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Biomass as the Renewable Energy

Sources in Malaysia: An Overview
a a a a
T.G. Chuah , A.G. K. Wan Azlina , Y. Robiah & R. Omar
a
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty
of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
Published online: 06 Feb 2007.

To cite this article: T.G. Chuah , A.G. K. Wan Azlina , Y. Robiah & R. Omar (2006) Biomass as the
Renewable Energy Sources in Malaysia: An Overview, International Journal of Green Energy, 3:3,
323-346, DOI: 10.1080/01971520600704779

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 International Journal of Green Energy, 3: 323–346, 2006
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1543-5075 print / 1543-5083 online
DOI: 10.1080/01971520600704779

BIOMASS AS THE RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES IN

MALAYSIA: AN OVERVIEW

T.G. Chuah, A.G. K. Wan Azlina, Y. Robiah, and R. Omar

Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,
Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia

Past and current economic growths of Malaysia have been primarily energized by fossil
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fuels. Malaysia has very substantial potential for biomass energy utilization given its equa-
torial climate that is ideal for dense tropical forest growth and agricultural vegetation.
There are five major sectors contributing wastes to biomass energy in Malaysia: forestry
(wood products), rubber cultivation, cocoa cultivation, sugar cane cultivation and oil palm
cultivation. Biomass in Malaysia contributes about 14% of the approximately 340 million
barrel of oil equivalent (boe) of energy used every year. This paper provides an overview on
the types of biomass being used, the research works on biomass conversion into energy and
the present biomass energy projects in Malaysia.

Keywords: Biomass; Renewable energy; Wood fuel; Palm oil biomass; Biogas; Biodiesel;
POME

INTRODUCTION
Malaysia is blessed with a plentiful and relatively cheap supply of conventional fos-
sil energy resources such as oil, gas, and coal and so far need not to worry about its energy
supply. Owing to some large oil fields, the government subsidizes petrol with up to 50
cents per liter to help the local industries flourish. Past and current economic growth in the
country has been primarily fueled by fossil fuels and little attention has been paid to other
energy sources. However, like most industrial countries, Malaysia too faces the challenges
of opening up new sources of energy. Worldwide the supply of fossil fuel will, in not a
long period of time, run dry as is commonly acknowledged. Malaysia could very soon
experience an energy crisis after the long years of generous energy subsidies if the abun-
dant use of its energy sources continues. Therefore, it is unavoidable that Malaysia also
seek renewable sources for future electricity generation.
The term renewable energy (RE) has only been in widespread use since the 1981
United Nations Nairobi Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy and covers
a wide range of natural energy resources, ranging from biomass and hydropower use to the
direct and indirect use of solar energy, such as photovoltaic, solar thermal and wind
power. The increasing interest in the renewable resources stems from the realization of the

Address correspondence to T.G. Chuah, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Chemical and Environ-
mental Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, 43400 Selangor. E-mail: chuah@eng.upm.edu.my

323
 324 T.G. CHUAH ET AL.

short term nature of the conventional and convenient fossil fuel reserves and the environ-
mental degradation caused by their widespread use.
Several industrialized countries promote biomass energy, for both environmental
and socio-economic reasons. These countries use locally available wood and biomass
fuels as alternatives to oil or coal, taking advantage of recently developed technologies,
and thus avoiding CO2 emissions and reduce their own dependency on oil. These coun-
tries include Sweden, Finland, Austria, Denmark, European Union and the United State
of America. For example, 6% of Denmark’s total energy consumption at present is cov-
ered by biomass energy, representing 75% of the country’s renewable energy produc-
tion. Denmark is an agricultural country and generates large amounts of straw (2.3 mt/a
or 46 PJ) and animal wastes (3 Mt/a or 26 PJ), which are increasingly being used as
sources of energy. The organic waste is used in biogas which generates heat and elec-
tricity. Combustible waste accounts for 10 PJ out of 80 PJ of heat delivered by district
heating systems.
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Malaysia’s target is to generate five percent of its electricity from renewable

energy sources by 2005 and decrease reliance on natural gas, which is currently the pri-
mary generation fuel. Malaysia currently has approximately 13 gigawatts (GW) of elec-
tric generation capacity, of which 84% is thermal and 16% is hydroelectric. Malaysian
electricity demand is expected to grow to 15,000 MW by 2005 from 12,975 MW in the
year 2000. The Malaysian government expects that investment of $9.7 billion will be
required in the electric utility sector through 2010. It is a worry that the day could come
when there will be no more gas available, and we will need to look at renewable energy.
It could also be cheaper in the long run as natural gas is expensive (Chuah and Azni,
2004). Malaysia already generated nearly 200 MW of power from renewable sources at
palm oil plantations as part of the effort of biomass utilisation (PTM, 2004). However,
this power was not connected to the national distribution grid. The new plants should
feed into the national grid according to the 8th Malaysia Plan (RM8) for the years 2001–
2005. As an incentive, the government was offering tax breaks, investment allowances
and would waiver import duties on equipment for renewable energy plants. Figure 1

Figure 1 Energy Potential of Agroprocessing Residues As Percentage of Total Primary Energy Production in
ASEAN countries (RWEDP, 1998).
 BIOMASS ENERGY SOURCES IN MALAYSIA 325

shows the energy potential of agroprocessing residues as percentage of total primary

energy production in ASEAN countries.
This paper focuses on the progress and development of biomass usage as a renew-
able energy source in Malaysia. An overview on the types of biomass used, the research
works on biomass conversion into energy and present biomass energy projects in Malay-
sia are also discussed.

BIOMASS FUELS CHARACTERISTICS

Biomass is an important renewable source of energy and has been used to provide
energy to human activities. Residues obtained from harvesting and milling agricultural
produces can be utilised as fuel for energy generation.
Biomass differs from coal in many important ways, including organic, inorganic,
energy content and physical properties. Relative to coal, biomass generally has less carbon,
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more oxygen, more silica and potassium, less aluminium and iron, and lower density and fri-
ability (Table 1). The typical differences between the properties of coal and biomass are
indicated by the proximate and ultimate analyses (Tables 2 and 3). The volatile matter in
biomass is generally close to 80%, whereas in coal it is around 30%. Wood and woody mate-
rials tend to be low in ash content while the agricultural materials can have high ash con-
tents. It is difficult to establish a representative biomass due to large property variations, but

Table 1 Physical, chemical and fuel properties of biomass and coal fuels (Dermibas, 2004).

