Palm oil fresh fruit bunches (FFB)

A fresh fruit bunch (FFB). The variety shown in this picture is called Tenera. Palm oil is extracted from
each of the individual fruits contained on the bunch.

Palm oil fresh fruit bunches (FFB)

Fresh fruit bunches like the one in the picture above grow on the tree and are harvested, then
transported to a palm oil mill. The mill process extracts the palm oil from the flesh of each individual
piece of fruit contained on the bunch.

The palm kernel, the nut found in the centro of each piece of fruit, is extracted and sent to a
palm kernel crushing mill. The oil is extracted from the kernel. The pulp left over from this process is
pressed together, forming palm kernel cake or expeller.

These processes extract three major palm products: crude palm oil, crude palm kernel oil and
palm kernel expeller.

Three major global palm oil commodities

1. CPO - Crude Palm Oil
These individual fruits make up the fresh fruit bunches, also referred to as FFBs. Palm oil is extracted
from the orange flesh. The white centre is the kernel or nut. This is crushed to extract the palm kernel
oil.

2. PKO - Palm Kernel Oil

Palm kernels are sent from the palm oil mill to a kernel crushing plant. The palm kernel oil is extracted
and the pulp left over is compacted together to form palm kernel expeller or cake.

3. PKE - Palm Kernel Expeller

Palm kernel expeller or palm kernel cake is used in the animal feed industry. The product is high in
energy and fibre and retains a good level of residual oil
Factory process from Fresh Fruits Bunches to Palm Kernel Expeller
 Palm oil is extracted from fresh fruit bunches by mechanical process. The modern palm oil
mill is based predominantly on automatic machinery. The quality of crude palm oil is depended on the
care taken after harvesting, particularly on the handling of the palm seeds. Palm oil mill processes are
as follows:

This comprises of sterilization, stripping, digestion and pressing, clarification, purification,

drying and storage.

I. collecting the ripe fresh cluster from the orchard, and then transmit them to the
factory. Second is sterilization process. Sterilizing process is crucial to the final oil
quality.
II. Sterilization inactivates the lipases in the fruits, and prevents build-up of free fatty
acids (FFA). In addition, steam sterilization of the FFBs facilitates fruits being stripped
from the bunches. It also softens the fruit mesocarp for digestion and release of oil,
and conditioning of nuts to minimize kernel breakage.
III. Third is threshing section. The purpose of threshing is to separate the palm fruit from
the FFB.After stripping, the fruits are moved into a digester where, the fruits are
reheated to loosen the pericarp. The steam heated vessels have rotating shafts to
which are attached stirring arms. The fruits are rotated about, causing the loosening
of the pericarps from the nuts.
IV. Then, it is sent to continuous screw press. After pressing, the palm oil is divided into
two parts: the mixture of oil and the press cake. And then is crude oil clarifying
section. Oil from the top is skimmed off and purified in the centrifuge prior to drying in
vacuum dryer.
V. The final crude palm oil is then cooled and stored. The lower layer from the
clarification tank is sent to the centrifugal separator where the remaining oil is
recovered. The oil is dried in vacuum dryers, cooled and sent to storage tanks. All of
these are palm oil mill processes.