Palm Oil Industry Research Articles

Assessing the Negative Impact of Palm Oil Industry in Malaysia through a Systemic Method

Assessing the Negative Impact of Palm Oil Industry in Malaysia through a Systemic Method

Assessing the efficacy of utilizing biochar derived from oil palm biomass as a planting medium for promoting the growth and development of oil palm seedlings

The recent adoption of biochar in Malaysia's oil palm industry offers numerous benefits, including soil enhancement, resource efficiency improvement, pollution remediation, and greenhouse gas mitigation. With approximately 66.15% of agricultural land dedicated to oil palm cultivation, a substantial amount of biomass, mainly from empty fruit bunch (EFB) and mesocarp fibre (MF), is generated. This study focused on carbonizing MF and EFB at temperatures ranging from 580 to 695°C to produce biochar. The assessment of biochar's effectiveness as a planting medium in nurseries revealed significantly accelerated growth rates in seedlings cultivated in a composite of biochar and soil. At 8 months-after-treatment (MAT), the BMF-75 treatment showed remarkable growth enhancements, with the highest increase in height (64.9%), number of leaflets (60.5%), and girth size (55.3%) compared to the initial values at 3 MAT, indicating its effectiveness in promoting growth in oil palm seedlings. Additionally, compared to the control group, the biochar-mixed media resulted in favourable outcomes regarding the assimilation of both macro- and micro-nutrients. For instance, nitrogen uptake increased by 2.7% with BMF-50, magnesium by 25.2%, phosphorus by 24.1% with BEFB-75, calcium by 36.8% with BMF-75, chlorine by 10.5% with BMF-50, iron by 25.5% with BEFB-25, copper by 20.1% with BMF-25, and zinc by 6.3% with BMF-25. Additionally, biochar-treated soil exhibited higher organic carbon content, improved cation exchange capacity (CEC), enhanced nitrogen retention with greater biochar proportions, and likely improved soil fertility due to biochar’s porous structure. Further potential research can be explored to investigate its long-term effects on oil palm plantation.

Adoption of the digital marketing among oil palm farmers: A review of methods, successes and challenges in Nigeria

Palm oil is an important commodity in the Nigerian economy concerning its role as a source of farm income and food requirements. This study reviewed the digital marketing techniques adopted by oil palm farmers in Nigeria. This study examined the evolution of the palm oil industry in Nigeria, highlighting its historical background, current challenges, and the potential solutions offered by digital marketing. It discussed the shift in global palm oil production from West Africa to Asia, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia, and the implications for Nigeria’s palm oil sector. Despite being a significant contributor to the Nigerian economy, the palm oil industry faces challenges such as slow growth, loss of export share, and competition from imports. Digital marketing emerges as a viable solution to these challenges, offering opportunities for reaching target audiences, improving brand loyalty, and overcoming resource constraints. It also examined the benefits and challenges of digital marketing in Nigeria, highlighting the high cost of advertising, infrastructure limitations, and cultural diversity as key obstacles.

Palm Oil Mill Effluent Treatment Technology using Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) with Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) Monitoring

Palm oil industries have products like Crude Palm Oil (CPO), and 70% of others contain waste. One of the wastes is the liquid waste known as Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME). The potential of POME to be reprocessed into clean water will be profitable. One of POME's reprocessing methods is the Sequencing Batch Reactor with Aerobic Granulated Sludge (SBR-AGS), which has five main phases: filling, idling, aeration, settling, and discharge, with a cycle time of 360 minutes. The first step in using this reactor is the start-up process, a granule-forming process from some sludge that has already acclimatized. In one complete cycle, the Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP) parameter is used to observe the electron transfer process that shows the oxygen supply into the reactor, which enables the condition of each phase in the process to be analyzed. The trend of ORP value is constantly changing in every phase. For the idling phase, the ORP tends to decrease in a value of (-300)-(-400) mV, and for the aeration phase, it will increase in a value of (-100)-100 mV.

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>

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.

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.

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.

