Palm Oil Refinery Research Articles

The conceptual model of Indonesian palm oil supply chain based on blockchain

Abstract Indonesia is the world’s largest producer and consumer of palm oil. However, the palm oil supply chain faces numerous challenges related to actors, traceability, transparency, and sustainability. To address these issues, a conceptual model for a blockchain-based palm oil supply chain in Indonesia is proposed. The model aims to leverage the decentralized and immutable nature of blockchain technology. It incorporates components such as smart contracts, distributed ledgers, and data sharing mechanisms to enhance traceability, transparency, and sustainability in the palm oil supply chain. The research utilized the SSM (Soft System Methodology) and CATWOE (Customer, Actor, Transformation, Worldview, Owner, Environment) methodologies. The actors involved in the palm oil supply chain include smallholders, plantation companies, third-party suppliers, middlemen, traders, palm oil mills, refineries, distributors, retailers, and consumers. The blockchain conceptual model is structured based on a sustainable supply chain model that considers economic, social, and environmental aspects. Blockchain transactions regulate the process of supply chain actors, while stakeholders such as the government, financial institutions, palm oil research organizations, NGOs, and consumers are involved. The blockchain-based supply chain model is expected to address the key issues of the palm oil supply chain, aiming for a sustainable supply chain system. By implementing this model, it is anticipated that the palm oil industry can achieve greater accountability, transparency, and environmental sustainability.

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE EFFICACY OF ULTRASOUND IN IN-SITU DETECTION OF CORROSION IN PALM OIL REFINING EQUIPMENT

Palm oil is an important agricultural product for many countries. Stainless steel refining equipment faces corrosion challenges due to the corrosive nature of palm oil, which gradually deteriorates the equipment over time. Ultrasonic testing (UT) can detect corrosion, usually performed during palm mill downtime due to temperature constrain. The study aims to optimize UT at temperatures up to 250°C. The experimental outcomes serve as a foundation for broadening the application of phased array corrosion mapping (PACM) into elevated temperatures. The results offer intricate insights into velocity fluctuations within specific materials, correlating with temperature elevation. In summary, the suite of UT methods demonstrates their aptitude for employment during palm oil refinery operations up to 250°C involving carbon steel as well as 304 and 316 stainless steels. It allows further UT application during the palm mill’s operation and achieves the study’s objective of allowing palm mill owners to detect and monitor corrosion growths without stopping production.

Circular Economy Approaches in the Palm Oil Industry: Enhancing Profitability through Waste Reduction and Product Diversification

Today, facing difficult environmental and sustainability questions, the palm oil industry is an important force in global trade and development. As a transformative solution to these problems, this review assesses the implementation of circular economy (CE) strategies. CE principles promote the transformation of waste into value through recycling, upcycling and other low-carbon innovation applications. This review estimates the capability of palm-based biomass, including palm oil mill effluent (POME) and refinery wastes. It evaluates how different technologies such as gasification are used to change these fuel sources into energy fuels and value-added products for industry. It also involves incorporating Industry 4.0 to boost efficiency and waste value creation into the operation. Although the potential of CE in creating an eco-friendly, profitable palm oil industry is apparent, nevertheless it must overcome all kinds and levels of barriers – from economic to technological to social. This review points out for collaborative efforts, technological advancement, and supportive policies to navigate these challenges, advocating for a unified shift towards sustainability and efficiency in the palm oil sector.

Exploring Bio Augmentation as a Sustainable Approach for COD Reduction in Palm Oil Refinery

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Bioaugmentation Technology in addressing elevated levels of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and reducing sludge volume in the aeration tank of a Palm Oil Refinery located in Kalimantan Island, Indonesia. In addressing these concerns, the study employed Bioaugmentation Technology, specifically tailored for the treatment of palm oil mill effluent in both aerobic and anaerobic ponds, with the aim of expediting the breakdown of organic compounds.
 Methodology: The research focused on evaluating the impact of this technology on organic degradation and sludge reduction in comparison to conventional treatment methods. Conventional Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) treatment systems typically utilize large-volume sequential pond arrangements with extended hydraulic retention times (>90 days), resulting in inefficient organic degradation. Conversely, the Bioaugmentation Technology utilized in this study emerged as a natural, non-toxic, and easily implementable solution to operational challenges faced by these systems.
 Findings: The technology facilitated the rapid breakdown of organic compounds, leading to a reduction in COD and subsequently, a decrease in sludge volume. Based on the observed positive outcomes, it is recommended to consider Bioaugmentation Technology as a viable and efficient solution for POME wastewater treatment in palm oil refineries.
 Unique contributor to theory, policy and practice: Its capacity to enhance organic degradation, reduce sludge volume, and improve overall treatment plant efficiency suggests its potential as a valuable complementary technology to existing treatment methods in similar operational conditions.