Property Biomass coal

Fuel density (kg/m3) ~500 ~1300

Particle size ~3 mm ~100 μm
C content (wt% of dry fuel) 45–54 65–85
O content (wt% of dry fuel) 35–45 2–15
S content (wt% of dry fuel) Max. 0.5 0.5–7.5
SiO2 content (wt% of dry fuel) 23–49 40–60
K2O content (wt% of dry fuel) 4–48 2–6
Al2O3 content (wt% of dry fuel) 2.4–9.5 15–25
Fe2O3 content (wt% of dry fuel) 1.5–8.5 8–18
Ignition temperature (K) 418–426 490–595
Peak temperature (K) 560–575 –
Friability Low High
Dry Heating value (MJ/kg) 14–21 23–28

Table 2 Proximate analyses of coal and selected biomass fuels (wt% of dry fuel).

Fuel sample Ash Volatile Matter Fixed carbon References

Rice husk 18.3 63.5 14.2 Werther and Saenger

(2000)
Palm kernel shell 3.2 69.5 21.7 Mahlia et al (2001)
Palm fibre 8.4 69.7 18.9 Mahlia et al (2001)
Coconut shell 3.1 70.5 22.0 Abelbha et al (2003)
Wood waste 0.4 81.7 9.8 Werther and Saenger
(2000)
Chicken litter 24.8 68 3.2 Cozzani et al (1995)
 326 T.G. CHUAH ET AL.

Table 3 Ultimate analyses of selected biomass fuels (wt% of dry fuel with ash).

Fuel sample C H N S Cl O References

Rice husk 38.8 4.2 35.5 0.1 0.1 35.5 Werther and Saenger (2000)
Palm kernel shell 45.6 6.2 37.5 – – 37.5 Mahlia et al (2001)
Palm fibre 51.5 6.6 1.5 0.3 – 40.1 Mahlia et al (2001)
Coconut shell 51.2 5.6 0.0 0.1 – 43.1 Werther and Saenger (2000)
Wood waste 50.7 5.9 0.2 0.04 – 43.1 Werther and Saenger (2000)
Chicken litter 28.2 3.64 3.78 0.55 0.6 34.4 Abelbha et al (2003)

Table 4 Inorganic properties of selected biomass fuels.

Fuel sample SiO2 Al2O3 TiO2 Fe2O3 CaO MgO Na2O K2O SO3 P2O5 References

Rice husk 91.4 0.78 0.02 0.14 3.2 0.01 0.2 3.7 0.7 0.4 Werther and
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Saenger (2000)
Palm fibre 63.2 4.5 0.2 3.9 – 3.8 0.8 9.0 2.8 2.8 Mahlia et al (2001)
Coconut shell 69.3 6.4 0.01 1.6 8.8 2.5 1.6 0.01 4.8 8.8 Werther and
Saenger (2000)
Wood waste 12.8 4.1 5.2 5.2 45.2 0.9 0.6 0.5 – 2.1 Werther and
Saenger (2000)

Table 5 Calorific values (CV) of various biomass fuels.

Fuel sample CV (MJkg−1) References

Rice husk 15.8 Werther and Saenger (2000)

Palm kernel shell 18.0 Mahlia et al (2001)
Palm fibre 15.4 Mahlia et al (2001)
Coconut shell 14.0 Werther and Saenger (2000)
Wood waste 18.41 Werther and Saenger (2000)

eight examples are included here for comparison. The composition variations among biom-
ass fuels are larger than among different coals, but as a class biomass has substantially more
oxygen and less carbon than coal. Less obviously, nitrogen, chlorine, and ash vary signifi-
cantly among biomass fuels. These components are directly related to NOx emissions, corro-
sion, and ash deposition. The wood and woody materials tend to be low in nitrogen and ash
content while the agricultural materials can have high nitrogen and ash contents.
The inorganic properties of coal also differ significantly from biomass (Table 4).
Inorganic components in coal vary by rank and geographic region. As a class, coal has
more aluminium, iron, and titanium than biomass. Biomass has more silica, potassium,
and sometimes sodium than coal. Furthermore, one important difference between coal and
biomass is the net calorific value (Table 5). Biomass fuels often have high moisture con-
tent, which results in relatively low net calorific value.

BIOMASS ENERGY SOURCES IN MALAYSIA

Biomass in Malaysia contributes about 14% of the approximately 340 million bar-
rels of oil equivalent (boe) of energy used every year. There are five major sectors that
contribute wastes to the biomass energy in Malaysia: forestry (wood products), rubber
 BIOMASS ENERGY SOURCES IN MALAYSIA 327

cultivation, cocoa cultivation, sugar cane cultivation and oil palm cultivation. Tables 6 and
7 present the estimation of biomass energy productivity, biomass production, utilization
and energy potential in Malaysia.

Wood Fuel
Malaysia is one of the major wood processing countries in the region. Generally,
generation of electrical power using wood waste material is considered cost-competitive
with the tariffs charged by the electric utility companies. The supply of excess power to
the grids is not yet practised. Basically, there are four types of forest residues: logging,
saw milling, plywood and veneer, and secondary processing residues. According to
national statistics, Malaysia generates about 2.18 million tonnes of wood waste per year,
with the potential to generate 598 GW-hours, with a total installed capacity of 68 MWs
(Chuah and Azni, 2004).
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Wood energy only accounts for 7% of total renewable energy (RE) consumption in
Malaysia. Statistics shows that most biomass energy is consumed by industries. Table 8

Table 6 Estimates of the energy productivity and biomass production and utilization (PTM, 1999).

Crops/Activities Energy Current Annual Current Annual Energy

productivity Amount Used for Energy Potential of Utilised Biomass
(boe/ha/year) Purposes (million boe)

Oil Palms 88.7 Fruit shells 23.609 Pruned fronds 77.665

Fruit fibres 13.630 Empty Fruit
Effluents 0.022 Bunches (EFB) 11.444
Effluents 2.928
Replanting wastes 12.94
Rubber trees 29.5 Wood 4.967 Wood 3.707
Effluents 0.210
Paddy plants 11.54 Rice husks 1.025
Rice straws 2.541
Coconut trees 28.21 Fronds 1.578 Fronds 0.164
Shells 0.785
Cocoa trees 80.33 N.A. N.A. Pruning wastes 16.850
Pod husks 0.085
Replanting wastes 0.630
Sugarcane 54.9 Bagasse 0.421 Leaves and tops 0.298
Logging – – Residues 19.060
Timber processing – Sawdust & waste 3.733 Tree bark and sawdust 1.0

Table 7 Energy Potential from Biomass/Biogas (PTM, 1999).