Mechanical Properties of Lightweight Aggregate Concrete Containing Unground Palm Oil Fuel Ash as Partial Sand Replaceme

Escalating quantity of industrial by-products generated, including oil palm shell (OPS) and palm oil fuel ash (POFA ) of the palm oil industries, has been a concern to many analysts. They are mostly disposed off as wastes that would heavily impact the environment quality. Therefore, this paper aimed to investigate the possibility of consuming these wastes by using OPS and POFA as replacement materials for fine aggregates in the concrete mixture. The mixtures were prepared by integrating unground palm oil fuel ash of 0%, 10%, and 20% (by weight of sand) to produce lightweight concrete. The experiments observed the mechanical performance of these specimens for 180 curing days. The results show the enhancement of concrete strength relative to the control mixture by using 10% of ash. This is owing to void filling mechanism and product of pozzolanic reaction due to the fine particles of the ash.

Physicochemical characterisation and kinetic modelling of wet torrefied oil palm trunk in pyrolysis condition

AbstractOver 218 million tonnes of oil palm trunks (OPT) waste is produced annually by Malaysian oil palm industry, which can be converted to biofuels via wet torrefaction. This study assessed the fuel characteristics of wet torrefied OPT (WT‐OPT) using proximate analysis, higher heating value (HHV) analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive X–ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDX). Increasing wet torrefaction temperature and residence time increased the fixed carbon content and HHV of OPT. SEM–EDX revealed the presence of microspheres of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (5‐HMF) in OPT wet torrefied at 180 and 220°C for 72 h, an intermediate compound that can contribute to the HHV enhancement in WT‐OPT. FTIR and EDX results revealed that higher temperature and residence time concentrate the carbon content of OPT. Wet torrefaction at 180°C for 72 h decreased the activation energy and pre‐exponential factor of OPT from 301.88 to 171.70 kJ mol−1 and from 4.43 × 1028 to 3.25 × 1012 s−1, respectively, during pyrolysis. The estimated thermodynamic parameters, particularly the change in entropy which generally decreased by more than 140 J mol−1 K−1, indicated increase in stability of certain WT‐OPT.

The diversity of indigenous and potential bacteria as bioremediator of palm oil mill secondary effluent (POMSE) by metagenomics assessment

Abstract. Karno R, Arisoesilaningsih E, Mustafa I, Siswanto D. 2024. The diversity of indigenous and potential bacteria as bioremediator of palm oil mill secondary effluent (POMSE) by metagenomics assessment. Biodiversitas 25: 1194-1200. This study aimed to identify the indigenous bacteria for potential bioremediation agents of palm oil mill secondary effluent (POMSE). Samples were obtained from the secondary pond of palm oil mill treatment. The bacterial diversity on the POMSE water samples was revealed by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) of 16S rRNA gene amplicons. The results showed that the high abundance of bacteria phylum was Pseudomonadota or Proteobacteria (50%), Bacillota (31%), Bacteroidota (5%), and Thermotogae (3%). A photosynthetic sulfur bacterium, Allochromatium humboldtianum, was the most abundant species detected in the POMSE, with more than 8% of the total Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU) detected. It was followed by Allochromatium phaeobacterium (6%), Allochromatium sp. (6%), and Macromonas bipunctata (6%). Meanwhile, the level of physicochemical parameters in POMSE were relatively high for several main parameters of the quality standard of palm oil industry waste, such as Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD). In contrast, oil and fat are low and meet the quality standards. The value of POMSE physicochemical parameters, including COD, BOD, and oil and fat, were 2,492.46, 852.96, and 6.20 mg/L, respectively. Metagenomic analysis showed that the bacterial community at POMSE was highly diverse. Nine dominant and codominant species found are Allochromatium humboldtianum, Allochromatium phaeobacterium, Allochromatium sp., Allochromatium vinosum, Macromonas bipunctata, Tepidibaculum saccharolyticum, Rhodocyclus purpureus, Comamonas nitrativorans, and Fervidobacterium riparium. Several indigenous bacterial species found in this research were bacteria that have potential as bioremediation agents for palm oil wastewater.

Effect of Mix Ratio and Curing Water on the Strength of Oil Palm Shell Aggregate Concrete

Concrete is one oldest construction. The production of concrete consumes a large amount of natural resources. As a step in ensuring the availability of resources for future generations, it is necessary to adopt engineering practices which focus on the conversation of non-renewable resources and energy such as oil palm shell. The government has indicated a growing concern for protecting the environment and the need to preserve natural resources using alternative materials, such as recycled or waste materials. Malaysia is the one of the largest palm oil producers and exporter in the world. The palm oil industry has created an environmental pollution due to the production of huge quantities of waste from the oil extraction process such as oil palm shell.

