Palm Oil Research Articles

Isolation and Characterization of Indigenous Bacteria with Purifying Potential in Solid Palm Oil Extraction Sludge Generated by SOCAPALM-Mbambou

The oil palm industry contributes significantly to the economic development of producing countries such as Cameroon. Unfortunately, the exploitation of palm oil constitutes a source of environmental pollution due to the production of enormous quantities of waste during its extraction process, including solid sludge generating greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming climatic. All this leads to the search for alternatives which consists of isolating and characterizing indigenous bacteria with biodegradation capacities in sludge from palm oil extraction. The pH and bacterial counts were determined by the potentiometric method and the decimal dilution technique, respectively. The isolated bacteria were identified by their cultural, cellular and biochemical characteristics. In addition, the identification of Gram- bacteria was further explored by the API 20 E gallery. The palm oil biodegradability test was carried out on M2 medium supplemented with 2% palm oil. The solid sludge biodegradability test was carried out on liquid MSM medium supplemented with 4% sludge stock solution. The results showed that the sludge sample had a slightly alkaline pH of 7.3. A bacterial load of around 10<sup>9</sup> CFU/g of soil was counted. Thirty-one bacterial strains were isolated and purified, including 12 <i>Bacillus sp</i>, 10 <i>Pseudomonas sp</i>, 8 <i>Proteus mirabilis</i> and 1 <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i>. All isolates tested for their ability to degrade palm oil or solid sludge grew in culture media with palm oil or solid sludge as the sole source of carbon and energy but with a difference in load. Thus, isolates BI2, BI5, BI31, BI10 and BI 9 showed the highest degradation capacities. These isolates could be used to constitute consortia of microorganisms that can be used in the treatment of waste generated by palm oil extraction.

Predicting oil palm yield using a comprehensive agronomy dataset and 17 machine learning and deep learning models

The rising global demand for oil palm emphasizes the importance of accurate oil palm yield predictions. This predictive capability is critical for effective crop management, supply chain optimization, and sustainable farming practices. However, the oil palm sector faces challenges in yield projection, stressing a noteworthy gap in the application and evaluation of modern machine learning and deep learning technologies. Our study addressed this gap by systematically evaluating 17 machine and deep learning models in predicting oil palm yield, incorporating various agronomic parameters, e.g., soil composition, climatic conditions, plant age, and farming techniques. This holistic approach enhances the application of machine and deep learning in agriculture. Using the feature selection technique and a maximum depth of 32 and 1000 estimators, the Extra Trees Regressor exhibited positive performance, i.e., MSE = 860.36 and an R2 = 0.65, and stands out among the 17 models evaluated. Our findings also showed that incorporating a comprehensive agronomic dataset is critical to accurate yield prediction. Hence, this model and approach have the potential to be a robust decision-making tool for agronomists and farmers in the oil palm industry, setting the stage for future innovations in sustainable agriculture practices.

SPENT BLEACHING EARTH-BIOPROCESS (SBE) CHARACTERISTICS AGAINST INDONESIAN NATIONAL REGULATION FOR TOXIC-HAZARD WASTE AND SOIL AMENDMENT

<p>Currently, the palm oil industry disposes the Spent Bleaching Earth (SBE) to the land-field without a proper treatment process. Some peoples argue that the SBE still in high oil content and will pose an environmental problem due to hazardous content and it will easily catch fires. One possible solutions is optimizing SBE for land restoration, which could also be enhancing livelihood and reducing pollution. This paper identifies the SBE-bioprocess according to the Indonesian National Regulation for toxic-hazard waste and soil rehabilitation. SBE-bioprocess testing was conducted as toxic-hazard waste both on TCLP organic and anorganic form also as a soil amendment criteria both certain function and organic. Research shows that the SBE-bioprocess could not be categorized as toxic-hazard waste due to very low value of toxic and hazard compounds. Additional C-organic is important before using it as an organic soil amendments. Lab test shows that SBE-bioprocess is high value of CEC, then could be developed for specific function of soil amendments.</p>

Does the Performance of Global Commodities Exhibit Co-movement and Long-run Relationship with the Palm Oil Companies?

While numerous papers investigate on the co-movement of global commodities and stock indices, this paper extends to previous papers by focusing on the individual stock price of palm oil companies namely Sime Darby Plantation, Wilmar International, and Astra Agri Lestari. Weekly data spanning from January 2018 to September 2023 was selected and Autoregressive Distributed Lags (ARDL) model employed to demonstrate the possible co-movement and long-run relationship. Empirical results provide sufficient evidence of co-movement between global commodities with Sime Darby Plantation and Astra Agri Lestari in the long-run. This will allow fund managers, individual investors, and stock traders to make investment decisions, trading strategies, and portfolio management based on the global commodity markets.