Synthesis of biodiesel from residual oil extracted from spent bleaching earth using spent bleaching earth-supported catalyst

Proper disposal of spent bleaching earth (SBE) is much anticipated to create a circular economy. In this study, a two-pronged approach was employed to utilise SBE from palm oil refinery for its suitability to act as second-generation biofuel feedstock and catalyst. The SBE was first wet-impregnated and doped with potassium hydroxide (KOH) to further enhance the catalytic activity. The hexane-extracted bleached oil of SBE at conditions of 40 g SBE, 1:4 ratio of oil to n-hexane, and 6 hr extraction time was subjected to different transesterification parameters i.e., catalyst loading, oil: methanol ratio, reaction temperature, and reaction time. The obtained catalysts were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray, temperature programmed desorption of carbon dioxide (TPD-CO2) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) techniques. The N2 adsorption-desorption and TPD-CO2 analyses indicated that SBE/KOH (600 °C) had the highest attainable BET surface area (22.62 m2/g) and basicity (25.82 cm3/g). SBE/KOH (600 °C) exhibited the highest biodiesel yield (80.3%) at the optimised reaction conditions: (80 °C, 2 wt% catalyst loading, 1:20 oil: methanol ratio and 2 h reaction time) compared to 67.3% via the unmodified control. The kinetics study revealed that the experimental results followed the first order reaction kinetics. The activation energy, enthalpy (ΔH) and entropy (ΔS) were determined to be 90.06 kJ/mol, 6.92 × 10−4 kJ/mol and −0.0414 kJ/mol K, respectively while the Gibbs free energy (ΔG) was 15.443 kJ/mol. Overall, SBE has enormous potential as one of the alternative sources for second-generation biofuel production.

Mitigation of 3-MCPDE and GE in palm oil in Indonesia

Among consumed-vegetable oils, RBDPO (refined, bleached and deodorized palm oil) is indicated containing higher level of 3-MCPDE and GE, which have been classified as potentially carcinogenic and/or genotoxic to human. Those contaminants in RBDPO are formed during deodorization process with high temperature and also correlate with chloride content and quality of CPO as raw material. The maximum limit for 3-MCPDE and GE content in vegetable oil has been set at 2500 and 1000 µg kg-1, and as low as 750 and 500 µg kg-1 when used for production of baby food and cereal-based foods for infants and young children. The mitigation of 3-MCPDE and GE in RBDPO is quite challenging for palm oil refineries in producing a good quality of palm oil in term of sensory, stability, safety, and nutritional value, especially in Indonesia. It has been proven that modification of conventional refining process can reduce the 3-MCPDE and GE content. They are including pre-treatment of CPO by water washing to reduce the chloride content, alkali neutralization to remove any acids present in the oil prior to deodorization, using neutral bleaching earth, adding antioxidants after bleaching to reduce free radical-mediated formation of 3-MCPDE and GE, lowering the deodorization temperature with a longer time, and even double bleaching and/or double deodorization of the palm oil. Post-refining treatment using specific adsorbents is also applied to remove the 3-MCPDE and GE. However, palm oil refineries have to apply combination of several mitigation strategies to adequately reduce the levels of 3-MCPDE and GE, including using good quality of CPO with low FFA, chloride, and oxidized components content.

