Palm Fruit Bunch Research Articles

Yield of Bunches of Fresh Oil Palm Fruits (Elaeis Guineenses JACQ.) Grown in Pará: Barrier to Illegal Transport

Objective: The goal of this study was to generate technical and scientific information to support the inspection of transportation of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) of oil palm in the state of Pará and to estimate the average yield curve (AYC) of FFB of varieties of oil palm cultivated in the municipalities of Pará. Theoretical framework: Theories about limited rationality and asymmetric information was applied to production and commercialization negotiations of FFB oil palm in the state of Pará. Econometric modelling and statistical tests were used to estimate the AY curve and to compare the sample averages among the business production, family farming, and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Results and conclusion: The maximum AY of FFB oil palm were estimated for the state of Pará, Brazil (16.27 ± 1.46 t/ha), and to the most productive variety, Compacta-Nigeria (23.86 ± 2.24 t/ha). It was evident that AY of FFB for the Family farmers (average 22.63 ± 3.17 t/ha) was higher than that obtained by companies (average of 17.10 ± 4.05 t/ha) and that reported by IBGE (average of 15.98 ± 1.25 t/ha). The IBGE data are not different or superior to those of companies. Research implications: The study estimated the FFB oil palm AY curve by variety cultivated in the state of Pará to enable the traceability of FFB oil palm production and transportation. It validates IBGE data as a mechanism for monitoring the transit of CFF. Originality/value: The CFF yield curve adds unprecedented scientific knowledge to support the traceability of oil palm production. The data provided by this research contributes to reduce the information asymmetry, and to improve the efficiency of chain Governance.

Unharvested Palm Fruit Bunch Ripeness Detection with Hybrid Color Correction

Unharvested palm fruit bunch (PFB) ripeness detection is crucial for efficient palm oil production as labor costs rise and worker shortages grow. Challenges remain under varying illumination, affecting detection performance. Although the deep learning-based color constancy model shows promise, the limitation lies in the lack of data. This paper addresses these issues by proposing a hybrid color correction method that combines the learning-based and the physical-based color constancy technique, then trains with YOLOv8 to enhance unharvested PFB detection performance. Specifically, the captured images and their corresponding simultaneous spectra are used to generate the ground truth images, then map the images to other ambient spectra to train the color constancy model, and finally, train the YOLOv8 with the corrected images for ripeness detection. Results demonstrate a 1.5% improvement in the mean Average Precision (mAP) @0.5 of YOLOv8, increasing from 88.2% to 89.7% after applying the proposed hybrid color correction method. For each ripeness category, the mAP@0.5 for unripe and ripe bunches increased by 1.7% and 1.8%, respectively. Underripe bunches exhibit the most increment in mAP of 2.1%, while the overripe bunch gives the least increase of 0.4%. The qualitative results show that the model has enhanced the ability to distinguish subtle differences in PFB ripeness. Consequently, it advances the effectiveness and reliability of PFB ripeness detection in practical palm oil production scenarios, especially for unripe to ripe bunches wherein color gives the most information. This research demonstrates potential in object detection tasks that incorporate illumination-based color correction methods.

Enhanced Hydrophobicity and Oleophilicity of Modified Activated Carbons Derived from Agro-Wastes Biomass for the Removal of Crude Oil from Aqueous Medium