Relationship between Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Some Moroccan Date Palm Fruit Varieties (Phoenix dactylifera L.): A Two-Year Study.

In Morocco, the abundance of low-value varieties in the oases may provide an opportunity to capitalize on this richness to create new nutraceutical food products. In this context, the phenolic profile and antioxidant capacity of four Moroccan date varieties were analyzed. Our results indicate that the levels of total polyphenols, total flavonoids and total condensed tannins vary, respectively, from 91.86 to 364.35 mg GAE/100 g of dry weight (DW), 46.59 to 111.80 mg QE/100 g DW and 16.10 to 42.03 mg CE/100 g DW during the 2021 harvest season. Furthermore, during the 2022 harvest season, these contents vary, respectively, from 119.13 to 410.39 mg GAE/100 g DW, 59.30 to 110.85 mg QE/100 g DW and 21.93 to 53.95 mg CE/100 g DW. The results of the HPLC-UV-VIS analysis revealed that, in all four varieties, gallic acid was and remained one of the major compounds in the date extracts. In addition, a high antioxidant activity of date extracts was particularly observed in the three tests, namely ferric reducing power (FRAP), ferrous ion chelating capacity (FIC) and the phosphomolybdate test. This richness in phenolic compounds makes low-value dates a source of active ingredient that can replace the synthetic antioxidants used in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

European Union Resolution and The Profitability: The Role of Size, Difference-In-Differences Analysis

In this study, we examined the impact of the EU Resolution policy on the profitability of palm oil companies in Indonesia and Malaysia (The two biggest palm oil producers). We develop and estimate difference-in-differences regression model using annual data from 61 listed companies from the year 2014 to the year 2022 with a total of 549 observations. We found that the size of companies in the palm oil industry is a key factor in maintaining profitability in the event of EU Resolution implementation. Not only have larger companies managed to avoid losses from EU resolution; but they even can improve their profitability. The result is robust after a set of tests involving alternative proxies and propensity score matching. We offered a plausible explanation related to the role of size and opened future avenues for further investigation.

Intragenerational Dynamics in the Indonesian Oil Palm Growth Zone: The Resolution between Circular Dimensions and Human Capital

Intragenerational Dynamics in the Indonesian Oil Palm Growth Zone: The Resolution between Circular Dimensions and Human Capital

Modeling the impacts of oil palm plantations on water quantity and quality in the Kais River Watershed of Indonesia

Oil palm plantations can impact hydrological processes in many tropical watersheds. The rapid conversion of tropical rainforests for commercial operations in recent decades has been associated with water scarcity, flooding, and polluted rivers. However, this widespread and emerging issue is less studied and underreported due to limited data availability, modeling complexity, and the remote nature of these landscapes. Ecohydrologic modeling enables us to investigate changes in watershed conditions caused by large-scale land cover changes from plantations. This study examines the impact of oil plantations on water quantity and quality using the SWAT+ model in the Kais River Watershed, West Papua, Indonesia. The objective is to assess the hydrological changes concerning land cover conversion to oil palm plantations. Results show that establishing oil palm plantations increased surface runoff by 21 %, and sediment yields rose by 16.9 % compared to the baseline. There was also a significant increase of 78 % in mean annual total nitrogen and 144 % in total phosphorous after the plantations' establishment. The results show that forest conversion to oil palm plantations in the Kais River watershed is a primary driver of change in hydrological regimes, resulting in the deterioration of water quality. There is a need for conservation strategies to mitigate the impacts of significant landscape changes in watershed ecosystems.

Recycled Household Plastic and Oil Palm Filler Reinforced Epoxy Composite for Lightweight Construction Applications

Polypropylene is extensively used in aerospace, automotive and construction applications due to its versatile properties. This project aims to reduce plastic and oil palm waste and promote the development of strong, sustainable and eco-friendly construction materials. The objective of this project is to develop a sustainable yet high-performance construction material by incorporating polypropylene particles, oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibres and oil palm shell (OPS) particles into epoxy composites through the hand lay-up method. The composite specimens undergo ASTM D638 tensile test to determine the tensile properties. The addition of PP particles in varying weights shows decrease in tensile strength, likely due to poor dispersion and compatibility with the epoxy matrix. Incorporating 3 wt% OPEFB fibres with fibre length from 2mm to 4mm improves tensile strength by 2.32% and 23.36% respectively at higher PP particle loadings which are 15 wt% and 25 wt%. Adding 1 wt% and 3 wt% OPS particles improves the tensile strength by 2.96% and 4.68% respectively, in composites with 10 wt% PP particles and 3 wt% OPEFB fibres. The tensile performance may be improved by treating PP particles with compatibilizers such as silane or maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene.