Sector Quantity (kton/yr) Potential Annual Potential

Generation (GWh) capacity (MW)

Rice Mills 424 263 30

Wood industry 2117 598 68
Palm oil mills 17980 3197 365
Bagasse 300 218 25
Total 20881 4276 488
Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) 31500 1587 177
 328 T.G. CHUAH ET AL.

Table 8 Wood wastes fueled power plants in Malaysia under ASEAN-EC COGEN Programs (PTM, 1999).

Wood waste Homet Raya Sdn. Bhd.,
Sarikei, Sarawak
Ib Timber Sdn. Bhd.,
Bentong, Pahang
Bekok Kiln Dryer Sdn. Bhd.,
Gemas, Negeri Sembilan
Guthrie Wood Products Sdn.
Bhd., Kulim, Kedah
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The Cogen plant is designed to produce 30
tons per hour or 22 bar saturated steam.
The steam is supplied to 1.65 MW condensing
turbine and the kiln dryer for drying of saw timber.
Cogen plant produce 1.5 MW from
backpressure turbine and condensing turbine,
supplied to kiln dryer. Sawdust, wood shaving
and off cuts are used as boiler fuel.
Wood shavings and sawdust are used in the 5
tons per hour fire tube boiler. Steam is used
to dry wood furniture.
Sawdusts and wood shavings are stored in silo
before fed into the boiler. The saturated steam at
6 bar is supplied to kiln dryer and furniture industry.

Guthrie MDF Sdn. Bhd., The furnace is designed to produce heat

Kulim, Kedah capacity 22 Gcal/hour, for drying of fibres and
heating thermal oil heather. The residues are
used in the combustion chamber as fuel.

shows several wood wastes fuelled cogeneration power plant projects in Malaysia. A
comprehensive study on utilization of woodfuel (biomass) was also reported by Ali
and Hoi (1990). However, data on woodfuel use by households are not available. In
the domestic sector biomass energy is mainly used for cooking. Table 9 gives the total
production and trade statistics of fuelwood and charcoal in Malaysia for the period
1985–1993.
Currently, with the emergence of alternative uses for wood waste materials (e.g.
fibre board), wood residue volumes as a source of fuel are decreasing. Emphasis in this
sector will be not so much on expansion of capacities, but rather on higher efficiencies in
existing industries. The other reason biomass waste from forestry, logging and timber
industries in Malaysia has not been highlighted as a potential fuel is the difficulty of inter-
esting wood mill owners in diversifying their businesses to include power generation.
There is also a problem in securing long-term supply agreements from the mills.

Table 9 Total production and trade statistics of fuelwood and charcoal in Malaysia for the period 1985–93
(Thomas et al., 1997).

Year Fuelwood (’000 m3) Charcoal (’000 MT)

Production Production Import Export

1985 5537 351 61 19

1986 5687 360 52 13
1987 5842 370 47 13
1988 600 380 47 13
1989 6159 390 47 13
1990 6319 400 47 13
1991 6478 410 15 21
1992 6637 420 15 28
1993 6795 430 9 18
 BIOMASS ENERGY SOURCES IN MALAYSIA 329

Rubber Cultivation
Waste generated by the rubber industry can come from three sources (PTM, 1999):

1. Generated from fallen leaves, branches, twigs and rubber seeds. There are 6.5 dry tones
of wood and leaves and 0.036 dry tones of seed per hectare per year. The total energy
potential available is 20.7 boe.
2. Effluents produced after latex processing. If converted into biogas, the energy potential
of this effluent is about 210,000 boe per year
3. Rubber wood from replanting activities. It is estimated that the amount of dry rubber
wood available from 1999 until 2007 is an average of 3.3 million dry tones annually.
Out of this, 1.47 million dry tonnes is used as fuel, which has an energy content of 4.97
million boe per year (see Table 6).
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The relatively small amount of in-place waste in rubber processing activities means that it
is a fairly low priority area for biomass based renewable energy development. The major
waste stream—from replanting—involves a variety of issues regarding transport to a cen-
tral generation facility, which will negatively impact the potential for this component. In
Malaysia, Heaveafil Sdn. Bhd., Batang Kali, Selangor, is the pioneering company
reported to produce biogas from rubber effluent via anaerobic process and used it as fuel
(PTM, 1999).

Rice Paddy Cultivation

In 1996, 639,000 ha of land were used for paddy cultivation, which is mainly located
in the state of Kedah and Selangor. The amount of rice produced was 2.128 million tones.
Paddy cultivation leaves two types of residue: paddy straw and rice husk. Based on 1996
production statistics, 1.06 million tones of paddy straw were produced giving an energy
potential of 2.54 million boe; meanwhile 1.03 million tones of rice husk were produced with
an energy potential of 3.04 million boe. The total energy potential for rice straw and rice
husk is 3.56 million boe, which would account for 1.5% of the country’s energy consump-
tion in 1996. It is estimated that rice mills produce 424,000 tonnes per year, with the poten-
tial to produce 263 GW hours, with a capacity of 30 MWs (see Table 7).
One successful energy project that developed in rice sector in Malaysia is at Ban
Heng Bee rice mill, Alor Setar. The total investment, excluding civil and structural works,
for equipment is about RM 330,000 (USD 92,000). Based on the consumption and price of
fuel oil, the annual savings from reducing fuel oil purchases amounts to an astonishing
RM 75,000 (USD 21,000) (Ibrahim et al., 2002).
Another rice husk cogeneration plant, Titi Serong Edar Sdn Bhd., located in Parit Bun-
tar, Perak, is also reported to successfully generate between 700 and 1500 kW of electricity.
The 1.5 MWe plant is designed to cover the steam and electricity requirements of the drying
process of rice milling (COGEN3, 2004). Even though the energy potential from rice straw and
rice husk is relatively high, it is not well developed due to the difficulty of handling paddy
wastes. Another problem is seasonal supplies because rice is only produced 1 to 3 times a year.

Coconut Cultivation
Waste from coconut cultivation can be divided into three categories (PTM, 1999):
 330 T.G. CHUAH ET AL.

1. Coconut fronds and debris that are shed throughout the year. It is estimated that based
on 1995 data, 0.583 million tonnes of fronds with a potential energy of 1.747 million
boe is produced annually and about 0.528 million tones of these are being used for fuel
in rural villages by burning.
2. Shell, husk and copra wastes are generated from the processing and consumption of
coconut fruits. 0.747 million tonnes of shells and 0.374 million tonnes of husks were
produced annually. This amount corresponds to 1.99 million boe and 1.12 million boe
respectively. The copra produced was 0.35 million tonnes with an energy potential of
1.18 million boe.
3. Wastes generated during replanting. Energy extracted from the leaves and trunks is
estimated at 207.6 boe per hectare.

