Extraction Of Crude Palm Oil Research Articles

Development and testing of an oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) fruit digester process for kernel free in crude palm oil production

Current palm oil extraction techniques involve the digestion and pressing of entire oil palm fruitlets. However, the coexistence of mesocarp fibre and nut during pressing could inevitably result in oil loss due to fragmentation of the fibre and nut. The anticipated separation of palm mesocarp fibre and kernel prior to pressing is a potential solution to the problem. In order to enhance the extraction of crude palm oil, a digester machine with kernel free has been created. Each machine iteration consists of two processes. The first phase involved severing and removing the mesocarp fibre from the kernel (seed), as well as removing all mesocarp produced by the process, while the second phase involved releasing the nut. The effectiveness of the created machine was evaluated under various conditions, such as speed (700, 900, 1100, 1300, and 1500 rpm) and processing time (20, 30, and 40 s). The optimal condition, which consisted of a rotational speed of 1500 rpm and a separation time of 40 s, was evaluated further under loading weight (2.50, 3.75, and 5.00 kg). The optimal separation was attained with a separation speed of 1100 rpm, a time of 30 s, and a loading mass of 2.50 g, according to the results. Under these conditions, the machine could achieve a separation efficiency of 94.89% and a kernel disintegration rate of 4.29%. The investigation's findings benefit the palm oil industry by eliminating processes like winnowing and nut separation through effective implementation of the kernel-free digester machine.

ANALISA PERSENTASE KEHILANGAN MINYAK SAWIT PADA AMPAS PRESS DI PTPN VI UNIT USAHA SOLOK SELATAN

Oil palm processing is one of the factors that determine the success of an oil palm plantation business. The Palm Oil Mill (PKS) in the context of the palm oil industry in Indonesia is understood as the unit of extraction of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) and palm kernel from the Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) of oil palm. The Palm Oil Mill (PKS) is the most upstream processing unit in the palm oil processing industry and is a critical point in the economic life cycle of palm fruit in particular and the palm oil industry in general. The purpose of this study was to find out how much percentage of palm oil loss was contained in the dregs of the press and to find out the optimal conditions for the screw press. The high or low percentage of oil loss in the process that occurs is influenced by several factors, namely the condition of the working pressure on the screw press and the capacity of the diluent water. The average percentage of loss of palm oil in the pressing process obtained from the data is June 5.07% with the norm of losses of pressed waste oil of 0.64%, the average of July is 4.92% with the norm of losses of pressed oil of 0, 64%, and an average of 4.98% in August with a normal loss of 0.64% of pressurized oil losses.

Characterization of P(3HB) from untreated raw palm oil mill effluent using Azotobacter vinelandii ΔAvin_16040 lacking S-layer protein

The production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] from untreated raw palm oil mill effluent (urPOME), the first wastewater discharge from crude palm oil extraction, is discussed. The mutant strain Azotobacter vinelandii ΔAvin_16040, which lacks the S-layer protein but has a better P(3HB) synthesis capability than the wild type strain ATCC 12,837, was chosen for this study. UrPOME substrate, with high biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and suspended solids, was used without pre-treatment. DSMZ-Azotobacter medium which was devoid of laboratory sugar(s) was used as the basal medium (BaM). Initially, Azotobacter vinelandii ΔAvin_16040 generated 325.5, 1496.3, and 1465.7mg L-1 of P(3HB) from BaM with 20% urPOME, 2BaM with 20% urPOME and 20g L-1 sucrose, and 2BaM with 20% urPOME and 2mL L-1 glycerol, respectively. P(3HB) generation was enhanced by nearly tenfold using statistical optimization, resulting in 13.9g L-1. Moreover, the optimization reduced the compositions of mineral salts and sugar in the medium by 48 and 97%, respectively. The urPOME-based P(3HB) product developed a yellow coloration most possibly attributed to the aromatic phenolics content in urPOME. Despite the fact that both were synthesised by ΔAvin_16040, thin films of urPOME-based P(3HB) had superior crystallinity and tensile strength than P(3HB) produced only on sucrose. When treated with 10 and 50kGy of electron beam irradiation, these P(3HB) scissioned to half and one-tenth of their original molecular weights, respectively, and these cleavaged products could serve as useful base units for specific polymer structure construction.