Balancing economic and ecological functions in smallholder and industrial oil palm plantations

The expansion of the oil palm industry in Indonesia has improved livelihoods in rural communities, but comes at the cost of biodiversity and ecosystem degradation. Here, we investigated ways to balance ecological and economic outcomes of oil palm cultivation. We compared a wide range of production systems, including smallholder plantations, industrialized company estates, estates with improved agronomic management, and estates with native tree enrichment. Across all management types, we assessed multiple indicators of biodiversity, ecosystem functions, management, and landscape structure to identify factors that facilitate economic-ecological win-wins, using palm yields as measure of economic performance. Although, we found that yields in industrialized estates were, on average, twice as high as those in smallholder plantations, ecological indicators displayed substantial variability across systems, regardless of yield variations, highlighting potential for economic-ecological win-wins. Reducing management intensity (e.g., mechanical weeding instead of herbicide application) did not lower yields but improved ecological outcomes at moderate costs, making it a potential measure for balancing economic and ecological demands. Additionally, maintaining forest cover in the landscape generally enhanced local biodiversity and ecosystem functioning within plantations. Enriching plantations with native trees is also a promising strategy to increase ecological value without reducing productivity. Overall, we recommend closing yield gaps in smallholder cultivation through careful intensification, whereas conventional plantations could reduce management intensity without sacrificing yield. Our study highlights various pathways to reconcile the economics and ecology of palm oil production and identifies management practices for a more sustainable future of oil palm cultivation.

Combined leaching and steam explosion pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for high quality feedstock for thermochemical applications

A novel pretreatment approach was developed in the present study to simultaneously reduce the content of inorganic troubling elements (TEs) and improve biomass energy density, i.e., combined leaching and steam explosion (SE) pretreatment with mechanical pressing. Three different high-ash-containing biomass feedstocks were studied – wheat straw (WS), spruce bark (SB), and empty fruit bunches of oil palm (EFB). Before studying the combined pretreatment, the impact of individual pretreatment was determined in-depth on biomass composition and ash-transformation behaviour. In leaching pretreatment, the effect of leaching with steam explosion condensate (SEC), dilute acetic acid and water was studied comprehensively. The solid (raw and treated) and liquid samples (leachate, SEC, hydrolysate) were characterized for a detailed comparative analysis. The ash-fusion and −transformation behaviour of raw and pretreated biomass was studied in-depth using advanced multicomponent thermodynamic equilibrium modelling (TEM) and push-rod dilatometry. After combined pretreatment, a considerably high reduction in TEs content was noted: 82–98 % K, 93–99 % Na, 80–99 % Cl, 34–90 % S, 3–77 % Mg, ash 43–63 %, 26–67 % P, and 19–63 % Ca. Simultaneously, heating values of all three feedstocks increased by 1.3–2.3 MJ/kg, reaching up to 20–22 MJ/kg. TEM results reveal that much lesser amounts of molten slag and volatile inorganic compounds were formed in pretreated samples compared to raw and SE biomass, such as K2Si5MgO12, KCl, KPMgO4, K2Si2O5, CaSiO3, and MgSiO3 in WS; Na2CO3, K2CO3, K2CaC2O6, KPMgO4, and CaCO3 in SB. Due to higher energy density and lower propensity towards ash-related issues, combined pretreated WS and SB have a high potential to be used in large-scale thermochemical applications.

Rehabilitation of Paddy Fields using Subcritical Water Pretreated Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch

Rehabilitation of Paddy Fields using Subcritical Water Pretreated Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch

Analyzing the Dynamics of Social, Economic, and Cultural Changes and the Role of Institutions in Oil Palm Agribusiness Development