There is no detailed study being carried out on the utilization of coconut waste as fuel in
Malaysia. It may be due to the location of coconut plantations, which are usually located
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in the rural area with poor infrastructure. Moreover, coconut plantations are not as energy
intensive compared to the palm oil industries.

Cocoa Cultivation
In 1996, the total plantation area of cocoa was 235,000 ha. The biomass sources of
cocoa plantation mainly come from the pruning process. Waste generated from cocoa
fruits, leaf and wood biomass generated during replanting. It is estimated that 25.2 million
tonnes per ha per year of dry organic biomass matter are produced from the pruning pro-
cess. This is equivalent to 71.7 boe per ha per year of energy potential. Energy potential of
the cocoa wastes per ha per year are 2.08 boe from the fruit, 0.36 boe from the dry cocoa
husk and 1.72 boe from the cocoa beans. The total energy potential from cocoa cultivation
is 80.33 boe per ha per year, but it has been not yet been exploited in Malaysia. Further-
more, there is no project being reported in utilization of this fuel source in Malaysia.

Sugarcane Cultivation
In 1997, the total land area under sugarcane cultivation was 18,000 ha, which is pri-
marily located in the northern states of peninsular Malaysia. Sugarcane plantations derive
energy from sugarcane related wastes including sugar, bagasse, dry leaves and cane top.
150,000 tonnes of dry bagasse was produced, which had an energy potential of 0.421 mil-
lion boe per year. All the bagasse was used as a boiler fuel in the sugar mills. During
replanting, sugar wastes such as leaves and cane tops are disposed of through burning. The
total energy from these wastes is about 0.298 million boe per year (PTM, 1999). Table 7
indicates that the potential for bagasse production in Malaysia is 300,000 tones per year,
with a potential to generate 218 GW hours. Duval (2001) reported a summary of biomass
residues and wastes generated in each Southeast Asian country by the wood and food pro-
cessing industries, and the associated power generation potential. No data on bagasse fuel
in Malaysia was reported.

Palm Oil
In Malaysia, at present more than 2.8 million hectares of land under oil palm culti-
vation. The industry is the biggest biomass producer in Malaysia. Of primary interest, the
 BIOMASS ENERGY SOURCES IN MALAYSIA 331

waste from the palm oil mills is utilized on-site to provide energy for the mill as well as
electricity exports to the grid. As of 1995, there are some 281 palm-oil mills in operation
with an aggregate installed capacity of around 200 MWe. All this capacity is installed to
meet own demand (captive power).
It was estimated that a total of 42 million tons of fresh empty fruit bunches (EFB)
were produced in Malaysia annually. This translates to around 17 million tons of waste.
For low-pressure systems with an assumed conversion rate of 2.5 kg of palm oil waste
per kWh, potentially 7,000 GWh could be generated. However, the EFB has found an
alternative use, such as medium density fibreboard in furniture making. These compet-
ing alternatives may eventually result in waste shortages at palm-oil mills (Chuah and
Azni, 2003).
Palm oil mill processing also produces palm oil mill effluent (POME), which is
treated in tanks and then released into the water table, but could be utilised as a source of
biogas. From Table 7, it is clearly seen that the yearly available biomass in 2000 was
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17,980,000 tonnes per annum, with the potential to generate 3,198 GW-hours, with a
potential capacity of 365 MW. The mills are estimated to produce 31,500 million m3 of
POME per year, with a potential to generate 1,587 GW hours, with a capacity of 177 MW.

Animal Wastes
Other than crop residues, animal wastes are also utilized for power generation. The
utilization of biogas from animal wastes in Malaysia was considered in the early eighties.
Various studies to use biogas from animal wastes have been carried out in Malaysia. Sor-
mana (1992) studied the anaerobic digestion of chicken dung and Sow et al. (1994) stud-
ied anaerobic digestion of slaughterhouse wastes. However, it was not felt to be attractive
at that time, namely because there was no large-scale livestock industry and farm animals
were normally scattered so that collection of waste was difficult. The Standard Industrial
Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) had also carried out a 60 kVA pilot program of
biogas generation in a chicken farm. The system however was later abandoned due to the
difficulties of handling the scattered waste, not the technicality of the system (Othman
et al., 1996).
Efforts were once being made to convert pig waste into biogas through anaerobic
digestion. A study on pig waste biogas was conducted in a government experimental pig
farm but was abandoned when the farm was closed down. Malaysian Agricultural
Research and Development Institute (MARDI) had operated an operational biogas plant
with 500–600 pigs at its research station. But the research unit was shut down in 1985 due
to religious reasons. However, the plant can still be operated for lighting, provide heating
for the piglets and a biogas stove (Othman et al., 1996). Pig waste is considered a prob-
lematic waste because of its sensitive nature to the Muslims in Malaysia.
By 1996, there were four biogas plants built in Sibu, Sarawak (Othman et al, 1996).
These projects were funded by German Appropriate Technology Exchange (GATE) with
technical expertise from Sri Lanka and designed from a Chinese model (Bathia and Mills,
1985). The biogas generated from these plants was mainly used for cooking, lighting and
water pumping. Unfortunately these biogas pilot initiatives did not lead to further exploi-
tation of the potential. Most farmers were not keen to install the biogas plant due to finan-
cial and technical reasons. It was cheaper to get conventional fuel and reduce farmer’s
maintenance burden. Technical expertise and support was lacking which led to less inter-
est in the biogas option from farmers.
 332 T.G. CHUAH ET AL.

Another study on the possibility of developing biogas power generating system

from layer’s farming is carried out by Othman et al (1996). This study was conducted in a
48 acres farm about 50 km South of Kuala Lumpur. The farm consists of 300,000 heads of
layer producing 9000 kg/day dry weight of the chicken dung. The gas has been used in a
combined heat and power system to meet the energy requirements of the farm.

Urban Wastes: Landfills and Incineration

With the increase in the population of the urban area the problem of disposing of
solid wastes has become more serious. In Malaysia, the national average of the amount of
waste generated is at 0.5–0.8 kg/person/day. However, in the cities these figures have
escalated to 1.7 kg/person/day (Kathirvale et al., 2003). Currently, an average of 2500 ton
of municipal solid waste (MSW) is collected every day for the city of Kuala Lumpur, cap-
ital city of Malaysia. Table 10 shows an average composition weight percentage of com-
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ponents in MSW generated by various sources in Kuala Lumpur.