REMEDIATION OF PALM OIL MILL EFFLUENT (POME) USING SELECTED BIOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES: A MINI REVIEW

Undoubtedly, industrial activities have produced a large amount of waste, which has significantly contributed to the global environmental problem. The palm oil sector, which is considered a water-intensive industry, is one of the industrial sectors that have become a major source of severe water pollution concerns. Normally, 50% of the freshwater used during the extraction of crude palm oil will end up in the production of undesirable liquid waste. Thus, proper regulation and enforcement are required to control the discharge of such waste to ensure the sustainability of water resource management. Based on research databases such as Scopus, ScienceDirect, Web of Science and PubMed the total number of publications focused on palm oil mill effluent (POME) treatment has increased significantly over the past five years. The increase in publications shows the growing concern about the POME issue among the scientific community. This mini review focuses on selected biological treatment techniques for remediation of POME focusing on ponding systems, bioadsorption, activated sludge, microorganism and plant, aerobic biodegradation and integrated/hybrid treatment strategies. The summary of optimum operating conditions, characteristics of the treatment system, properties of materials and performance of each treatment are discussed in detail. To achieve a high level of contaminant removal performance, it is critical to discover the synergistic effect between the treatment procedures, materials employed, operational cost, and circumstances.

Effect of Microwave Power and Extraction Time on Crude Palm Oil Quality Using Microwave-Assisted Extraction Process

The aim of this study is to evaluate microwave-assisted extraction at several microwave power and extraction time in extracting oil palm products, such as crude palm oil (CPO) and palm fatty acid (PFA) composition. The exposure time was shortened and overheating was avoided when sterilized mesocarp exposed to microwave prior to Soxhlet extraction in order to obtain good quality oil. The effects of CPO extraction and PFA composition on the distillate produced were investigated. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for the determination and quantification of PFA composition in the distilled products. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals that the microwave-assisted extraction technique had efficiently assisted in the release of oil by breaking down the mesocarp cell structure. To fill the research gap of microwave-assisted sterilization in the previous research, microwave-assisted extraction was introduced, in which two processes (i.e., extraction and drying) were conducted in one equipment. Oil yield and color, free fatty acids (FFA), Deterioration of Bleachability Index (DOBI), and carotene contents of the CPO were quantified. At 100 W, the extraction of CPO demonstrated 64% yield produced, with chemical properties of 0.301% FFA, 3.53 DOBI and 1132 ppm carotene with final temperature of 76.2°C during microwave-assisted extraction. The optimum condition for extracting PFA distillate was 300 W for 30 min of exposure time. Additionally, distillate obtained at the optimum condition using microwave-assisted extraction consisted of high palmitic acid (C16:0), caramel-like aroma, and possessed a sweet fragrance.

Centrifugal separation‐assisted and extraction of crude palm oil from separated mesocarp fiber: Central composite design optimization

AbstractIn the current research, a centrifugal separator was developed for oil palm fruitlets to separate the mesocarp fibers from the nuts prior to oil extraction, which usually involves grinding the whole palm fruitlets to get the oil. This new technique can increase the yield of crude palm oil derived from the mesocarp without the presence of kernel oil from the nuts. This work focused on the effect of rotational speed and separation time on the mesocarp/nut recovery, oil yield, and broken nut percentage. It was found that the increase of rotational speed and milling time increased the mesocarp recovery without damaging the kernels. The oil extracted from the mesocarp was analyzed, and the results show that the oil properties such as free fatty acid, deterioration of bleachability index, and carotene were better than the properties of the palm oil extracted using the conventional method. From the optimization study, the maximum mesocarp recovery (60.84%) and palm oil extracted (46.02%) were obtained at 943 rpm of rotational speed and 20 s of milling time. The centrifugal technique allowed the separation of mesocarp from the nuts for a better palm oil extraction.Practical applicationsCentrifugal separation is viable technique for mesocarp fiber and nuts separation process. This proposed technique has been proven in obtaining high oil yield with lower broken kernel. The crude palm oil extracted through the separation process also meets the standard industrial requirements.