Crude oil spillage has tremendous environmental impacts and poses severe pollution problems worldwide due to the continuous activities and operations in the oil and gas sector. This has resulted in the urgent need for clean-up techniques such as the use of natural adsorbents which is considered a relatively low-cost, readily-available, efficient, eco-friendly, and easy-to-deploy mode of addressing oil spillage due to its high oil sorption capacity/efficiency, high oil selectivity, oleophilic, enduring, reusability and biodegradable properties. Empty palm fruit bunch and coconut coir were used as precursors to produce activated carbons for oil spill remediation. The influence of varying parameters was investigated using a batch experimental procedure resulting in the crude oil adsorption capacity increasing with a corresponding increase in contact time, initial oil concentration, temperature, agitation speed, and particle size but decreasing in adsorbent dosage. The combination of surface morphological modification and hydrophobicity enhancement resulted in significantly improved adsorption capacity for crude oil removal (2710.0 mg/g and 4859.5 mg/g for EPFBAC<SUB>LA</SUB> and CCAC<SUB>L.A</SUB> respectively), as evidenced by both FTIR and SEM analyses. The experimental isotherm data were analysed using various isotherm models and the best-fitted isotherm model was the Freundlich model with a correlation coefficient (R<sup>2 </sup>= 0.991 and R<sup>2 </sup>= 0.999) for EPFB<SUB>L.A</SUB> and CCAC<SUB>L.A</SUB> respectively. The kinetic behaviour of the adsorption process was best described by pseudo-second order with R<sup>2</sup> values of 0.970 and 0.999 for EPFBAC<SUB>LA</SUB> and CCAC<SUB>L.A</SUB> respectively while Boyd model revealed that the adsorption was controlled by an internal transport mechanism and film diffusion was the rate-limiting step. The crude oil adsorption was chemisorption and endothermic owing to the positive enthalpy values (ΔH<sup>o</sup> = 183.890 KJ/mol for EPFBAC<SUB>L.A </SUB>and ΔH<sup>o</sup> = 69.656 KJ/mol for CCAC<SUB>L.A</SUB>), the positive value of entropy suggested that the adsorption process was accompanied by an increase in the degree of randomness or disorder at the interface between the adsorbent and the adsorbate. A temperature rise led to a decline in Gibbs energy (ΔG<sup>o</sup>), suggesting that adsorption became more feasible and spontaneous at higher temperatures and the significant activation energies indicated the existence of a substantial energy barrier that must be overcome to initiate the reaction. The results showed the significant capability of the prepared adsorbents to be used as a low-cost, re-generable and eco-friendly adsorbent in oil spill clean-up and is recommended to exploit its usage on a large scale.

Pengaruh Variasi Ukuran Partikel pada Pembuatan Bio-Briket dari Pelepah dan Tandan Buah Kosong Kelapa Sawit

Palm oil empty fruit bunches (EFB) and fronds are solid waste originating from palm oil processing which can be used as the main raw material for making briquettes. This is supported by its contents, namely lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose. The smaller the particle size, the greater the compressive strength of the briquette, but the burning rate will be slower because the cavity/pores of the briquette are smaller. This research aims to determine the effect of particle (mesh) size on the characteristics of briquettes which include water content, ash content, density, compressive strength and burning rate as well as to determine the best composition of a mixture of empty oil palm fruit bunches and fronds. The results of this research show that the best particle size is 70 mesh briquettes with a raw material composition of 46% EFB and 46% fronds (1:1) with 8% tapioca flour adhesive. Biobriquettes with small particle sizes have lower calorific value. The results of this research indicate that the manufacture of briquettes is in accordance with the Standard Characteristics of SNI No. 1/6235/2000.

Perbandingan Algoritma CART dan C.4 5 Pada Citra Tandan Buah Sawit Untuk Mengetahui Tingkat Kematangan Dalam Penentuan Harga

Information technology is a means and infrastructure of a system method to organize, send, interpret, use, process, obtain, and store data in a meaningful and useful way. Oil palm is a tropical plant originating from West Africa. The advantage of this plant is that it can also be planted outside its place of origin, including Indonesia. This plant has been widely cultivated in the form of plantations and factories in various regions in Indonesia. Oil palm is an industrial plant that is used as a raw material for vegetable oil, industrial oil, and fuel. Oil palm is important for Indonesia because it creates jobs for local people and is a source of foreign currency for the country. Oil palm plants begin to flower and form fruit after 2-3 years. The fruit will ripen about 5-6 months after pollination. The ripening process of oil palm fruit can be seen from the change in color of the fruit's skin. The fruit will turn orange-red when ripe. When the fruit is ripe, the oil content in the fruit flesh is at its maximum. If it is too ripe, the oil palm fruit will fall from the stalk of the bunch. This study aims to assess the maturity of a bunch of oil palm fruit. The methods used in this study are CART and C.4 5. Each method has several stages that will produce entropy and gain values ​​that will later form a decision tree. The dataset consists of 37 data consisting of 10 criteria originating from Ramp 789 Batang Peranap. Based on the implementation of the C4.5 algorithm and the CART algorithm in determining the level of ripeness of oil palm fruit bunches on RAMP 789 Batang Peranap which produces an accuracy of 98.00%. These results are obtained based on Process data with testing using the RapidMiner application, which produces a Decision tree that is useful as a reference for decisions in determining whether or not oil palm fruit bunches are ripe, which so far have only been predicted.