This research aims to reveal the dynamics of social, economic, and cultural changes in agribusiness institutions in oil palm development locations. Then reveal the role of each agribusiness institution in oil palm development locations. Using a qualitative approach to build a post-positivism approach. The research location is limited to the community (farmers) in Anggabaeri District and Besulutu District, Konawe Regency. These two research areas were chosen purposively. The database used in determining farmer groups is groups that are active and registered in the Extension Information System or SIMLUH data so 22 informants were obtained consisting of farmer group institutions, cooperative institutions, and government agencies, as well as from the Agricultural Extension Center. Specifically for farmers, the informants selected consisted of independent and plasma farmers. Data was obtained by distributing questionnaires and interviews and then analyzed descriptively. The results of the analysis show that from a social, economic, and cultural perspective, the presence of oil palm plantations brings significant changes. These changes include shifts in social stratification, interaction patterns, and improvements in health status. Apart from that, the regional economic structure is also undergoing a transformation which has an impact on increasing the income of various communities such as workers and farmers. Then there is the role of institutions, especially farmer groups, and cooperatives, in supporting and facilitating farmers' interests as a learning vehicle, production unit, and collaboration forum. Extension institutions play an important role in increasing farmers' capacity, and cooperatives contribute significantly to the provision of production facilities, transportation, and marketing of crops. An important finding is the important role of cooperatives in managing various risks associated with oil palm farming. These risks include business, financial, social, and legal engineering aspects. Cooperatives play an important role in mitigating these risks and ensuring the overall well-being and success of their members.

Regimes of global and national oil palm cultivations from 2001 to 2018

Oil palm is the dominant global oil crop due to its high productivity and diversified usage in many sectors. Since the late 20th century, oil palm cultivations proliferated in Southeast Asia, West Africa, and Latin America. However, global market factors, different national and regional policies, and smallholder versus commercial planting regimes in different areas lead to significant differences in economic benefits and environmental problems from deforestation and loss of biodiversity. We investigated changes in global and national distributions against suitability and indices of tree age distribution change for industrial oil palm (IOP) and smallholder oil palm (SOP). Spatial and temporal change analyses show that: i) For most tree ages, the proportion of global oil palm planting in suitable areas was less than 50%, but the impact of temporal regimes, from possible market factors and local policies, on planting structure should not be neglected; ii) Central America, South America, and West Africa were less suitable for oil palm cultivation compared to Southeast Asia. While, as two dominant oil palm planting countries, Indonesia and Malaysia had relatively low planting suitability, with 39.23% of Indonesia’s IOP, 44.85% of Indonesia’s SOP, 30.90% of Malaysia’s IOP and 18.77% of Malaysia’s SOP in highly and most suitable intervals; iii) There exist clear differences between IOP and SOP in terms of suitability, planting structure and spatial expansion patterns; iv) Hysteresis effect exists between latecomers (countries in West Africa and Latin America) and forerunner (Indonesia and Malaysia) in terms of spatial expansion; v) The spatial expansion patterns of oil palm planting centers have obvious scale effects for both IOP and SOP, with clear inter-country and intra-country differences. This paper reinterprets the global distribution of tree age and spatial expansion pattern and recommends scientific strategies to guide site selection and planting structure that enable oil palm cultivation for sustainable development.

The Dynamics of Social, Economic, and Cultural Changes and the Role of Institutions in Supporting Agribusiness Development in The Oil Palm Plantation Area

The purpose of this research is to reveal the dynamics of social, economic, and cultural changes in agribusiness institutions in oil palm development locations. Then reveal the role of each agribusiness institution in the location of oil palm development. Using a qualitative approach to build a post-positivism approach. The research location is limited to the community (in this case farmers), consisting of independent farmers and plasma farmers. The results of the study found that there were changes in demographic patterns around oil palm plantations that other researchers had not uncovered (the findings of this study), namely social stratification, patterns of indirect (easier) interactions, and improved health status. The role of institutions in supporting agriculture is very vital in accommodating the interests of farmers. The farmer groups formed are capable of acting as learning vehicles, production units, and collaboration vehicles. In terms of increasing the capacity of farmers, extension agents also play an important role in supporting farming. Specifically, Cooperatives do not only partner, providing production, transportation, and Marketing Facilities, besides that there is risk management. Risk management covered by cooperatives is engineering business, financial, social, and legal risk management.

Effect of Palm Stearin as a Compatibilizers in PBAT/Zein Blends Biodegradable Polymer

In this study, the introduction of PBAT was conducted through reactive blending with Zein, a renewable natural biopolymer derived from corn, in the presence of Palm Stearin (PS); one of the components in palm oil. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of mechanical forces on PBAT/Zein composites, both with and without the presence of PS. The PBAT/Zein and PBAT/Zein/PS blends will be subjected to various experiments, including mechanical testing and thermal analysis. Variation of different formulations of composition, comprised of PBAT, Zein and PS were used in this study. The thermal and mechanical properties of the PBAT/Zn blend were assessed through the utilization of mixing characteristics as well as thermal and mechanical properties. Based on the findings, it has been determined that the optimal composition for the PBAT/Zein blend is achieved when the blend contains 10% zein content. Furthermore, the optimal composition of PBAT/Zein/PS is achieved when 10 phr of PS are included in the blend.

