Abstract
Palm oil is currently the cheapest vegetable oil on the world’s international market. The oil palm in general is found to be the most productive crop in terms of oil yield per cultivated area. The palm oil industry in the world generates over 190 million tons of wastes in the form of solid and liquid residues. Out of this only about 10 % are utilized commercially for value-added bioproducts like biofertilizers. Oil palm biomass is found to possess unique characteristics which make them suitable for the production of biofuels. This chapter discusses into detail the various forms of oil palm biomass, their characteristics, and potential applications in the biofuels industry.
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Notes
- 1.
FFB are ripe for harvesting between 24 and 60 months depending on the type of breeding used during nursery. Genetically modified palm seeds for plantation are able to mature much faster and produce more fruits compared to the normal ones.
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- 3.
Unsaponifiable matter consists of organic compounds like sterols, pigments, waxes, hydrocarbons, etc., which do not react with base to form soaps but remain in the biodiesel after the transesterification reaction because they are nonpolar. High unsaponifiable matter presents the oil not very suitable for biodiesel production. Those oils may require additional pretreatments to remove the unwanted compounds which may eventually increase the production cost of the biofuel.
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Lee, K.T., Ofori-Boateng, C. (2013). Oil Palm Biomass as Feedstock for Biofuel Production. In: Sustainability of Biofuel Production from Oil Palm Biomass. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4451-70-3_3
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