Novel Fungicide from Waste Oil Palm Fruit Bunch for Sustainable Management of Tomato Wilt Disease Caused by Fusarium oxysporum - experimental and in silico studies

Tomato wilt, a widespread and persistent disease caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum, can be effectively controlled through biological approaches, promoting ecosystem sustainability and enhancing agricultural productivity and quality. This study explored the use of empty oil palm fruit bunch (EOPFB) waste as a natural fungicide to control tomato Fusarium wilt disease through in vitro, pilot scale, and molecular docking experiments. EOPFB aqueous extract showed the highest mycelium growth inhibition of 68.3 %, with the commercial fungicide Mancozeb exhibiting a moderate 42.30 % inhibition, and sterile distilled water having a negligible effect of 0.24 %. The inhibition rate varied with concentration, peaking at 72.63 % at 0.15 g/mL and dropping to 54.80 % at 0.01 g/mL. In terms of wilt disease incidence and severity, EOPFB performed best, recording the lowest incidence of 47.20 % and severity of 15.58 %. Mancozeb followed closely, with an incidence of 46.30 % and severity of 26.23 %. Sterile distilled water, on the other hand, showed the highest incidence of 76.28 % and severity of 56.17 %. Molecular docking simulations corroborated the experimental results, validating the potency of EOPFB as an inhibitor of trypsin from F. oxysporum, and identifying 2-amino-5,6-dimethyl-3 H-pyrimidine-4-one as the primary active compound responsible for the fungicidal activity. This phytochemical, abundant in the crude ethanolic extract of EOPFB, was found to have a higher binding affinity (6.1 kcal/mol) than Mancozeb (4.8 kcal/mol), at the trypsin target. These findings demonstrate the potential of EOPFB, an agricultural waste product, as a sustainable and eco-friendly solution for managing tomato Fusarium wilt disease, contributing to increased tomato production. It also highlights the potential of 2-amino-5,6-dimethyl-3 H-pyrimidine-4-one as a lead compound for the development of novel, natural fungicides, and underscores the value of EOPFB as a rich source of bioactive compounds with agricultural and biotechnological applications.

Downdraft Gasifier for Oil Palm Empty Bunches with Computational Fluid Dynamics

Abstract The demand for palm oil increases every year and this condition proportional to the increase in waste from the manufacture of palm oil. Therefore, this study aims to determine the potential of empty palm fruit bunches to be used as renewable energy. This research simulated Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) gasification with empty oil palm fruit bunches using a downdraft gasifier, then simulated with three variations of air flow rates. This is done because the air flow rate is very influential on the temperature and gasification results. The best and uniform variation was obtained at a water flow rate of 25 L/min with a resulting temperature of 28 °C to 957 °C and with an even temperature coverage in the reactor. Then in this study the syngas H2, CO, CO2 and CH4 were obtained which were not evenly distributed in the reactor at all variations of air flow rate, and for the acquisition of syngas H2, CO, CO2 and CH4 the most were obtained at variations of air flow rate of 25 L/min.

Detection of new oil palm fruit bunches based on deep learning

Abstract The Indonesian oil palm plantation experiences a production rate of fresh fruit bunches and crude palm oil (CPO) influenced by the quality of fruits with excellent and uniform maturity accepted by the palm oil processing factory. The uniformity of fruit quality produced from the harvesting process through fruit maturity criteria, namely fractions 00, fraction 1, fraction 3, and fraction 4, necessitates the need for maturity detection based on deep learning with a pre-trained YOLOv5 model capable of detecting the maturity of new oil palm fruit bunches. The aim is to develop a deep learning-based maturity detection model based on visual images and analyse the deep learning algorithm’s performance by classifying the maturity level of new oil palm fruit bunches. The method collects a dataset of new oil palm fruit bunches with 4180 images. The collected dataset will be annotated with Roboflow, so the annotation results will undergo training, validation, and testing processes using the deep learning script. The result obtained for the data found to detect the ripeness levels of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB), shows that the YOLOv5 model demonstrates strong performance with an accuracy reaching 72.5% in testing, which falls into the category of fair annotation. These results indicate that the system created and used is functioning well.