Mitigation of 3-MCPDE and GE in palm oil in Indonesia

Among consumed-vegetable oils, RBDPO (refined, bleached and deodorized palm oil) is indicated containing higher level of 3-MCPDE and GE, which have been classified as potentially carcinogenic and/or genotoxic to human. Those contaminants in RBDPO are formed during deodorization process with high temperature and also correlate with chloride content and quality of CPO as raw material. The maximum limit for 3-MCPDE and GE content in vegetable oil has been set at 2500 and 1000 µg kg-1, and as low as 750 and 500 µg kg-1 when used for production of baby food and cereal-based foods for infants and young children. The mitigation of 3-MCPDE and GE in RBDPO is quite challenging for palm oil refineries in producing a good quality of palm oil in term of sensory, stability, safety, and nutritional value, especially in Indonesia. It has been proven that modification of conventional refining process can reduce the 3-MCPDE and GE content. They are including pre-treatment of CPO by water washing to reduce the chloride content, alkali neutralization to remove any acids present in the oil prior to deodorization, using neutral bleaching earth, adding antioxidants after bleaching to reduce free radical-mediated formation of 3-MCPDE and GE, lowering the deodorization temperature with a longer time, and even double bleaching and/or double deodorization of the palm oil. Post-refining treatment using specific adsorbents is also applied to remove the 3-MCPDE and GE. However, palm oil refineries have to apply combination of several mitigation strategies to adequately reduce the levels of 3-MCPDE and GE, including using good quality of CPO with low FFA, chloride, and oxidized components content.

The Grease Formulation Using Waste Substances from Palm Oil Refinery and Other Industrial Wastes: A Review

Many applications use Spent Bleaching Earth (SBE) despite being considered hazardous waste from the palm oil refinery process. Its production increases yearly, similar to waste cooking oil (WCO). The SBE is known as a thickener in grease formulation. The same goes for red gypsum, waste motor oil, stearic acid, and lithium hydroxide monohydrate. They are all considered thickeners but have different durability in protecting base oil in grease. Then, previous studies revealed their performances with side effects detection against the environment and human bodies. Cooking oil is a heat transfer medium for serving foods with higher amounts of unsaturated fatty acids. The number of fatty acids might change after cooking oil consumption and become highly demanded due to the chemical properties of density, viscosity and fatty acids. Nowadays, people lack awareness of the importance of recycling palm oil waste. They intend to dispose of it instead of recycling it for sustainable energy resources. Therefore, this paper will discuss the grease formulation, contaminant available in WCO, its treatment, issues regarding different thickener consumption, treatment against Spent Bleaching Earth (SBE), and propose the safe thickener and additives for future intakes. This study found that adding Fume Silica (F.S.) as a thickener and Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2) enhanced the grease stability. Further treatment against SBE (remove residue oil) and WCO (metal elements, undesired impurities and water content) is necessary for providing good quality formulated grease.

Integration and Optimisation of Palm Oil Sector with Multiple-Industries to Achieve Circular Economy

A typical palm oil sector includes oil palm plantations, palm oil mills, and palm oil refineries. The sector generates a huge amount of biomass by-products, effluent, and refinery wastes. These are usually disposed of at landfills causing inefficient waste management and sustainability issues. As reported in many previoius works, palm-based biomass, palm oil mill effluent (POME) and refinery wastes can be reused or recycled within the palm oil sector. However, there are still large amounts of these which are unprocessed and disposed to landfills. To address this issue, a circular economy approach that integrates the palm oil sector with other industries is needed. This work proposes a mathematical optimisation model to determine the optimal pathway for the circularity of palm-based biomass, POME, and refinery wastes with other sectors. Paper, polymer, and furniture industries are considered to evaluate the potential of a palm-based circular economy. Besides, various biorefineries are also considered, thereby providing multiple pathways for the conversion of palm-based biomass and refinery wastes to value-added products and energy generation. The optimisation is performed under four scenarios – maximise economic potential, minimise net emissions, minimise landfill wastes, and fuzzy multi-objective. The multi-objective results show economic potential of USD 151.36 million, net emissions of −804,946.60 tCO2 and landfill waste reduction by 80.17 %. The results indicate that the polymer industry has better potential to integrate with the palm oil sector. The fuzzy optimisation has allowed to determine trade-off between landfill disposal and resource circularity to maximise the economic value and minimise carbon emissions.

Characterization of crude glycerol and glycerol pitch from palm-based residual biomass.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13399-023-04003-4.