Generally there are two methods of MSW disposal in Malaysia—landfill and incin-
eration. Initiatives have been taken by the government and the private sectors to tap the
landfill gas (LFG) for the generation of electricity. Currently, there are only a handful of
properly designed and operated landfills in the country and most of them are located in the
capital, Kuala Lumpur area. One of these projects is the Ayer Itam Landfill located at
Puchong, Selangor which had been commissioned on April 2004, using LFG for power

Table 10 Average composition weight percentage of components in municipal solid waste (MSW) generated by
various sources in Kuala Lumpur.

Sources Residential Residential medium Residential low Commercial Institutional

high income (%) income (%) income (%) (%) (%)

Food/organic 30.84 38.42 54.04 41.48 22.36

Mix paper 9.75 7.22 6.37 8.92 11.27
News print 6.05 7.76 3.72 7.13 4.31
High grade paper – 1.02 – 0.35 –
Corrugated paper 1.37 1.75 1.53 2.19 1.12
Plastic (rigid) 3.85 3.57 1.90 3.56 3.56
Plastic (film) 21.62 14.75 8.91 12.79 11.82
Plastic (foam) 0.74 1.72 0.85 0.83 4.12
pampers 6.49 7.58 5.83 3.80 1.69
Textile 1.43 3.55 5.47 1.91 4.65
Rubber/leather 0.48 1.78 1.46 0.80 2.07
Wood 5.83 1.39 0.86 0.96 9.84
Yard 6.12 1.12 2.03 5.75 0.87
Glass (clear) 1.58 2.07 1.21 2.90 0.28
Glass (colored) 1.17 2.02 0.09 1.82 0.24
Ferrous 1.93 3.05 2.25 2.47 3.75
Non-ferrous 0.17 0.00 0.18 0.55 1.55
Aluminium 0.34 0.08 0.39 0.25 0.04
Batteries/hazards 0.22 0.18 – 0.29 0.06
Fine – 0.71 2.66 0.00 0.39
Other organic 0.02 0.00 – 1.26 1.00
Other inorganic – 0.27 0.25 – 8.05
Others – – – – 6.97
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
 BIOMASS ENERGY SOURCES IN MALAYSIA 333

Table 11 Amount of energy recoverable from municipal solid waste (MSW) by incineration.

Material Treatment Waste to Calorific Energy Total energy Energy

technology energy (WTE) value of Recoverable/ recovered Recoverable
conversion fuel (kJ/kg) ton of fuel (kW) (based on 1500 ton/ (normalized to
efficiency (%) day) (MW) per ton of
MSW input) (kW)

MSW Incineration 25 9210 639 960 639

MSW Incineration 25 6280 436 655 436
MSW incineration 25 3349 233 350 233

generation. This project was being developed by a TNB subsidiary, Jana Landfill Sdn.
Bhd. (JLSB), and is under the small renewable energy power (SREP) program. The plant
has a capacity of 2.0–5.0 MW. SIRIM-Projass is another engineering group interested in
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developing LFG power facilities and is in the early stages of developing a municipal waste
site (PTM, 2004). A few landfill gas potential studies undertaken to date have also sug-
gested that many of the existing landfills are not currently suited to exploitation for energy
production, mainly due to their small scale.
As for incineration, the normal practice is that the solid waste is burnt without
recovering the energy. Kathirvale et al. (2003) carried out a study to evaluate the energy
recovery potential from MSW. They found that incineration gives the best returns in terms
of the amount of energy recovered. The amount of energy can be recovered are shown in
Table 11. Recently, the government has planned for a gasification unit with ash melting
incineration system for the city of Kuala Lumpur with a capacity to incinerate 1500 ton of
MSW/day and is expected to be operational by the year 2006.

BIOMASS ENERGY CONVERSION TECHNOLOGIES

Energy from biomass can be converted via three general categories: thermochemi-
cal, physical or chemical processes and biological conversion. Thermochemical conver-
sion processes include combustion, gasification and pyrolysis processes. The later two
characterized by processing with a very limited amount of air. Its main advantages are
production of a fuel which does not need to be used “in-situ“ (Andries and Buhre, 2000;
Storm et al., 2000; Yin et al., 2000). Physical processes basically include pressing
processes and extraction of vegetable oils, which can be used directly or indirectly as bio-
fuels. Chemical processes generally involve chemical transformations of oil and other
products extracted from plants in order to convert them into biofuels. For biological pro-
cesses, two processes, namely alcoholic fermentation and biomethanization from the
biodegradable organic matter to produce biogas, are commonly considered (Sarayama,
1999). Figure 2 shows the main ways of energetic exploitation of biomass.

PALM OIL BASED BIOMASS COGENERATION PROJECTS IN MALAYSIA

Many palm oil mill owners do have the potential to generate electricity and might
sell it to the big energy supplier like Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). All the palm oil
mills in Malaysia use palm fibre and shell (by product of oil palm milling) as the boiler
fuel to produce steam and electricity for palm oil production processes. This biomass can
supply enough electricity to meet the energy demand of a palm oil mill. It is estimated that
 334 T.G. CHUAH ET AL.

Conversion Primary Processing Secondary Product

Technology product technology product usage

pyrolysis charcoal mixing Slurry Process

fuel heating/drying

Gasoline, Mech. System IC

diesel engine, steam turbine
upgrading
liquid

gasification Fuel gas

Steam generation
purification

Gas
Fuel
alcohol Electrical
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synthesis generation

incineration

heat Chemical
Heat products
exchanger

Figure 2 Possible products from thermal conversion of solid wastes.

in the year 2004 about 1400 million kWh of electricity was generated and consumed by
the palm oil mills (Ma and Yusof, 2005). However, the palm oil mills generally have
excess fibre and shell, which are not used and have to be disposed off separately. In other
words, the palm oil mills still have excess capacity to produce more renewable energy.
Apart from palm fibre and shell, empty fruit bunches (EFB) are another source of biomass
which can be readily converted into energy. The energy data analyzed for various palm
biomass is shown in Table 12. The data provides useful information for the utilization of
palm biomass as boiler fuels.
Historically, the little incentive provided by the Malaysian government to the local
palm oil mills led to the minimization of process steam demands. This in turn would

Table 12 Energy Database for Palm Biomass.