Risk Management in Palm Fruit Harvesting Activities using the Hirarc Method PT. Prima Artha Dynamics

Risk Management in Palm Oil Fruit Harvesting Activities Using the Hirarc PT method. Prima Artha Dynamics. This research is motivated by a source of danger in oil palm fruit harvesting activities with the risk of work accidents in oil palm fruit harvesting activities. Therefore, the aim of this research is to analyze the main causes of the risk of work accidents in oil palm fruit harvesting activities, to analyze the severity of the risk of work accidents in oil palm fruit harvesting activities, To determine the steps taken to control the risk of work accidents in oil palm fruit harvesting activities. This research uses the HIRARC (Hazard Identification Risk Assessment Risk Control) method, namely by identifying sources of danger, analyze the level of risk and risk control efforts. Data was obtained through interviews with 18 harvest employees. From the results of this research, there are main causes that are a source of danger and risk for oil palm fruit harvesting activities, namely slippery land, palm fruit bunches, sharp objects, palm fronds, snake droppings/powder, centipedes and wasps. The main causes that are the source of danger and the occurrence of risks have a mild level of risk, namely falling/slipping, being hit by fruit when removing fruit to TPH, being hit by fronds during harvest, falling into the eyes of droppings, being stung by centipedes and being stung by wasps and for moderate risks, namely being injured/injured by sharp objects. Efforts to control the risks of oil palm fruit harvesting activities include the use of complete Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), upaya lain yang dilakukan adalah pembersihan lahan yang semak agar tidak menjadi sarang ular.

Preparation and characterization of physical properties of molded pulp from empty fruit bunches of oil palm

This research aims to determine the impact of pretreatment on empty fruit bunches (EFB) of palm oil fibers before the pulping process on the quality of the molded pulp produced. The study includes EFB fiber pretreatment processes, pulp production, pulp molding, physical characteristic analysis, and molded pulp performance evaluation. The pulp production process involves acid-base hydrolysis reactions. The produced molded pulp is done manually. Characterization of the molded pulp includes measurements of paper grammage, thickness, density, and moisture content. The characteristics of pulp produced from pretreated EFB fibers are as follows: an average grammage value of 415.48 g/m², paper thickness of 1.53 mm, water absorption capacity of 13.33-33.33%, density of paper of 0,026 x 106 - 0,027 x 106 g/m3, and a smooth surface morphology. Meanwhile, the characteristics of pulp produced from without pretreatment EFB fibers include an average grammage value of 372.18 g/m², paper thickness of 0.77 mm, water absorption capacity of 20.34-43.21%, density of paper of 0,004 x 106 - 0,008 x 106 g/m3, and a rough surface morphology due to pores on the fiber surface.

The improvement of available phosphorous of reclaimed-mining soils with coal fly ash and empty fruit bunches of oil palm treatments

Abstract Reclaimed-mining soil (RMS) were categorized as having an acidic pH, low organic carbon (C), low available phosphorous (P), and high contents of aluminium (Al) and iron (Fe); therefore, soil ameliorants were essentially added to this soil for improving soil fertility. The purpose of the research was to measure the impact of combining empty fruit bunches of oil palm (EFBOP) and coal fly ash (CFA) on the available P of RMS. Three rates of CFA application: 0, 75, and 150 Mg ha−1 and three rates of EFBOP application: 0, 25, and 50 Mg ha−1 were organized using a completely randomized design. A 1000 g of soil was placed to an experimental pot, and then CFA and EFBOP according to the treatment were added to the pot. The mixture of soils, CFA, and EFBOP were homogenized, and then incubated at 70% water holding capacity for 45 days. Available P, total P, Al-P, Fe-P, soil pH, and exchangeable Al were quantifies following the completion of incubation period. The findings of this research indicated that available P rose from 3 mg kg−1 of control (soil without treatment) to 5-41 mg kg−1 of soils with different amounts of CFA and EFBOP addition. The application of CFA and EFBOP also resulted in increases in soil pH from 4.33 in the control to pH 4.48-6.23. Additionally, the levels of Al-P, Fe-P, and exchangeable aluminum decreased with the application of CFA and EFBOP. The findings of this study highlight the potency utilizing industrial and agricultural wastes as soil ameliorants for improving available P to support plant growth on the reclaimed-mining soils.

Rancang Bangun Mesin Digesting Tandan Kosong Kelapa Sawit Sebagai Bahan Baku Brown Paper

Indonesia's pulp and paper production capacity was 5.5% of global production capacity in 2021. As an effort to support the development of the pulp and paper industry in Indonesia, pulp from empty oil palm fruit bunches (EFB) waste which are currently abundant is being tried to develope as raw material for brown paper. To simplify the process of developing pulp quality from EFB, the authors tried to design a rotary digester on a laboratory scale as a EFB digesting machine. The steps used in this research are assembling digester, making pulp, and finally analyzing the data. The digester machine was successfully designed to carry out the pulping process with operating conditions at a pressure of 7 bar, a temperature of 160°C, and a stirrer speed of 80 rpm with a maximum capacity of 1.3 L. The designed rotary digester is capable of producing pulp with an optimal yield level (43%) under reaction conditions, a temperature of 100°C and a NaOH concentration of 5%.