Evaluation of Microalgae Chlorella vulgaris and Tetradesmus bernardii for Cultivation and Nutrient Removal in Palm Oil Mill Effluent

The palm oil industry is one of the key players in contributing to Malaysia’s economy. Palm oil mill effluent (POME), a significant by-product of the oil extraction process, requires mandatory remediation to ensure proper treatment and disposal. Bioremediation using microalgae is a cost-effective and sustainable approach. This study aims to utilise pure and mixed microalgal species, Chlorella vulgaris and Tetradesmus bernardii, in phycoremediation and biomass production in different concentrations of POME (20%, 40%, 60%, and 80%). Cultivation of microalgae was carried out in 200 mL medium with pH 7–7.8, room temperature of 25±1°C for 21 days and continuous light illumination at 2000 lux. The highest biomass productivity was observed in 20% POME for mixed microalgae (mean = 0.1733 mg.mL-1 ± 0.0057), followed by C. vulgaris (0.1633 mg.mL-1 ± 0.0057) and T. bernardii (0.1603 mg.mL-1 ± 0.0020). Similarly, the highest nutrient removal was observed in 20% POME for mixed microalgae (COD:66.9801%, TN:86.9565%, TP:86.9655%), followed by C. vulgaris and T. bernardii. The results showed positive effects on growth, increased biomass production, and nutrient removal, with 20% POME being the optimal concentration for microalgae. Valuable by-products, such as high-quality pigments and biomass, are also generated by applying microalgae for remediation. Mixed microalgae are superior in the remediation of POME compared to single-culture algae. Treating wastewater through microalgal bioremediation is highly efficient in nutrient removal. This research has contributed towards the use of mixed microalgae to achieve effective nutrient removal and biomass for future industrial applications.

Palm Oil Sustainability: Current and Further Potential Research to Adopt Sustainable Development Goals 2030

The issue of sustainability in the palm oil industry is frequently discussed due to its significant impacts and benefits for society. This research aims to examine the current state of palm oil sustainability research and suggest potential areas for future research. A systematic literature review approach is used to select relevant articles on the sustainability of palm oil production. The study follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) framework to identify relevant articles, which are then analysed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. VOSViewer is employed to analyse the bibliographic data of these articles, helping identify potential future research directions based on author keywords. This study has successfully categorized 532 articles from the Scopus database that directly relate to the sustainability of the palm oil industry. The results of the qualitative and quantitative analyses indicate that in recent years, based on their keywords, research trends are moving towards circular economy, biodiversity, tropical agriculture, policy, and palm oil clinker. Judging from the majority of cited articles, future research trends are recommended to focus on productivity aspects, the development of palm oil derivative products, and supply chain performance for the sustainability of the palm oil industry.

Oil palm production value addition in Nigeria: The way forward

This study appraised the way forward for oil palm production value addition in Nigeria. Oil palm has economic, cultural and traditional significance in many communities in Nigeria. In recent years, the oil palm sector in Nigeria has faced challenges related to sustainability, environmental conservation, and market access. The study identified the major players in the oil palm industry in Nigeria. It was shown that value addition processes in oil palm production are essential for enhancing the economic value of palm oil and its derivatives. It was obvious that challenges outlined in value addition processes of the oil palm industry include inefficient processing facilities, storage challenges, lack of cold chain infrastructure, limited access to credit and financing, inadequate research and development and environmental issues. The study revealed that Government interventions as a way forward play a crucial role in promoting value addition in the oil palm industry. This extends to research and development, infrastructure development, market access and trade facilitation, sustainable certification and standards, tax incentives, subsidies, extension services and environmental regulations. It was accounted that successful value addition projects in the oil palm sector in Nigeria have the potential to transform the local economy and improve livelihoods. A replication of the success stories is a way forward to value addition sustainability in the oil palm industry. Conclusion reached as ways forward include technological advancement, increased palm oil production, increased research and development, increased market expansion and steady government support and policy framework.