Sample Heat Value Ash (%) Volatile Moisture (%) Hexane

(kJ/kg) Matter (%) Extraction (%)

Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) 18,795 4.60 87.04 67.00 11.25

Fibre 19,055 6.10 84.91 37.00 7.60
Shell 20,093 3.00 83.45 12.00 3.26
Palm kernel Cake 18,884 3.94 88.54 0.28 9.35
Nut 24,545 4.05 84.03 15.46 4.43
Crude Palm Oil 39,360 0.91 1.07 1.07 95.84
Kernel Oil 38,025 0.79 0.02 0.02 95.06
Liquor from (EFB) 20,748 11.63 78.50 88.75 3.85
Palm Oil Mill Effluent 16,992 15.20 77.09 93.00 12.55
(POME)
Trunk 17,471 3.39 86.73 76.00 0.80
Petiole 15,719 3.37 85.10 71.00 0.62
Root 15,548 5.92 86.30 36.00 0.2
 BIOMASS ENERGY SOURCES IN MALAYSIA 335

enable a cogeneration system to generate large amounts of electrical energy to earn addi-
tional revenue providing an incentive for adopting new process steam reductions at palm
oil mills facilities (Yusuf et al, 1993). The return on investment for additional electrical
power sales would typically be attractive.
The launch of the Small Renewable Energy Power Programme (SREP) in May
2001, an initiative of the special Committee on Renewable Energy (SCORE) under the
Ministry of Energy, Communication and Multimedia (MECM), “ kick started” the Gov-
ernment’s policy implementation to encourage and intensify the utilization of RE in power
generation. SREP’s primary objective is to facilitate the expeditious implementation of
grid—connected renewable energy resources-based small power plants (Husain and
Alimat, 1999). Under this scheme, license is issued to generate and sell energy for 21
years and maximum power allowable for export is 10 MW and with added tax benefits.
The status of SREP projects approved by score as of September 2004 by Malaysia Gov-
ernment is shown in Table 13. One of these projects is a 5.2 MW power plant at Pantai
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Remis Palm Oil Mill, Perak, using the empty fruit bunch (EFB) as fuel. It has connected to
grid to supply power to a small town located few kilometers from the station and export to
TNB at the rate of US$ 0.043 per kWh (Husain et al., 2003; Jamari, 2002; Nicholas, 2002;
Zakaria, 2002).
Pusat Tenaga Malaysia (PTM) or Malaysia Energy Centre has been given the man-
date to spearhead the implementation of the Biomass Power Generation and Cogeneration
in the Malaysian Palm Oil Industry (BIOGEN) project under the helm of the Ministry of
Energy, Communication and Multimedia (MECM) in year 2003. The project is jointly
funded by the Government of Malaysia (GoM), United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Malaysian private sector. The main
objectives are to reduce the growth rate of green house gases (GHG) emissions from fossil
fuel fired combustion processes. It is envisioned that at the end of the project implementa-
tion, GHG emission from power generation in Malaysia are reduced by 3.8%. The reduc-
tion in GHG could be made possible through fuel substitution as a result of the expected
increase in installed capacity from RE power generation. The project also aims to remove
some impending barriers that have been hampering RE power project development
through strengthening of technical, financial and policy frameworks (PTM, 2003).
The Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) is another Malaysian govern-
ment agency that actively conducting researches to use oil palm waste to produce a substi-
tute fuel for diesel. The agency has completed building a biomass power plant in Lahad
Datu, Sabah, East Malaysia and plans to build 10 more in Peninsular Malaysia. It will

Table 13 Status Of SREP Projects Approved by Score as of September 2004 (Ludin et al., 2004).

No. Type Energy Resources Approved Grid Connected %

Application Capacity (MW)

1. Biomass Empty fruit Bunches 25 165.9 52.8

Wood Residue 1 6.6 2.1
Rice Husk 2 12 3.8
Municipal Solid Waste 1 5 1.6
Mix Fuel 3 19.2 6.1
2. Landfill Gas 5 10 3.2
3. Mini-hydro 25 95.4 30.4
4. Wind and Solar 0 0 0
Total 62 314.1 100
 336 T.G. CHUAH ET AL.

spend about USD$1 million for each plant once it receives an approval from the Energy
Commission, Malaysia (Abas, 2005).
Until now, according to the report by the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communi-
cations (MECW, formerly known as MECM), 60 RE projects are approved. Among the 60
projects approved, mini-hydro (49%) and biomass (43%) (especially palm oil waste)
account for more than 90% of total numbers of projects. In terms of capacity, palm oil
waste accounts for 66%, mini-hydro for 31% (Othman and Sopian, 2005).

WOOD BASED BIOMASS COGENERATION PROJECTS IN MALAYSIA

There are several cogeneration projects on wood-based biomass in Malaysia. Most
of these cogeneration plants are in small scale and only supply to local industries. These
include a 1.65 MW wood-fueled cogeneration plant in Sibu, Sarawak, commissioned in
January 1994; a 1.5 MW wood-fueled cogeneration plant for the Sim Hoe Wook Industry
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Sdn. Bhd. complex in Bentong; and a 10 MW plywood-fired cogeneration plant was com-
missioned on 1995 in Keningau, Sabah, Malaysia to provide power to one of the wood
complexes of Aokam Industries (Duval, 2001).

PYROLYSIS OF BIOMASS
Pyrolysis is thermal decomposition occurring in the absence of oxygen. It is always
also the first step in combustion and gasification processes where it is followed by total or
partial oxidation of the primary products. There are only a few studies reported on the
pyrolysis of biomass in Malaysia. Ani et al. (1993) had carried out a study to identify the
potential to convert biomass like rice husks and oil palm solid wastes into pyrolytic oil.
They found that rice husk produced only a negligible amount of pyrolysis oil at a low
heating rate. However, palm oil waste had produced 34.2% yield of pyrolysis oil. Several
works that focus on fluidised bed pyrolysis of palm oil shells were reported (Ani and
Islam, 1997; Islam et al., 1997; Islam and Ani, 1998). However, these studies are limited
to the pilot scale studies.

BIOGAS PRODUCTION FROM POME

Besides the solid residues, palm oil mills also generate large quantities of liquid
waste in the form of palm oil mill effluent (POME), which, due to its high biochemical
oxygen demand (BOD), is required by law to be treated to acceptable levels before it can
be discharged into watercourses or onto land. In a conventional palm oil mill, about 0.7 m3
of POME is generated for every tonne of FFB processed. An anaerobic process is adopted
by the palm oil mills to treat their POME; the biogas produced during the decomposition
is a valuable energy source. It contains about 60–70% methane, 30–40% carbon dioxide
and trace amount of hydrogen sulphide (Ma et al., 1999; Quah and Gillies, 1981). Its fuel
properties are shown in Table 14 together with other gaseous fuels.
About 28 m3 of biogas is generated for every tonne of POME treated. In a gas
engine it has been reported that about 1.8 Kwh of electricity could be generated from one
m3 of biogas (Quah et al., 1982). It was estimated that one cubic meter of biogas is equiv-
alent to 0.65 litre of diesel for electricity generation. Hence the total biogas energy can
substitute 582 million litres of diesel in 1997. This amounted to RM378 million. Again the
amount of biogas generated by an individual palm oil mill is not significant for
 BIOMASS ENERGY SOURCES IN MALAYSIA 337

Table 14 Some properties of gaseous fuels.