Ethyl levulinate production from agricultural residue through tin oxide with grafted propylsulfonic Faujasite catalysis

A novel combination of strong Brønsted acidity (B), from propyl sulfonic acid functionalized on H–Y zeolite (HY-PrSO3H); Lewis acidity (L), by dispersion of SnO2; and confinement control showed high reactivity and selectivity in the conversion of cellulose to ethyl levulinate (EL). An optimal catalyst for EL formation was found by combining the Faujasite (FAU) structure, which incorporates strong Brønsted and Lewis acids in a B/L acidity ratio of 3.9. The resulting catalyst showed high yield of EL 63.7, 57.6 and 24.8%, from fructose, glucose, and empty palm fruit bunch (EFB), respectively. By isolating the cellulose from EFB, the yield from cellulose in EFB could be increased to 42.8% with a selectivity of 74.8%. Moreover, the catalyst could be reused up to 3 times with decreased of EL formation; and moreover, 90% of initial activity was regained after regeneration.

Extraction of K2CO3 from empty palm fruit bunch ash and properties analysis

Empty oil palm fruit bunches (EPFB) are the largest solid waste generated from palm oil mills. Accounting for 21-23 % of the total fresh fruit bunches. EFB ash contains K (Potassium) which can be recovered as K2CO3 through extraction. This research aims to recover K2CO3 from empty oil palm fruit bunches (EPFB) as a catalyst raw material because it is alkaline using the K2CO3 extraction method from the ash of empty oil palm fruit bunches (EPFB), which begins with a combustion process at a temperature of 700 oC to obtain ash. Ash extraction was carried out in 2 stages using water as a solvent. The K2CO3 yield from empty palm fruit bunch ash reached 57.28 %. The alkalinity test showed that the K2CO3 content in the solid extract reached 85.91 %. The properties of the ash and K2CO3 produced were analyzed using XRF, XRD and FTIR. The results of XRF analysis show that the potassium content in the ash contains the element K (potassium) which is quite large, namely 71.24 % and after extraction the purity of potassium oxide reaches 97.08 %. XRD analysis of the results of the synthesis of potassium carbonate from empty oil palm fruit bunches showed that the intensity of the material beam was obtained in a 2ϴ pattern which was lower than the intensity pattern of pure potassium carbonate. The results of FTIR analysis show that the spectrum of carbonate ions from the EPFB C-O bend is visible at 1359,879 and 700.75 cm-1 and these results are similaire to the pure carbonate ion vibration mode.

Development of a Dual Stripping and Screening Machine for Separating Oil Palm Fruit Bunch

The purpose of this study was to design, fabricate, and evaluate a dual stripping and screening machine for oil palm fruits in Nigeria, with the aim of improving efficiency, reducing damage to the fruits, and minimizing injuries to processors. The study involved the design and fabrication of a machine that could easily handle palm fruit bunches (PFB), separate the fruits from the chaff, and minimize damage to the fruits. The evaluation was conducted using a 3×3×3 factorial experiment, with three levels of PFB sizes, three levels of operating speed, and three replications. The evaluation results showed that the optimal operating speed for the machine was 1000 rpm. At this speed, the machine achieved a stripping efficiency of 98.6% for small PFB sizes, 89.93% for medium PFB sizes, and 85.68% for large PFB sizes. The screening efficiency was 98.62%, 96.23%, and 95.68% for small, medium, and large PFB sizes, respectively. The percentage of damage to the fruits was 2.25%, 2.11%, and 2.55% for small, medium, and large PFB sizes, respectively. The output capacity of the machine was 131.25 kg, 139.30 kg, and 165.36 kg for small, medium, and large PFB sizes, respectively. This study presents a novel dual stripping and screening machine for oil palm fruits, addressing the time-consuming and labor-intensive manual post-harvest operations associated with the local method. The machine's design and evaluation provide valuable insights for improving efficiency and reducing damage in oil palm industries in Nigeria.

Pemanfaatan Limbah Tandan Kosong Kelapa Sawit Menjadi Pupuk Kompos Di Desa Suka Damai Kecamatan Tunggal Jaya Musi Banyuasin

Processing palm oil into palm oil produces solid waste in the form of empty palm fruit bunches (TKKS) which will cause environmental pollution. The aim of this research is to find out how to manage waste from empty oil palm fruit bunches into compost which is needed by plants as a natural nutrient. The research method uses experimental methods. The results of the research resulted in TKKS being able to be processed into compost by fermentation.