Kinetics of thermal hydrolysis of crude palm oil with mass and heat transfer in a closed system

Crude palm oil (CPO) is the main product of oil palm processing and is obtained through a series of unit operations. In a palm oil mill, the main unit operations involve applying saturated steam in the steriliser and digester. The high temperature and water content used will induce thermal hydrolysis, leading to accumulation of free fatty acids (FFAs), the levels of which are considered a major quality index of CPO. A detailed study of the thermal hydrolysis of CPO at different temperatures and water contents in a closed-vessel system was carried out. The results show that there was an increase in FFA accumulation as temperature and initial water content increased. A kinetic model of the hydrolysis was constructed taking into account heat and mass transfer phenomena. The important parameters of the model were the reaction frequency factor (k0T) and the power factor of water fraction (n), which were successfully estimated by gPROMS ModelBuilder at 2.55×10–6 (m3/kmol)0.85min−1 and 0.62, respectively. A sensitivity analysis revealed that the simulated profiles (i.e. FFA content and vapour mass flux, W˙WV) were highly sensitive to these parameters. The model can be a useful tool in the further redesign and quality improvement of the industrial of CPO extraction processes.

Value–Supply Chain Analysis (VSCA) of crude palm oil production in Brazil, focusing on economic, environmental and social sustainability

This paper is an evidenced-based analysis of sustainability (based on carbon, energy, blue-water, labour and economic footprints) of crude palm oil (CPO) production in Pará, Brazil. It includes cradle to gate value/supply chain-based life cycle analysis (LCA), a socio-economic analysis of small holder farmers in Para; and a discussion on how operational and supply chain management (SCM) methods can assist practical application of LCA results. The LCA consists of 4 stages: nursery; plantation management; harvesting and transport of fresh fruits; and, extraction of CPO. The analysis was based on direct data obtained between November 2014 and August 2015. The total carbon footprint (CFP) was 1.5 kgCO2eq /L CPO and the total energy footprint (EFP) was 5.1 MJ/L CPO. The life cycle based cost is US$ 0.7/L of CPO and the largest cost comes from harvesting and transport (45%). The study uncovered many sustainability hotspots. The carbon hotspots were: methane emissions from waste water at the Oil Extraction stage, and fertilizer use from the Plantation Management stage. Fertilizer use is a key hotspot in all 3 areas: carbon, energy and economic cost. Given the plantation is only 5 years old, high consumption of fertilizer is expected. However, reducing N-fertilizers will help lower all three footprints. A sensitivity analysis shows that if the direct N2O emission factor was doubled, the CFP value at plantation stage could go as high as 49%, and the total CFP value could increase by 18%. If fertilizers were produced using modern technology, the total CFP value could go down by 13%, while the value at the plantation would go down by 29%. For methane emissions, the use of modern technologies to capture biogas from waste water has potential to reduce emissions significantly. Biofuel use at the Extraction stage is a win–win outcome with regard to carbon emissions, energy use and economic cost. However, biofuel use causes significant local environmental pollution and human health risks such as dark smoke and particulate matter. The blue-water footprint was 6.8 per L of CPO. Reduction of water consumption by increasing water efficiency at the extraction mills is important, because water extraction by mills is a serious threat to the local river basin. As a fraction of the total number of employees in the entire system, the highest labour use (68%) is at the Plantation Management stage. The analysis of smallholder farmers raises questions about the popular justification of palm oil plantations as a provider of rural employer and argues that indicators like community welfare and income inequality must be evaluated, because the extent to which the industry will enhance sustainable development depend on the way they combine with local communities, directly and indirectly.

Treatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME) using chickpea (Cicer arietinum) as a natural coagulant and flocculant: Evaluation, process optimization and characterization of chickpea powder

There has been increasing interest on the use of natural organic coagulants to replace synthetic inorganic coagulants due to environment and health concerns and its failure to comply with discharge regulations. In this study, chickpea (Cicer arietinum) was utilized as a natural and novel coagulant and flocculant in the treatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME) produced from crude palm oil extraction. The standard jar test method was utilized to investigate the effects of pH, dosage and rapid mixing speed on the removal of total suspended solids (TSS), turbidity and chemical oxygen demand (COD). By applying response surface methodology with a central composite design, the optimum condition was established at pH of 6.69, chickpea dosage of 2.6 g/L, and rapid mixing speed of 140 rpm. At the optimum condition, the removal percentages of turbidity, COD and TSS were determined to be 86%, 56% and 87% respectively. Characterization of chickpea with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed the presence of OH, CH, NH, CC, CO, CN bonds which is most likely to be found in proteins and polysaccharides; while results from scanning electron microscopy showed the rough and porous structure of chickpea and confirms the interaction between the suspended solid pollutants of POME and chickpea. On top of that, analytical results from energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and bomb calorimeter discovered that the dewatered sludge recovered post-treatment at optimum condition have a high potential to be used as a clean solid biomass fuel.

Design of alternate solvent for recovery of residual palm oil: simultaneous optimization of process performance with environmental, health and safety aspects

In this work, a computer-aided molecular design (CAMD)-based approach has been developed to design alternative solvents for extracting palm oil from palm pressed fibre (PPF). PPF is a by-product from palm oil milling process produced during the extraction of crude palm oil from fresh fruit bunches. It is noted that the oil that found in PPF consists of high concentration of carotenoids; therefore, palm oil industries are trying to recover the residual oil in PPF. Hexane is conventionally used as a solvent to extract PPF. However, hexane has high boiling point which leads to significant degradation of carotene during solvent recovery. Besides, hexane is considered as a toxic chemical; thus, the extracted oil cannot be used in food applications. In order to overcome the limitations of hexane, this work presents a systematic approach to generate alternative solvents with desirable attributes for PPF oil extraction via CAMD with the integration of safety and health aspects. In this work, diffusivity is defined as a key parameter to evaluate the solvent functionality because the solvent must diffuse through the fibrous matrix to solubilize trapped oil. The safety and health aspects were assessed by implementing disjunctive programming to discretize the properties for allocation of subindex scores. The developed algorithm can trade-off the process and environmental, health and safety (EHS) performances and identify alternative solvents which improve EHS performance compare with hexane.

A Systematic Approach for the Synthesis and Optimization of Palm Oil Milling Processes

A palm oil mill (POM) requires large amounts of steam and electricity to convert fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) into multiple products. During the extraction of crude palm oil (CPO) from FFBs, byproducts such as empty fruit bunch (EFB), palm kernel shell (PKS), etc., and palm oil mill effluent (POME) are generated. In the past decades, palm oil millers have attempted various improvements in milling technologies individually and collectively to enhance extraction efficiency to meet the process and product requirements. However, oil lost in the milling process remains the major issue in POM and leads to huge loss of profit. In order to address such issue, oil recovery technologies were introduced and implemented in the current POM. Nevertheless, such technologies come with additional capital investment and operating costs that may outweigh the profit generated. Therefore, in this work, a systematic approach is presented to synthesize the palm oil milling processes with oil recovery technologies which is technic...