Biogas Natural LPG

Gas

Gross calorific value (MJ/Nm3) 19.85 – 25.75 3.79 100.48

Specific gravity 0.847 – 1.002 0.584 1.5
Ignition Temperature (oC) 650 – 750 650 – 750 450 – 500
Inflammable limits (%) 7.5 – 21 5 – 15 2 – 10
Combustion air required (m3/m3) 9.6 9.6 13.8

All gases evaluated at 15.5oC, atmosphere pressure and saturated with water vapour.
LPG-Liquefied petroleum gas.
Source: Quah and Gillies (1981).
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commercial exploitation. However, the economic viability may be attractive if the palm oil
mills can utilise all the fibre, shell EFB, and biogas for steam and electricity generation.
So far, only a few palm oil mills harness the biogas for heat and electricity genera-
tion (Quah and Gillies, 1981; Quah et al., 1982; Gillies and Quah, 1984; Chua and Gian,
1986). The potential energy from biogas generated by POME is shown in Table 15. Again,
as all the palm oil mills have enough energy from fibre and shell, there is no outlet for this
surplus energy. Considering the costs of storage and transportation of the biogas, perhaps
the most viable proposition is to encourage the setting up of industries in the vicinity of
the palm oil mills where the biogas energy can be directly utilised. This can result in a sub-
stantial saving in energy bills.
Recently, a few improved high rate bioreactors have also been tested in the treat-
ment of POME such as the modified anaerobic baffled bioreactor (Faisal and Unno,
2001); anaerobic filter and anaerobic fluidized bed reactor (Borja and Banks, 1995); ther-
mophilic upflow anaerobic filter (Mustapha et al., 2003); and rotating biological contac-
tors (Najafpour et al., 2005). These were successful in increasing the efficiency of
pollution reduction and methane production. Experimental results indicated better treat-
ment of POME compared to conventional practices. However, large scale implementation
of any of the improved system is still lacking.
A successful example of closed tank anaerobic digester system for POME biogas
capture and utilization is Keck Seng (Malaysia) Berhad. The system has been in continu-
ous operation for over 19 years practically without any interruptions. The company has
been awarded the ASEAN Energy Award 2003 for the Off-Grid category in New Renew-
able Source of Energy Project Competition. Keck Seng has also recently entered into a
licensing agreement to allow Novaviro Technology Sdn Bhd to promote and commercial-
ise the anaerobic digester technology in Malaysia (Tong and Jaafar, 2004).

Table 15 Potential energy from biogas.

Year Palm oil production POME (million m3) Biogas (million m3) Electricity (million KWh)
(million tonnes)

1997 9.07 32 896 1613

2004 13.98 49 1372 2470

Source: Ma and Yusof (2005).

 338 T.G. CHUAH ET AL.

The feasibility of anaerobic fermentation process for the production of biological

hydrogen by natural anaerobic microflora from POME was studied by Morimoto et al.
(2004). POME sludge containing anaerobic microorganism and microflora was collected
from the anaerobic pond of POME treatment plant in a palm oil mill at Negeri Sembilan,
Malaysia. From the laboratory testing, the microflora was found to produce significant
amounts of hydrogen with the maximum production yield of hydrogen of 2.1 mol H2/mol-
glucose. However, this study is still yet to investigate at the pilot plant study.
Besides the palm oil milling industries, beverage and food industries in Malaysia
also play their role in biogas utilization. Carlsberg (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. and Guiness
Anchor Berhad in Petaling Jaya, Selangor have installed high rate anaerobic treatment
system and generate biogas as a product. The gas is combusted to supply energy for daily
utilities (Rahman, 2004).
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BIODIESEL AS RE IN MALAYSIA
Biodiesel is the ester formed by reacting vegetable oils or animal fats with methanol
or ethanol. The product in its raw from is unsuitable for many applications due to high vis-
cosity and other deleterious properties so the methyl or ethyl ester is formed by esterifica-
tion. Palm oil based methyl ester has been studied thoroughly as a diesel substitute in
Malaysia (Mukti et al., 1984; Ong et al., 1985; Azhar et al., 1989; Masjuki and Sohif,
1991; Masjuki et al., 1993; Choo et al., 1995; Choo and Ma, 2000; Ali and Tan, 2005).
Crude palm oil, crude palm stearin and crude palm kernel oil can be readily converted to
their methyl esters. Ho et al (2005) proposed the application of immobilized lipase as an
enzymatic catalytic to optimize the transestrification process. They claimed that this pro-
cess could lower the production cost of biodiesel.
The production by PORIM/PETRONAS patented technology (Choo et al., 1998; Ong
et al., 1989) has been adequately described recently (Ma et al., 1993). Methyl esters from crude
palm oil and crude palm stearin produced by PORIM/PETRONAS technology have very sim-
ilar fuel properties as the petroleum diesel (Table 16). It also has a higher cetane number than
diesel (Table 17). It can be used directly as fuel in unmodified diesel engines. Obviously it can
be used as diesel improver. Compared to crude palm oil, the methyl esters have very much
improved viscosity and volatility properties. It has a pour point of 16°C. It does not contain
gummy substances. However, the high pour point of the methyl esters allows it to be used only
in the tropical countries. In recent years, palm diesel with low pour point (without additives)
has been developed to meet seasonal pour point requirements, for example spring (−10°C),
summer (0°C), autumn (−10°C) and winter (−20°C). The MPOB patented technology (Choo et
al, 2002) has overcome the pour point problem of palm diesel. With the improved pour point,
palm diesel can be utilised in temperate countries (Ma and Yusof, 2005).
Fuel from palm oil was first used on vehicles in Malaysia under a field trial program in
1983, with promising result leading to more experimental works, especially on a laboratory scale
(Ong et al., 1985). Researches on the use of palm oil as diesel fuel alternatives had also been con-
ducted in local universities, such as University Technology Malaysia (Azhar et al., 1989; Mukti
et al., 1984) and University Malaya (Masjuki and Sohif, 1991; Masjuki et al., 1993).
In March 1987, the Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia (PORIM), Cycle & Carriage
Bintang Berghad and Diamler-Benz AG, Stuttgart, Germany, reached an agreement in which
PORIM will produce the ester and to provide fuels and lubricating oils; Diamler-Benz will
conduct bench tests, whilst Cycle and Carriage will install the engines into the buses and
to support field tests. The tests showed that the buses with the engine designed for the
 BIOMASS ENERGY SOURCES IN MALAYSIA 339

Table 16 Fuel characteristics of Malaysian diesel, methyl esters from crude palm oil (CPO), methyl esters from
crude palm stearin (CPS) and palm diesel with low pour point.

