols and other minor components from PFAD.

This study aimed to evaluate the interaction between Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD) and high-tannin mangrove fruit extract (Sonneratia alba) on the in vitro digestibility of dairy cattle feed fiber fractions. The experimental design used a completely randomized factorial 3×4 pattern with three replicates. The first factor was the PFAD level (0%, 3%, 6%) and the second factor was the mangrove fruit extract dose (0%, 0.5%, 1%, 2%). Fermentation was carried out using the Tilley and Terry (1963) rumen stage method using fresh goat rumen fluid. The parameters observed included the digestibility of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), hemicellulose, and cellulose. The results showed that PFAD, mangrove fruit extract, and their interaction had a significant effect (P<0.05) on the digestibility of NDF and cellulose, but did not have a significant effect on ADF and hemicellulose. The combination of 3% PFAD and 0.5–1% extract provided the highest digestibility. Increasing PFAD and tannin reduced digestibility due to the fat coating effect and the formation of tannin complexes with structural carbohydrates. The combination of PFAD and mangrove tannin can be optimized as a functional feed additive based on local resources that improves rumen fermentation efficiency without reducing fiber digestibility.

The employment of sugar acid catalysts for biodiesel synthesis from non-edible palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) has received huge research interest in recent times by reason of their stability and high catalytic performance. Notwithstanding, the need to extend research on the kinetic characteristics of these heterogeneous catalysts is important in order to understand their reaction mechanisms. The present investigation deals with the kinetics for the esterification of PFAD by means of modified sulfonated carbonized glucose catalyst to biodiesel in a three necked conventional reflux batch reactor. The efficient catalyst was synthesized by sulfonation of incomplete carbonized glucose. The pseudo-homogeneous first and second order (equimolar) mechanism was utilized to interpret the data at optimum operating conditions of 10:1 molar fraction of methanol to PFAD, 4 h time of reaction and 4 wt.% quantity of catalyst at varying reaction temperature of 50-65°C. Furthermore, some important properties of the PFAD biodiesel produced were assessed utilizing ASTM methods. The experimental data best fitted the bimolecular model (equimolar) second order model. The activation energy was calculated to be 55.08 kJmol-1 which indicates that the catalyst was very active in the esterification of the PFAD to biodiesel. Most of the measured fuel properties of the PFAD biodiesel were comparable with the ASTM standards.

Simple SummaryPalm fatty acid distillate is a by-product of palm oil refining. It is of both environmental and economic interest to include it in the diets of broiler chickens. However, its high saturation degree and acidity level limit its use. This study aimed to assess the effect of replacing soybean oil with increasing levels of palm fatty acid distillate on the utilization of fat by broilers. Dietary fat hydrolysis was mostly affected by the age of the bird and including palm fatty acid distillate mainly affected the absorption process. The replacement of soybean oil by palm fatty acid distillate reduced the total fat utilization, and in starter chicks delayed the site of fatty acid absorption. As the age increased, the digestibility of saturated fatty acids improved, and, above all, it improved the free fatty acid utilization. Therefore, the potential inclusion of palm fatty acid distillate for broiler feeds depends on the age of the bird. It would not be recommended to include this by-product in starter feeds. However, for the grower-finisher phase, blending palm fatty acid distillate with soybean oil (1:3, w/w) could be a suitable alternative, that does not have negative repercussions for either fatty acid absorption or growth performance.Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) is a by-product of palm oil (P) refining. Its use in chicken diets is a way to reduce the cost of feed and the environmental impact. Its low unsaturated:saturated fatty acid ratio (UFA:SFA) and its high free fatty acid (FFA) level could be partially counteracted by its blending with soybean oil (S). The objective was to assess the effect of replacing S with different levels of PFAD on lipid-class content and fatty acid (FA) digestibility along the intestinal tract and in the excreta of 11 and 35-day-old broiler chickens. Five experimental diets were prepared by supplementing a basal diet with S (S6), PFAD (PA6), two blends of them (S4-PA2 and S2-PA4), or P (P6) at 6%. Replacing S with PFAD did not affect performance parameters (p > 0.05) but negatively affected feed AME, FA digestibility, and FFA intestinal content (p < 0.05), especially in starter chicks. Including PFAD delayed total FA (TFA) absorption (p < 0.05) at 11 days, but at 35 days it did not affect the TFA absorption rate. The use of PFAD blended with S, when FFA ≤ 30% and UFA:SFA ≥ 2.6, led to adequate energy utilization in broiler grower-finisher diets.