Crude palm oil (CPO) extraction using hot compressed water (HCW)

Abstract Hot compressed water extraction (HCWE) is a promising alternative technology which has proven to be successful in many applications. In this study, hot compressed water extraction (HCWE) was applied in the extraction of crude palm oil (CPO) from palm mesocarp. The operating conditions investigated were pressure of 30, 40 and 50 bar with varied temperature ranging from 120 to 180 °C through semi-batch extraction of 10 min interval and total extraction time of 60 min. The CPO yield, free fatty acids (FFA) content through HCWE process was analysed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study on various palm mesocarp fibres undergone HCWE process at various conditions was also performed. The extracts formed three distinguished layers; oil, oil-water emulsion and water. The maximum CPO extracted in the oil layer was 0.541 ± 0.005 (g-oil/g-dried mesocarp) with averaged FFA of 0.81 ± 0.08% at the optimum operating condition of 160 °C and 50 bar. CPO recovered from the emulsion was 0.159 ± 0.004 g-oil/g-dried mesocarp giving a total CPO extracted at 0.700 ± 0.005 g-oil/g-dried mesocarp. SEM micrographs were used to assist understanding of the mechanism that took place during the experimental conditions of HCWE. The time dependence of the compounds was well represented by the second order mass transfer model. The mechanism of CPO extraction from palm mesocarp using HCWE was also explained through this study.

Optimising the operational parameters of a spherical steriliser for the treatment of oil palm fresh fruit bunch

The extraction of crude palm oil (CPO) begins with the sterilization of oil palm fresh fruit bunch (FFB) in a pressurized, saturated-steam chamber. Sterilization loosens the palm fruits from the stalks and deactivates the free fatty acid (FFA)-producing enzymes. Operational parameters affecting the quality and yield of CPO from an industrial spherical sterilizer are studied at a palm oil mill. The factors are the ripeness of FFB, the number of days before treatment of FFB, and the number of pressure peaks applied in the sterilization process. The results indicate that the degree of ripeness of FFB is the most important parameter affecting the quality and yield of CPO. Ripeness is graded based on the fruits’ colour and the presence of loose fruits. Over ripe FFB that goes for the sterilization process has higher FFA content in CPO and more oil loss to the condensate chamber. The spontaneous reaction on FFB due to accumulation at the loading ramp also gives rise to higher FFA content. Oil loss to condensate chamber is reduced using a two-peak sterilization technique for over ripe FFB; the peak refers to the pressure level of stream after a flushing and refilling cycle. Overall, the generated solution improves the quality and yield of the palm oil mill.

Optimization of agro-industrial wastewater treatment using unmodified rice starch as a natural coagulant

There have been increasing interests on the use of organic starch derivative coagulants such as cationic starch in coagulation-flocculation process due to environment and health concerns regarding the use of inorganic coagulants. However, studies on the potential utilization of unmodified starch in wastewater treatment remain limited. In this study, treatment performance of unmodified rice starch and alum was tested on agro-industrial wastewater produced from crude palm oil extraction, namely palm oil mill effluent (POME). Response surface methodology (RSM) showed that an addition of unmodified rice starch not only enhanced total suspended solids (TSS) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removals; but it also significantly improved the process by reducing both the dosage of alum (−47.95%) and settling time (−58.66%), while shifting the operating pH closer to the natural pH of POME. The treatment enabled TSS and COD removals up to 86.65 and 49.23%, respectively under the optimum conditions of 0.38g/L alum, 0.28g/L unmodified rice starch, pH 4.45 and settling time of 5.54min. An addition of unmodified rice starch to alum also resulted in 33.8% reduction of chemical cost as compared to the treatment using alum alone.