A Crude Palm Oil Industry Concentration and Influencing Factors: A Case Study of Indonesia as the World's Largest Producer

The Crude Palm Oil (CPO) industry is one of the plantation commodities that has a strategic role in Indonesia's economic development. The number of companies and CPO production is always increasing, but the concentration of the industry that always decreases every year makes it important to analyze the factors that affect the concentration of the CPO industry in Indonesia. The data period used in this study was from 2001 to 2020. In this study, data sources were obtained from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) Indonesia, Word Bank, and UN Comtrade. The data analysis method used is regression analysis of the Error Correction Model (ECM). The results showed that technical efficiency has a negative and significant relationship both in the long and short term to the concentration of the CPO industry. Competitiveness in the long term has a positive and significant relationship, while in the short term it is negative but not significant to the concentration of the Indonesian CPO industry. In the long run, the relationship between RSPO and Indonesia's CPO industry concentration tends to be negative but not significant, while in the short term it shows a significant influence. World CPO prices, both long-term and short-term, provide a positive and significant correlation to the concentration of the Indonesian CPO Industry. Indonesia's CPO exports in the long and short term have a negative and significant effect on the concentration of the Indonesian CPO industry.

Regenerative Agriculture

There is an emerging trend towards adoption of regenerative agriculture which is perceived to be more sustainable than conventional agricultural production. This paper introduces the concept, definition and principles of regenerative agriculture and its relevance to the oil palm industry. While there is apparent overlapping of best management practices (BMPs) for sustainable agriculture and regenerative agriculture, the regenerative agriculture philosophy has a stronger focus and emphasis on soil health, the soil-water nexus, biodiversity and integration with livestock. Sustainable agriculture and regenerative agriculture should be regarded as complementary systems and they should not be mutually exclusive. Building on the progress made in sustainable production of palm oil through the various certification systems, growers and supply chain actors should consider opportunities for improvements by adopting regenerative agriculture practices. Keywords: Regenerative agriculture, sustainable agriculture, BMPs, soil health, regenagri.

The socioecological benefits and consequences of oil palm cultivation in its native range: The Sustainable Oil Palm in West Africa (SOPWA) Project

Agriculture is expanding rapidly across the tropics. While cultivation can boost socioeconomic conditions and food security, it also threatens native ecosystems. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), which is grown pantropically, is the most productive vegetable oil crop worldwide. The impacts of oil palm cultivation have been studied extensively in Southeast Asia and – to a lesser extent – in Latin America but, in comparison, very little is known about its impacts in Africa: oil palm's native range, and where cultivation is expanding rapidly. In this paper, we introduce a large-scale research programme – the Sustainable Oil Palm in West Africa (SOPWA) Project – that is evaluating the relative ecological impacts of oil palm cultivation under traditional (i.e., by local people) and industrial (i.e., by a large-scale corporation) management in Liberia. Our paper is twofold in focus. First, we use systematic mapping to appraise the literature on oil palm research in an African context, assessing the geographic and disciplinary focus of existing research. We found 757 publications occurring in 36 African countries. Studies tended to focus on the impacts of palm oil consumption on human health and wellbeing. We found no research that has evaluated the whole-ecosystem (i.e., multiple taxa and ecosystem functions) impacts of oil palm cultivation in Africa, a knowledge gap which the SOPWA Project directly addresses. Second, we describe the SOPWA Project's study design and—using canopy cover, ground vegetation cover, and soil temperature data as a case study—demonstrate its utility for assessing differences between areas of rainforest and oil palm agriculture. We outline the socioecological data collected by the SOPWA Project to date and describe the potential for future research, to encourage new collaborations and additional similar projects of its kind in West Africa. Increased research in Africa is needed urgently to understand the combined ecological and sociocultural impacts of oil palm and other agriculture in this unique region. This will help to ensure long-term sustainability of the oil palm industry—and, indeed, all tropical agricultural activity—in Africa.

Analysis of Malaysia's Export Potential of Palm Oil and Its Products to RCEP Member Countries

This study explores the export potential of the Malaysian palm oil industry to RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) member countries based on the regional economic framework. The panel data from 2018 to 2022 were analyzed using the Trade Gravity Model, RCA (Revealed Comparative Advantage), and TCI (Trade Complementarity Index) indices. The results categorize the fifteen RCEP member countries into three potential classes based on the type of potential. In addition, it was found that the trade complementarity of RCEP member countries showed a significant positive correlation with the export size of Malaysian palm oil and its products. The study provides insights into the trade pattern of palm oil in the region and provides a valuable reference for future trade policy formulation and industry development and provides a basis for research related to the sustainable development of the Malaysian palm oil industry.