Design of an automatic electric torrefaction reactor for oil palm empty fruit bunch pellets

Abstract One of the technologies for utilizing waste into high-quality fuel is torrefaction. Torefaction of empty palm fruit bunches is a thermochemical process without the presence of oxygen by heating the biomass slowly and holding it for a certain time. Torrefaction degrades the hemicellulose content to optimize mass and energy yields. The purpose of this study was to design a temperature control system using a electrical heater on a rotary torrefaction reactor for Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) pellets. The validation temperature sensor has shown a coefficient of determination (R2) 0.9999 using the model coefficient y = 1.0029x + 0.4017. The performance results of the electric reactor control system for torrefaction show a temperature control accuracy of 85.77% at various setting points. The response of the temperature control system within 10 minutes can reach a temperature of 213°C and in the 13th minute it reaches 301.6°C. The stability of the tool produces good performance. The electric power consumption for 6 kg OPEFB pellets was 2.98 kWh at a cost of USD 0.33. The water content in the torrefaction pellets is 1-2%. The results of the hydrophobicity test showed that the torrefactive samples at temperatures above 200 °C did not change their physical form after immersion in water for 24 hours. These results indicate that the electric torrefaction reactor automatic has succeeded in increasing the caloric ratio of the material, resistance to water such as charcoal, but still has the characteristics and properties of biomass.

Analisis Manajemen Pengangkutan TBS di PT. Serba Huta Jaya Desa Sumber Mulyo, Kecamatan Marbau, Kabupaten Labuhanbatu Utara, Sumatera Utara

This research aims to determine the management of transporting fresh palm fruit bunches (FFB) at PT. Serba Huta Jaya, analyzed the performance of transporting FFB from the harvesting site (TPH) to the palm oil mill (PKS), analyzing the obstacles in transporting FFB from TPH to PKS. The research method used in this research is mixed methods. According to Sugiyono (2015), mixed research methods are a research method between quantitative methods and qualitative methods to be used together in a research activity, so that more comprehensive, valid, reliable and objective data is obtained. The sample in this study was 10 FFB transport drivers and 20 loading and unloading workers. The results of this research indicate that FFB transportation management at PT. Serba Huta Jaya is still not doing well because there are frequent delays in FFB deliveries resulting in fruit being left on the trucks. There are several things that must be considered, namely road access for transporting FFB, the speed of harvest employees in cutting fruit, and damage to trucks in the field. The average performance of transporting FFB from TPH to PKS is 2.08 tonnes/hour and the average cost for one transport is Rp. 62.96/kg. The obstacles faced when transporting fruit from TPH to PKS were that the roads were still damaged at several points and the trucks were damaged while in the field.

Physicochemical Properties of African Black Soap Prepared with Alkali Derived from (Empty) Oil Palm Fruit Bunches

The use of oil palm biomass in black soap production was carried out. The soap was prepared using different oils; Palm kernel oil (PKO), Tallow oil (TO), Palm oil (PO), Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) and their blends (PKO:PFAD:TO:PO) at 0.5 ratio each. The physiochemical properties of the different oils and their blends were studied. The moisture content, bulk density, foaming stability, pH, solubility of metallic salts and surface tension of the different black soaps produced were analyzed. The results of the oils and their blends had free fatty acid values between (2.56 - 49.48) %, saponification values of (231.4 - 450.20) KOH/g and relative densities of (0.97-1.008) g/ml. The results indicated that the moisture content ranged from (6.0 -7.4) % for all soaps, with the lowest (6.0%) observed in PKO, the highest (7.4%) observed in soaps made with PO and PKO:PFAD:TO:PO blends. The bulk density of the soaps ranged from (0.55 - 0.94) g/cm3. The PKO: PFAD soap had the highest foam stability of 7.4cm and PKO soap (2.08cm) the lowest. The soap produced with various oils and their blends showed a neutral pH in the range of 7.25 -7.38. The metallic salts NaCl, KCl and HgCl2 were soluble in the soap solution with no precipitate formed while MnCl2, PbCl3, and CuCl2 salts precipitated out of the soap solution. The surface tension of water was lowered at different rates by the soaps. The black soap produced with the oils and their blends met the standard quality specification for commercial soaps within the geographical area of manufacture.

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.