Determination of GHG contributions by subsystems in the oil palm supply chain using the LCA approach

With increasing attention on sustainable development, the environmental and social relevance of palm oil production are now important trade issues. The life cycle assessment (LCA) study of Malaysian oil palm products from mineral soils including palm biodiesel was aimed to provide baseline information on the environmental performance of the industry for drawing up policies pertaining to the sustainable production. The share of greenhouse gas (GHG) contribution by the various subsystems in the oil palm supply chain is considered here. The life cycle inventory data for the study were collected based on subsystems, i.e., gate-to-gate. The subsystems include activities in oil palm nurseries and plantations, palm oil mills, refineries, biodiesel plants and the use of biodiesel in diesel engine vehicles. Two scenarios were considered: extraction of crude palm oil (CPO) in a mill without and with a system for trapping biogas from palm oil mill effluent (POME). Inventory data were collected through questionnaires. On-site visits were carried out for data verification. Background data for resource exploitation and production of input materials were obtained through available databases and literature. Foreground data for all subsystems were site-specific data from nurseries, plantations, palm oil mills and refineries and biodiesel plants in Malaysia. Using a yield of 20.7 t oil palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB)/ha, the results showed that the production of 1 t of FFB produced 119 kg CO2 eq. The production of 1 t of CPO in a mill without and with biogas capture emitted 971 and 506 kg CO2 eq, respectively. For the production of 1 t of refined palm oil in a refinery which sourced the CPO from a mill without biogas capture and with biogas capture, the GHG emitted was 1,113 kg and 626 kg CO2 eq, respectively. For palm biodiesel, 33.19 and 21.20 g CO2 eq were emitted per MJ of biodiesel produced from palm oil sourced from a mill without and with biogas capture, respectively. GHG contribution by the nursery subsystem was found to be minimal. In the plantation subsystem, the major sources of GHG were from nitrogen fertilizers, transport and traction energy. For the mill, biogas from POME was the major contributor if biogas was not trapped. Excluding contribution from upstream activities, boiler fuel and transport were the major sources of GHG in the refinery subsystem. In the biodiesel subsystem, activities for production of refined palm oil and methanol use were the most significant contributors.

A high performance liquid chromatography method for determination of furfural in crude palm oil

A modified steam distillation method was developed to extract furfural from crude palm oil (CPO). The collected distillates were analysed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with an ultraviolet diode detector at 284nm. The HPLC method allowed identification and quantification of furfural in CPO. The unique thermal extraction of CPO whereby the fresh fruit bunches (FFB) are first subjected to steam treatment, distinguishes itself from other solvent-extracted or cold-pressed vegetable oils. The presence of furfural was also determined in the fresh palm oil from FFB (without undergoing the normal extraction process), palm olein, palm stearin, olive oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, soya oil and corn oil. The chromatograms of the extracts were compared to that of standard furfural. Furfural was only detected in CPO. The CPO consignments obtained from four mills were shown to contain 7.54 to 20.60mg/kg furfural.

Water recycling from palm oil mill effluent (POME) using membrane technology

Malaysia is the largest producer and exporter of palm oil. Palm oil processing is carried out in palm oil mills where oil is extracted from a palm oil fruit bunch. Large quantities of water are used during the extraction of crude palm oil from the fresh fruit bunch, and about 50% of the water results in palm oil mill effluent (POME). POME is a thick brownish liquid that contains high amounts of total solids (40,500 mg/L), oil and grease (4000 mg/L), COD (50,000 mg/L) and BOD (25,000 mg/L). The disposal of this highly polluting effluent is becoming a major problem if it is not being treated properly besides a stringent standard limit imposed by The Malaysian Department of Environment for effluent discharged. A POME treatment system based on membrane technology shows high potential for eliminating the environmental problem, and in addition, this alternative treatment system offers water recycling. The treated effluent has a high quality and crystal clear water that can be used as the boiler feed water or as the source of drinking water production. In our current research, a pilot plant was designed and constructed for POME treatment; two stages of treatment have been conducted whereby coagulation, sedimentation and adsorption play their roles at the first stage as a membrane pretreatment process, and ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis membranes are combined for the membrane separation treatment. Results from the total treatment system show a reduction in turbidity, COD and BOD up to 100%, 98.8% and 99.4%, respectively, with a final pH of 7. Thus, the results show that this treatment system has a high potential for producing boiler feed water that can be recycled back to the plant.