Palm Oil Supply Research Articles

Use of Oil Palm Waste as a Renewable Energy Source and Its Impact on Reduction of Air Pollution in Context of Malaysia

One of the most efficient and effective solutions for sustainable energy supply to supplement the increasing energy demand and reducing environment pollution is renewable energy resources. Malaysia is currently the world's second largest producer and exporter of palm oil and 47% of the world's supply of palm oil is produced by this country. Nearly 80 million tonnes of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) are processed annually in 406 palm oil mills and are generating approximately 54 million tonnes of palm oil mill effluent (POME), known to generate biogas consisting of methane – a Green House Gas (GHG) identifiable to cause global warming. This is 21 times more potent GHG than CO2. These two major oil palm wastes are a viable renewable energy (RE) source for production of electricity. If the two sources are used in harnessing the renewable energy potential the pollution intensity from usage of non-renewable sources can also be reduced significantly. This study focused on the pollution mitigation potential of biogas as biogas is a renewable energy. Utilization of this renewable source for the production of electricity is believed to reduce GHG emissions to the atmosphere.

Modeling reverse logistics process in the agro-industrial sector: The case of the palm oil supply chain

As today’s consumers are more and more concerned with the environmental impacts of products and services they buy, enterprises have been more and more concerned with “green operations”. One of the key aspects of green logistics management is reverse logistics. This paper shows how the potential of managing reverse logistics flows can be implemented in the agro-industrial sector. As an example, the palm oil supply chain is considered. This study is carried out under the focus of the “closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) framework” in which forward and backward product flows are considered simultaneously. A mathematical model is proposed in order to represent the dynamic interaction between flows. The objective function considers energy, cost and economic profits. Different implementation scenarios of recovery processes are proposed and interactions between direct and reverse flows in the chain are evaluated. Results are analyzed using proper statistical tools, showing that the simultaneous analysis of direct and reverse flows positively impact the net economic profits in this complex supply chain of the agro-industrial sector.

BiotecVisions 2013, March

BiotecVisions 2013, March

Traceability of the palm oil supply chain

AbstractPalm oil is mainly produced in Malaysia and Indonesia while the main users are India, China, Indonesia and the EU. For most of these users, the supply chain is long and complex, including overseas shipping. Procedures in this supply chain guarantee stepwise traceability as required by food safety regulations. Continuous traceability is usually not achievable. Also the RSPO trace and traceability systems do not improve this. Exception is the Identity Preserved system, however, the high costs and low volume of this system makes it only applicable for niche market products.

Food, Fuel, and Climate Change

SummaryThis study evaluates the sustainability of biodiesel for transport in Thailand in terms of the availability of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) and crude palm oil (CPO) supply to satisfy the future demands for food and fuel, and the contribution of palm biodiesel to mitigating climate change if biodiesel induces land‐use change (LUC). Five land conversions including rubber, cassava, paddy field, set‐aside land, and forest land to oil palm are considered along with their displacement effects to other land types to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the direct and indirect land‐use impacts. The net feedstock balance reveals that the policy to expand 0.4 million hectare (Mha) for new oil palm plantations accompanied with an increase of FFB yield to 22 megagrams per hectare (Mg/ha) by 2012 would help avoid a CPO shortage; however, this increase in land use needs to be strongly encouraged. The GHG analyses show a wide range of net GHG balances compared to diesel depending on which type of land is converted and which options are used to treat the oil palm wastes. Except for forest land conversion, direct LUC emissions from converting other lands to oil palm will render benefit to the GHG balance of biodiesel. Indirect LUC emissions through crop displacements, however, will generally worsen the balance. Several recommendations are therefore suggested for sustainable palm biodiesel production in the future.

Model Penilaian Risiko Berbasis Kinerja untuk Rantai Pasok Kelapa Sawit Berkelanjutan di Indonesia

As the country's largest palm oil producer in the world, Indonesian palm oil production is still encounter political barriers or non-tariff economy of several countries. Sustainable development policies have a role to overcome these obstacles. The research problem is how to build policies through the performance based risk assessment for sustainable palm oil supply chain in Indonesia. The research objective is to recommend policies that supported by performance-based risk assessment models for sustainable palm oil supply chain in Indonesia. Performance-based risk assessment algorithms have been developed and verified in a comprehensive manner. Model verification is conducted by analyzing the performance of crude palm oil supply chain based on expert’s analysis. This study has obtained the necessary indicators to assess the risk based on performance of sustainable crude palm oil supply chain. Model application has shown that risk level of sustainable crude palm oil in Indonesia relating to economics, environmental, and social aspects are moderate, respectively. However, there are some indicators that need to be considered with the level of risk is quite high, namely demand rate, quality of palm oil, timelines of product delivery, availability of crude palm oil and bullwhip effect. This paper has recommended some policies to address those risks.