Pelletisation of peat moss using binder from palm oil refinery waste (spent bleaching earth) and binder from grey oyster mushroom plantation waste (spent mushroom substrate)

Spent bleaching earth (SBE); a solid waste generated from refining palm oil process and spent mushroom substrate (SMS); a waste generated from grey mushroom plantation were explored as potential binding agents. The experimental work of pelletisation using a pelleting machine was carried out by varying the ratio of peat moss (PMS) to spent bleaching earth (SBE) and spent mushroom substrate (SMS) at 90:10, 80:20 and 70:30 (by weight %). Several analyses were conducted to determine the physical and thermal degradation characteristics of the peat moss pellet at different level of binders. Density and hardness tests were performed for physical analysis. Results from durability test shows that pellet from the tested ratios achieved pellet durability index (PDI) value of more than 97.5%. In terms of pellet hardness, pellet mixed with SBE was found to decrease its hardness when the amount of SBE in the mixture increases. On the contrary, for peat soil pellet mixed with SMS, when the amount of SMS in the mixture increases, the pellet hardness also increases. In terms of water resistance, peat soil pellet mixed with SBE showed high resistance towards moisture whereas peat soil pellet mixed with SMS was found to break during the test when the amount of SMS binder increased. The pelletisation of peat soil aimed to increase the density and strength of the material and consequently provide better thermal degradation characteristics It can be concluded that the most ideal formula among the tested ratios to produce biosolid fuel pellet with SBE as binding agent was 90:10 PMS:SBE whereas for pellet with SMS as binding agent was 70:30 PMS:SMS. This study thus brings opportunity for spent bleaching earth and spent mushroom substrate as potential binding agents to aid pelletisation of raw/biomass material.

Fuzzy expert system for troubleshooting of the deodorizer unit in a palm oil refining plant

AbstractIn this paper, a troubleshooting technique is developed to provide a sequence of necessary actions during deodorizer unit failure in a palm oil refinery. This paper introduces a fuzzy expert system that incorporates the knowledge of experienced plant workers in dealing with the complex problems of the palm oil deodorizer. The presented methodology uses both qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data are collected from several interview sessions with the technical staff in a palm oil refinery. Quantitative data are gathered from various sources, such as control and monitoring systems. The qualitative data are analyzed to discover the possible pattern of faults in the deodorizer failure. This tool can diagnose possible faults and provide a sequence of necessary actions when deodorizer failure occurs. The obtained results show the developed deodorizer troubleshooting tool is useful to guide plant workers/operators in diagnosing the possible faults and abnormalities during the troubleshooting process, as well as to provide field training for inexperienced staff.

Systematic optimisation framework for a sustainable multi-owner palm oil-based complex

In Malaysia, palm oil mill (POM) retrofit towards pollution control is vital to receive mandatory certification. Resource, waste, energy and water integrations could be performed between POM, palm oil refinery (POR) and conventional heat and power plant (CHP) under different owners to form a sustainable integrated palm oil-based complex (POBC). A cooperative game context is applied where multi-owner POM, POR and CHP act as multiple “players” in the POBC “game”. This study presents a systematic optimisation framework to design a sustainable multi-owner POBC. Firstly, five objectives related to economic, environmental and energy potentials are balanced using fuzzy optimisation approach to yield multi-objective optimal POBCs under four facility construction scenarios. Subsequently, profit-cost allocation within the multi-owner POBC is performed via an integrated cooperative game-based approach. The four fuzzy optimal POME-eliminated POBCs achieved economic potentials at 39.71 × 106- 40.84 × 106 USD/y with maximum λ (0.652). The profit-cost allocation results show economic potential improvements at 0.12 × 106- 0.46 × 106 USD/y for the multi-owner POBC facilities. POM is the major GP receiver whereas CHP benefits the most from POBC collaboration. The optimal multi-owner POBCs are economically feasible upon decision-makers' interest and robust against investment cost variations. The increment in Feed-in Tariff and biomass-based steam price reduces the economic stability of multi-owner POBC.

