Page 112 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition
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98 K. T. Lee and C. Ofori-Boateng
Fig. 1 Biodiesel production
from various feed stocks
commonly used in the world
in 2010
mainly used for biodiesel production in 2010. In 2010, Malaysia recorded the
highest palm oil biodiesel installed capacity of 1.7 million tonnes. Between 2007
and 2008, Malaysia’s biodiesel production gained a rise by 32 % from 129,715 to
171,700 t (Biodiesel 2020). The United States of America and the European Union
were the main importers of biodiesel from Malaysia accounting for 39.2 and
38.6 % of the total biodiesel exports, respectively (Biodiesel 2020).
1.2 The Oil Palm
The oil palm is a perennial insect-pollinated plant which belongs to the family
Palmae and genus Elaeis with many species including guineensis, oleifera,
kamerunicus. Elaeis guineensis Jacq. has been the commonest species with an
average generic life span of 150 years, an economic life of 20–25 years
(11–16 months for nursery) and significantly high oil-to-bunch content (45–55 %
oil) compared to the other species (Schmidt 2007). However, genus oleifera has
been reported to have higher level of unsaturated fatty acids thus used for the
production of interspecific hybrids with the genus guineensis.
The oil palm is cultivated in 45 countries in the world on a total land area of
about 12.9 million hectares (GOFBM 2009). Oil palms are highly efficient pro-
ducers of oil requiring less land than any other oil-producing crops. Only about
10 % of the oil palm produces the oil (which is extracted from the mesocarp or
fleshy part of the fruits) and palm kernel oil (which is obtained from the kernel or
seed in the fruit). The remaining 90 % is mainly the biomass comprising the empty
fruit bunches (EFB), fibers, fronds, trunks, kernels, and mill effluent which are
often disposed as wastes or used as mulch in the plantation.
After 24–30 months of planting a palm tree, it begins to bear fresh fruit bunches
(FFB) and thus ready for harvest after some couple of months later. The normal
frequency of harvesting is between 10 and 15 days (Xavier et al. 2008). The tree
produces averagely 12 FFB annually with a bunch weighting 15–25 kg containing