Environmental sustainability assessment of palm biodiesel production in Thailand

The study assesses the environmental sustainability of palm biodiesel production systems in Thailand by focusing on their energy efficiency and environmental impact potentials. The Net Energy Balance (NEB) and Renewability indicate energy gain for palm biodiesel and its co-products as compared to fossil energy inputs. In addition, life cycle assessment also reveals lower values of environmental impact potentials of biodiesel as compared to conventional diesel. For example, palm biodiesel can provide greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction of around 46–73% as compared to diesel. Nitrogen-fertilizer production and application in the plantation and the air emissions from the ponds treating palm oil mill effluent (POME) are found to be the major environmental aspects. However, the energy and environmental performances depend on various factors such as the management efficiency of empty fruit bunches (EFB) and POME and the possible land-use change in the future. Recommendations are made for improving environmental performance of palm biodiesel and for securing the long-term availability of crude palm oil supply with a view towards sustainable palm biodiesel production.

Metodología de optimización para la toma de decisiones biodiesel en Colombia

This article proposes a methodology for decision-making based on deterministic and stochastic optimization models to design the network for the supply of palm oil and biodiesel in Colombia. It takes account of the projections of technology available to the transportation sector in scenarios of probabilities associated with the demand for biodiesel in each period of the planning horizon. A base scenario is used to determine the opening of bio-refineries, production plans, optimum flows of raw material and finished products through the network, and the percentage of demand met. This methodology is a flexible took that allows lines of action to be defined depending on the conditions of the supply network, supporting strategic and tactical decision-making.

Model Identifikasi Risiko dan Strategi Peningkatan Nilai Tambah pada Rantai Pasok Kelapa Sawit

The actors in the palm oil supply chain industry are the farmers, traders, crude palm oil (CPO) factories, frying-oil factories (refineries), distributors and the consumers. The farmers sell fresh fruit bunches (FFB) to the CPO factories through traders. FFB is converted into CPO which is later sold to the refineries. Refineries convert CPO into frying oil which is sold to the consumers through the distributors. There are risks due to product quality consistency, price fluctuation and supply chain continuity. This study has two objectives: (1) to develop a model to identify, evaluate and rank the risks, (2) to develop a model to identify and rank the strategies in improving their added value. Data for this study was obtained through direct interviews and questionnaires. The respondents were selected experts and industry players. The data were processed using Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) models. The first FAHP model showed that the two most important risks were the supply chain continuity and product quality. The second FAHP model showed that the recommended strategies to improve the added values of the actors were the improvement of the infrastructure/cluster development, followed by the usage of superior seeds and cultivation techniques.

インドネシアのアブラヤシ産業の発展と固体残渣の有効利用

As a result of continued growth, the palm oil industry is now the most important sector in Indonesian agriculture. With crude palm oil production of approximately 19.33 million ton in 2008, Indonesia contributed ∼45% of the world supply of palm oil and is the largest producer of this commodity. Increases in oil production have been supported by steady expansion of oil palm plantation areas and the associated industry since the 1980s. Such rapid development has created several environmental problems associated with waste generation, including solid wastes from both plantations and palm oil mills. Despite their negative impact, such solid wastes are potential biomass resources owing to the organic compounds they contain. Hence, much work has been carried out to identify more effective methods to utilize solid wastes from the palm oil industry.

Minority Rights Issues in Nigeria: A Theoretical Analysis of Historical and Contemporary Conflicts in the Oil-Rich Niger Delta Region

AbstractNigeria's delta region was famous for its role in the trade and supply of palm-oil to the then industrialising world. Thereafter, its high quality crude-oil made it a significant player in the global oil market. However, the region has become (in)famous for the spate of violent conflicts that threaten both local and international economic stability and security. This paper highlights the correlations between these two eras, the parties and fundamental causes of the violent conflicts that beset the area. It argues that the underlying factor for restiveness in both periods is the exclusion of the local communities from participating in the exploitation and benefits of the resources. The paper theorises the causes of conflicts during the two periods based on social justice concepts of distribution and recognition. It suggests that the actualisation of normative elements of distribution and recognition that quelled the first of these conflicts has a fundamental role to play in resolving the multifarious conflicts that currently pervade the Niger Delta region. Consequently, it suggests that initiatives that recognise public participation in the crude-oil industry be extended to resolve the present conflicts.