Transition Pathway Palm Oil Research Framework Toward a Bio-Circular-Green Economy Model Using SWOT Analysis: A Case Study of Thailand

Climate change, food security, and energy crisis are becoming more intense in our world. Oil palm can be utilized in both the food and biofuel industries. To respond to the crisis, it is necessary to develop palm oil products besides vegetable oil and biodiesel. This article focuses on the development of strategies to research oil palm throughout the supply chain in Thailand. The SWOT factors (the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) are recognized via interviews with stakeholders. These stakeholders are feedstock producers, crude palm oil (CPO) producers, government agencies, biodiesel producers, palm oil refinery producers, and researchers. The results obtained from the data collection were analyzed and led to the formulation of strategies for future research on oil palm by the TOWS matrix. According to this analysis, future palm oil research framework strategies should consist of four categories: (1) oil palm management policy, developing regulation and economic instruments of various forms to systematically manage the oil palm industry, and applying big data and smart innovation to analyze market behavior; (2) oil palm breeding and production technologies, developing smart innovation in line with farmers’ lifestyles, and supporting research on oil content analysis and harvesting technology; (3) oil palm biomass conversion technologies, assessing environmental impacts through life cycle technology, evaluating the potential reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and increasing the consumption rate of palm biomass; and (4) palm-based oleochemical products, developing oleochemical technology at the industrial level, expanding the potential capacity of producing oleochemical derivative products, and increasing the consumption rate and value added of CPO. All four frameworks were detailed and revised in line with the information obtained from seminars, comments, and interviews to meet the needs of all stakeholders. This framework will help drive the Bio-Circular-Green economy model in the future.

Techno-economic analysis of an integrated electrocoagulation-membrane system in treatment of palm oil mill effluent

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is an oily wastewater generated by palm oil processing mills. Most palm oil factories and refineries have their own treatment system such as anaerobic digestion system and electrocoagulation (EC). In this study, a new method, integrated electrocoagulation (EC)-membrane system is introduced to treat the POME. The treatment efficiency and economic feasibility of the developed integrated EC-membrane is also evaluated by comparing with EC standalone system. This study highlights that the removal of POME by EC has increased with extended time and increasing voltage. Besides, the integrated EC-membrane shows better removal efficiency compared to the EC system. For model development, both standard least squares model for EC and integrated membrane-EC systems created by using JMP software showed a good fit and able to be used for further efficiency calculation. The economic analysis result shows that integrated EC-membrane method has a higher capital cost with lower in the operating cost per year than EC method. 75% color removal efficiency is achievable by integrated EC-membrane system at voltage 1 V and 2 V in which EC method requires voltage of 4 V and higher. Notably, the total cost of integrated EC-membrane system at the first year of implementation is lower than the EC system and in 15 years period has a 21.24% lesser cost compared to EC system.

Effect of hydrogenation of palm oil products spiked with octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin on dioxin congener profiles and toxic equivalent levels

Between 1999 and 2020, there were twelve rapid alerts on dioxins in palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) products, six of which were associated with hydrogenated palm fatty acid distillates (HPFADs). In palm oil refineries for food and feed, refined palm oil and PFADs can be processed into hydrogenated palm oil and HPFADs. This study investigated the effect of hydrogenation of palm oil products which contain OCDD and impact on the profiles of dioxins in palm oil products and on the toxic equivalent (TEQ) level. Palm oil and PFADs were spiked with octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (OCDD) and hydrogenated at different pressures, temperatures, and catalyst conditions. Initially, the concentrations of the lower-chlorinated dioxin congeners, some with a higher toxic equivalency factor, increased. Consequently, the TEQ levels increased and exceeded the regulatory limit. However, further hydrogenation extended the dechlorination of dioxins resulting in decreased TEQ levels. Optimisation of the hydrogenation process is required to reduce the risk of exceeding the limits on dioxins. • Hydrogenation of palm oil products affected the toxicity of dioxin congeners. • Octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (OCDD) dechlorinated during hydrogenation. • OCDD dechlorination initially formed congeners with higher toxicity. • Further hydrogenation reduced dioxin concentration and toxic equivalence level.