Single and basal crop coefficients for estimation of water requirements of subtropical and tropical orchards and plantations with consideration of fraction of ground cover, height, and training system

AbstractThis paper provides an overview of the research carried out over the last 25 years on the FAO56 single and basal crop coefficients of subtropical and tropical orchards and plantations of cactus pear, dragon fruit, fig, jujube, passion fruit, pomegranate, cape gooseberry, cherimoya, guava, longan, lychee, mango, papaya, acerola, carambola, cashew, cacao, coffee, jaboticaba, jatropha, macadamia, açai palm, coconut, date palm, guayule, oil palm, peach palm, ramie and rubber tree. The main objective of this review is to update standard single crop coefficients (Kc) and basal crop coefficients (Kcb) and complete the Kc and Kcb values tabulated in FAO56. Kc is the ratio between the non-stressed crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and the grass reference evapotranspiration (ETo), and Kcb is the ratio between the crop transpiration (Tc) and the ETo. When selecting and analysing the literature, only studies that used the FAO Penman–Monteith equation, or another equation well related to the former to compute ETo were considered, while ETc or Tc were obtained from accurate field measurements on crops under pristine (non-stress cropping conditions) or eustress (“good stress”) conditions. Articles meeting these conditions were selected to provide data for updating Kc and Kcb under standard conditions. The related description of orchards and plantations refers to crop cultivar and rootstock, irrigation systems and scheduling, planting spacing, fraction of ground cover (fc) by the crops, crop height (h), crop age and training systems, as Kc and Kcb values depend on these characteristics. To define the standard Kc and Kcb values of the selected crops, the values collected in the literature were compared with previously tabulated standard Kc and Kcb values. The updated tabulated values are transferable to other locations and climates and can be used to calculate and model crop water requirements, primarily for irrigation planning and scheduling, and thereby supporting of improved water use and savings, which is the overall aim of the current review.

The Impact of Rainfall on Oil Palm Production: A Case Study in Berau Regency, East Borneo, Indonesia

This study examines the impact of rainfall on oil palm growth and productivity in the Berau region of East Borneo, Indonesia. The research utilized qualitative and quantitative field studies, employing correlation and regression analysis. The study focused on the oil palm plantation area as its subject. Data was collected from a plantation in the Berau region of East Borneo. The plantation has homogeneous plant age (same planting year, 2009) and homogeneous progeny (Scofindo variety) and is included in the company's core plantation. The observation parameters included rainfall, rainy days, fresh fruit bunches, and plant productivity. It was found that rainfall and rainy days have an impact on oil palm productivity. The regression results indicate a positive correlation between rainfall and oil palm productivity, with a correlation coefficient of 0.025109171. However, rainy days have a negative effect on oil palm productivity, with a correlation coefficient of -0.036778304, despite being positively correlated with rainfall. The correlation coefficient of 0.768386269 indicates a direct impact on reducing oil palm productivity. Rainfall indirectly affects oil palm productivity by influencing temperature, humidity, intensity, and length of daily irradiation. These factors directly affect the productivity of oil palm plants.

Impact of Carbon Dioxide Nanobubbles on Crystallising Properties of Palm Oil

Impact of Carbon Dioxide Nanobubbles on Crystallising Properties of Palm Oil

A Enhancing the Composting Process and Quality of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) Using Indigenous Cellulolytic Microbes: A Review

Palm oil production in Indonesia is projected to reach approximately 54.84 million tons by 2023, maintaining a consistent trend. This production volume is closely linked to the amount of Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) generated as a by-product. If EFB is not managed effectively, it could have adverse effects on the environment. To address this issue, composting EFB is essential. However, the high cellulose content in EFB poses challenges for decomposition. The application of cellulolytic microorganisms presents a promising solution to enhance the composting process. This study aims to explore the benefits of incorporating cellulolytic microorganisms in accelerating EFB compost quality. The research methodology follows the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The review focuses on scientific literature from 2014 to 2024 available on the ScienceDirect and Google Scholar databases. Findings indicate that using a consortium of cellulolytic microorganisms can reduce cellulose content, decrease the C/N ratio, expedite composting, enhance compost quality by regulating temperature, reducing volume, increasing pH, macronutrients, and biological activity during EFB composting.