Old Oil Palm Trunks as Promising Feedstock

for
Biofuel and Bioplastics
JIRCAS
4
th
BMWS 2007.11
In collaboration with University of Science Malaysia
and Forest Research Institute Malaysia
Yutaka Mori
Problems occurred by introduction of bio-ethanol fuel
Competition
with food
Shortage of feedstock
Price hike in grain and
feedstock
Feedstock: corn, wheat, cassava, sugar cane, molasses
Second-generation ethanol that
does not compete with food
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t
SourceUSDA PSD Online 2008
Worldwide Palm Oil Production
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Palm Oil Production in Each Country (2007)

SourceUSDA PSD Online 2008
Indonesia
Malaysia
Country
1911: Introduced from Africa
1917: Commercial Production started
Exports: 2007
36,292M RM13 billion US dollars
Employment more than 500,000
Cultivation area 430M ha (2007 13% of total land)
peninsula(236Mha), Saba(128Mha), Sarawak(66Mha)
Palm oil production (2007): 17.7M ton
Kernel oil production (2007): 2M ton
Productivity: 3.4-4.9 ton/ha (palm oil)
0.7-1.2 ton/ha (kernel oil)
Palm Oil Industry in Malaysia
Re-plantation of Old Oil Palm
Plywood Production from Old Palm Trunk
Youngs Modulus
2 4 (GPa)
16 7 6 2
4 3
11
10
9
15
14
13
Youngs Modulus
2 4 (GPa)
16 7 6 2
4 3
11
10
9
15
14
13
16 7 6 2
4 3
11
10
9
15
14
13
Moisture Content of Oil Palm Trunk
A
B
C
Bark
Inner part of the stem
Moisture
A
(core)
83%
B
(middle)
75%
C
(outer)
68%
HPLC Profile of Sugar Analysis on Sap
S
u
c
r
o
s
e
G
a
l
a
c
t
o
s
e
Glucose
F
r
u
c
t
o
s
e
A B C
Sucrose 20.6 23.6 22.1
Glucose 68.4 60.8 54.7
Fructose 23.3 27.0 30.9
Total sugars 113 112 108
Sugars contained in oil palm sap
(g / L)
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4.0
6.0
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Time, h
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e
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s
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%
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5.0
6.0
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t
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,

%
Reducing sugar, %
EtOH, %
Ethanol production from oil palm sap
Lactic Acid Production from Oil Palm Sap
,sap ,reference
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70
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70
G
l
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,

L
a
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/
L
(

)
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0 12 24 36 48
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70
5
inches
2
ft
Upper
most
(centre)
half
half
5
inches
5
inches
5
inches
8
ft
Sugar content and
composition at
different height
Same amount and
composition throughout the
height except uppermost
part
Approximately 20% less at
uppermost part
0 1 3 7 15 30 60 90 120
days
2

Accumulation of sugars during storage of OPT

2
inches
L
1/2
L
1/2
L
A B C
We found out:
sugars in the sap increase significantly during storage.
Comparison of Oil Palm Trunk with Sugar Cane
Sugar
Cane
Oil Palm Trunk
( after proper aging)
A () B () C ()
Moisture content
70 83 75
68
0.8
Sugar content in juice
or sap
16 16 14 15
Amount of sugars
contained
112g/kg 95.4g/kg 107.8 kg/trunk
Cane or trunk
produced per area
60-90
ton/ha
154-168 ton/ha
(136-148 trunks/ha)
Possible ethanol yield 4.5-7.2
kL/ha
9.5-10.3
kL/ha
Sugar
Cane
Oil Palm Trunk
( after proper aging)
A (Core) B (Middle) C (Outer)
Moisture content
70 83 75
68
0.8
Sugar content in juice
or sap
16 16 14 15
Amount of sugars
contained
112g/kg 95.4g/kg 107.8 kg/trunk
Cane or trunk
produced per area
60-90
ton/ha
154-168 ton/ha
(136-148 trunks/ha)
Possible ethanol yield 4.5-7.2
kL/ha
9.5-10.3
kL/ha
Oil palm sap squeezing system
Trunk
Sap Tank
Fermentation
water
Plywood material
Shredder
Squeezer
Peeler
right side
Prototype Shredding machine
Shredded oil palm trunk
trunk
Capacity; 550 kg/h
Squeezer
Specs
3 roller hydraulic press
Size of roller240mm, 340 w
Capacity: 500kg/h
7.5kw x 2 (AC415Vx50Hz)
8RPM variable
2450 x 2030W x 1800H
Parenchyma Vascular bundles
Solid residues of sap-squeezed trunks
Cross-section
55
45
Ethanol production from parenchyma hydrolysate
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time, h
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l
u
c
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E
t
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%
A5
A6
A7
A8
Ethanol yield A8) 86%
control: 80%)
A5 hydrolysate
A6 hydrolysate + 1% polypeptone, 0.5% yest extract
A7 hydrolysate + 1% NH
4
)
2
SO
4
A8 hydrolysate + 1% polypeptone, 0.5% yeast extract
Control glucose + 1% polypeptone, 0.5% yeast extract)
Parenchyma separating equipment
Parenchyma and vascular bundles
separated by the separator
Possible amount of ethanol and lactate produced from oil palm trunk
Heat
etc.
Fermentable sugars
16.8kgcore
39.7kgmiddle
51.3kgouter
From one trunk
Solids317kg
Parenchyma
174kg
Vascular bundles
143kg
Fermentable
sugars
63.9kg
Fermentable
sugars
59.6kg
Fermentable sugars
(107.8kg)
Ethanol 69.8L
41.4L
Diameter38cm
Length10m
sp. gr.1.0
Sap
Lactate: 107.8kg
63.9kg
Characteristics and advantages of the OPT as the
resource for fuel ethanol and lactic acid production
Large amounts of sap
High sugar content
Easily degradable
parenchyma
Promising feedstock for ethanol and lactic acid
Constantly discharged waste
Very large amount
Available all year around
Potential Malaysia (4.3M ha) 2.7M kL (1.7M kL ) ethanol /year
4.2M ton (2.6M ton) lactate /year
Indonesia (7.0M ha)* 4.4M kL (2.8M kL) ethanol /year
6.8M ton (4.3M) lactate /year