Evaluation on the quality of Malaysian refined palm stearin

The quality of Malaysian palm stearin was monitored through a twelve-month survey in 2018, by participation of palm oil refineries and oleochemical plants from Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak. Quality parameters requirement as listed in the Palm Oil Refinery Association of Malaysia (PORAM) specification such as moisture, impurities, free fatty acids, slip melting point, peroxide value and iodine value were determined. Other identity characteristics analyses as detailed in the palm stearin specification namely Malaysian Standard MS 815:2007 and Codex Alimentarius CXS 210-1999 documents were also analyzed, which were apparent density, refractive index, fatty acids composition, triacylglycerols, etc. Results obtained from this survey indicated that the quality of Malaysian palm stearin complied with the requirements specified in MS 815:2007 and Codex CXS 210-1999 documents. The iodine value determined was ranged from 28 g I2/100 g oil to 48 g I2/100 g oil, with 60.9% of the palm stearin tested were in the range of 30 g I2/100 g oil to 35 g I2/100 g oil. Meanwhile, some deviations are found in the average of parameter such as refractive index, apparent density, slip melting point, oleic and palmitic acids of the palm stearin produced. These deviations could be due to the improvement in current fractionation technologies causing less olein entrainment in stearin products, which resulted of harder stearin fraction in the sample itself, giving a more representative reading of the parameters.

Refined Palm Oil Product Quality Predictor for Supporting Palm Oil Refinery Energy Management System

Refined Palm Oil Product Quality Predictor for Supporting Palm Oil Refinery Energy Management System

Cooperative Game-Based Business Model Optimisation for a Multi-Owner Integrated Palm Oil-Based Complex

To achieve cleaner production in palm oil mills (POM), eliminating palm oil mill effluent (POME) via evaporation provides promising benefits towards palm oil sustainability. The incorporation of POME evaporation creates circular economy opportunities between mill, refinery and cogeneration system via converting mill-refinery effluent to oil recovered-solids and regenerated water, broadening biomass-to-energy potential to support energy-extensive evaporation and water integrations. Such industrial symbiosis scheme named as the integrated palm oil-based complex (POBC) could consider participation from different companies to provide desired processing facilities in achieving the optimal performance of POBC. For the new POBC scheme, the individual interest for each participating facility is hard to define due to the lack of basis for profit distribution. It is crucial to propose an optimal business model for POBC planning to demonstrate the financial allocation among possible partners based on the pooled incremental gains in the POBC coalition. The business model serves as a tool to persuade the companies in collaborating by quantifying their potential economic benefits and contributions for negotiation before forming the POBC. The cooperative game theory model has been useful in distributing cost savings within a coalition of individual plants. On that account, an integrated cooperative game-based optimisation approach is proposed to optimally distribute the profit gain and investment sharing between POM, palm oil refinery and biomass-cogeneration system to develop a feasible business model for a multi-owner POBC. Seven scenarios have been evaluated to generate optimal multi-owner POBC business models achieving 7-13 % improvements in economic potential. The average economic allocations of collaborating POM, refinery and cogeneration system are 91.8 %, 2.4 % and 5.8 % in the multi-owner POBCs.

Effluent from local palm oil mill refinery in Nigeria is excessively oily and potentially genotoxic

In spite of the fact that the informal, local mills in countries like Nigeria constitute a major portion of the palm oil refinery, adequate attention has not been paid to the quality of the palm oil mill effluent (POME) they generate. In this study, therefore, the physicochemical properties and genotoxic potential of POME generated by a local mill in Nigeria were investigated using the methods prescribed by the American Public Health Association and Allium cepa chromosomal assay, respectively. In addition to the presence of trace/toxic metals (Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu) and high biochemical oxygen demand, POME contained a very high oil and grease concentration of 10,500 mg L-1 as against the maximum limit of 25 mg L-1 prescribed in the Environmental Management Guideline for the Palm Oil Industry. Mitotic activities in A. cepa roots exposed to POME showed that the number of dividing cells and percentage mitotic index generally decreased with increasing POME concentrations. The major chromosomal aberrations induced by POME were sticky, C-mitosis, bridged anaphase, vagrant, and attached chromosomes. However, no chromosomal aberrations were observed in onion roots exposed to water (control). These results indicate that the local refinery from where the POME was obtained is inefficient at recovering oil from palm fibre. The effluent generated by the mill is also a potential pollutant capable of inducing genotoxic and other adverse effects. These results may be typical of many more local palm oil refineries who use mainly manual methods to extract oil from oil palm fruits.