The search for alternative fuels to substitute for fossil fuels with competitive price range is an ongoing subject for research. There are several proposed feedstock, namely refined palm oil, crude palm oil, waste cooking oil and currently, palm fatty acid distillate. Refined and crude oils were debatable to be used as the main uses for both oils were for edible purposes. Waste cooking oil (WCO) is the cheapest source and can reduce problems on waste oil disposal whereas palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) is a byproduct from palm oil refining, therefore can be a readily available feedstock. However, due to the high free fatty acids (FFAs) content of waste and palm fatty acid distillate, these sources cannot be converted directly to biodiesel via alkaline transesterification. In this study, two step process, which combined acidic and alkaline process were used to convert waste cooking oil and palm fatty acid distillate to biodiesel. The parameter investigated was the catalyst percentage, which was varied from 1 wt% to 5 wt%. For waste cooking oil, the yield of methyl esters was constant after using 4 wt% of catalyst, with the highest yield of 90 wt%. For palm fatty acid distillate, the yield of methyl esters was also constant from 1 wt% of catalyst, thus this amount of catalyst was already sufficient to produce a high yield of methyl ester, which was as high as 95 wt%. The methyl ester composition for both sources composed mainly of stearate and palmitate. The amount of palmitate increased whereas stearate decreased with increasing amount of catalyst used.

Increasing global palm oil production yields a valuable palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) - a rich vitamin E (Vit-E) source and multifunctional ingredient in the food agro-industry - that can be utilized to achieve sustainability. This article reviews trends in the use and role of PFAD and its Vit-E in the food sector and proposes an integrated agro-industrial concept toward sustainability. Vit-E can be separated from PFAD with diverse and impactful pharmaceutical activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and anti-ultraviolet effects. Based on in vivo experimental tests, PFAD and Vit-E supplementation can enhance the productivity and quality of livestock-based food products. PFAD is a plasticizer and antistatic packaging material in food packaging systems, and its derivatives can be used as food additives. Meanwhile, the Vit-E molecule in packaging can extend food shelf life by maintaining color stability, reducing lipid oxidation and rancidity, adding antimicrobial properties, and influencing changes in packaging properties such as water vapor, tensile strength, melting point and other physical properties. Toward sustainability, an integrated agro-industrial design has been proposed to implement clean production, increase the added value of palm oil industry residues, minimize environmental risks and increase profits to achieve long-term social welfare. In conclusion, PFAD residues and their Vit-E content have shown broad benefits in the food sector and prospects toward sustainability. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Hydroxyapatite (HAp, Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2), has been successfully synthesized hydrothermally from eggshells or shells through the formation of Precipitate Calcium Carbonate (PCC). For biomedical applications, some synthesized HApare still calcium deficient (HApdc), so they do not meet specifications as implants or fillers of bone and teeth. Because it is resistant to high temperatures and has pores, in this study HApdc used as a catalyst for the synthesis of biodiesel from palm fatty acid (PFAD). In the initial stage, HAp is impregnated with metals: Cu, Co and Ni and produces catalysts Cu-HAp, Co-HAp and NI-HAp. Furthermore, the metal-HAp catalyst is used in the PFAD esterification process into biodiesel. PFAD has free fatty acid (ALB) levels reaching 90%. Cu-HAp catalyst, giving the highest conversion yield of biodiesel (94.4%), with specific gravity 0.84 g/ml (40 ° C, viscosity 4,811 Cst, acid number 0.5533 gr KOH / gr oil, flash point 120 ° C and a calorific value of 9813 Kcal/kg in accordance with ISO standards-04-7182-2006. Analysis of the chemical components in the form of biodiesel from PFAD: Methyl Ester Heksadekanoat (53.1%); ME 9, Oktadekenoat (32.81%); ME octadecanoic (2:59 %) and ME 9,12, Octadecadienoic (5.93%) and a little Hexadecanoic Acid (5.57%).