Property Malaysian diesel Methyl esters Methyl esters Palm diesel

from CPO from CPS with low pour point

Specific gravity 0.8330 at 15.5oC 0.8700 at 23.6oC 0.871 at 25.5oC 0.8803 at 15.5oC
ASTM D 1298
Sulphur content 0.10 0.04 0.02 <0.04
(% wt) IP 242
Viscosity at 40oC (cSt) 4.0 4.5 4.6 4.5
ASTM D 445
Pour Point (oC) 15.0 16.0 17.0 −15.0
ASTM D 97
Distillation D 86 (oC)
I.B.P. 228.0 324.0 320.2 N/A
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10% 258.0 330.0 331.0

20% 270.0 331.0 332.0
50% 298.0 334.0 335.0
90% 376.0 343.0 343.0
F.B.P. 400.0 363.0 349.0
Final recovery (%) N/A 98.0 98.5 N/A
Cetane Index 53 50 52 N/A
ASTM D 976
Gross heat of combustion 45, 800 40, 135 39, 826 39,160
(kJ/kg) ASTM D 2382
Flash point (oC) 98 174 165 153
ASTM D 93
Condrason carbon residue 0.14 0.02 0.05 0.01
(% wt.) ASTM D 189

Sources: Ma and Yusof (2005).

Table 17 Cetane numbers of crude palm oil methyl esters, petroleum diesel and their blends.

Blends

CPO methyl esters (%) Petroleum diesel (%) Cetane number ASTM D613

100 0 62.4
0 100 37.7
5 95 39.2
10 90 40.3
15 85 42.3
20 80 44.3
30 70 47.4
40 60 50.0
50 50 52.0
70 30 57.1

Sources: Ma and Yusof (2005).

operation with diesel fuel can just as well be operated with palm oil methyl ester or a blend
of both fuels (Schafer, 1998). Bench and field tests on Elsbett engines are also reported by
Hitam and Jahis (1998) and Ayob et al. (1998). Masjuki et al. (1998) investigated the perfor-
mance and exhaust emissions of compression ignition engine fuelled with coconut and
 340 T.G. CHUAH ET AL.

palm olein. Both fuels are blended with conventional diesel in different ratios. The results
show less emission on CO, CO2, hydrocarbon and smoke. Brake power output was found
to be slightly higher when using both vegetable oil blended fuels.
As an initial step to commercialize biodiesel in Malaysia, two biodiesel plants will
be built at Port Klang, Selangor and Pasir Gudang, Johor, respectively. The project is a co-
operation between Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and three selected palm oil manu-
facturers. Each plant is estimated to have biodiesel production capacity of 60,000 metric
tons. Besides, the Malaysian government is also drafting a new national biodiesel policy
in order to encourage the uses of biodiesel (Hassan, 2005).

CRUDE PALM OIL AND CRUDE COCONUT OIL AS DIESEL SUBSTITUTES

Many researchers have investigated the possibility of using vegetable oils (straight or
blended) as diesel substitute. A good account of their attempts was reported in the 1983
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JAOCS Symposium on Vegetable Oils as Diesel Fuels (Klopfenstein & Walker, 1983;
Pryde, 1983; Strayer et al., 1983). The symposium revealed that vegetable oils have good
potential as alternative fuels if the following problems could be overcome satisfactorily.
These include high viscosity, low volatility, and the reactivity (polymerization) of the unsat-
urated hydrocarbon chains if the oil is highly unsaturated. These will give rise to coking on
the injectors, carbon deposits, oil ring sticking, and thickening and gelling of the lubricating
oil as a result of contamination with vegetable oil. It is possible to reduce the viscosity of the
vegetable oil by incorporating a heating device to the diesel engine as has been successfully
demonstrated by the Elsbett engine manufacturer (Yusof and Ahmad, 1992).
Various blends of crude palm oil (CPO) and palm oil products such as refined,
bleached and deodorized palm olein (RBDPO) with medium fuel oil (MFO) and petro-
leum diesel respectively have been evaluated as boiler fuel and diesel substitute (Ahmad
et al., 2001; Zakiah et al., 2004; Chuah et al., 2005). CPO was blended with MFO and
petroleum diesel respectively at various ratio by volume. The resultant fuel blends, CPO/
MFO and RBDPO/petroleum diesel exhibit advantages and fuel characteristics that are
better compared to that when the individual CPO, RBDPO, MFO and petroleum diesel are
used solely as fuel (Tables 18–20) (Yusof, 2002).
An experimental work was also carried out using ordinary Malaysian coconut oil
(COCO) blended with conventional diesel oil (OD) as fuel in diesel engine (Kalam et al.,

Table 18 Fuel Characteristics of Crude Palm Oil (CPO), Medium Fuel Oil (MFO) and Blends of Crude Palm
Oil/Medium Fuel Oil (CPO/MFO).

Properties Method Unit MFO CPO CPO/MFO (50:50)

Gross Heat of D 240 Btu/Ib 18,350 17,064 17,692

Combustion kJ/kg 42,680 39,690 41,150
Sulphur D 4294 wt % 3.5 Max 0.03 1.55
Viscosity @ 50oC D 445 cSt 180 Max 25.6 67.3
o
Flash Point D 93 C 66 Min 268 99
Ash D 482 wt % 0.1 Max NA 0.012
Pour Point D 9s7 o
C 21 Max 21.0 −6
Carbon Residue D 4530 wt % 13.0 Max 8.5 7.0
Density @ 15oC D 1298 kg/L 0.98 Max 0.9140 0.9408
Sediment by Extraction D 473 wt % 0.10 Max NA 0.02
Water by Distillation D 95 vol % 0.5 Max NA 0.25
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Table 19 Fuel Characteristics of RBD Palm Olein (RBDPO), Petroleum Diesel and Blends of RBD Palm Olein / Petroleum Diesel (RBDPO/Diesel).

Test Conducted RBD Palm Olein Blends Diesel

(RBDPO)
RBDPO/Diesel RBDPO/Diesel RBDPO/Diesel RBDPO/Diesel RBDPO/Diesel
(90:10) (70:30) (50:50) (30:70) (10:90)

Density @ 40oC (kg/L) 0.9150 0.8940 0.8770 0.8600 0.8435 0.8275 0.8190
ASTM D 1298
Sulfur Content (%wt) 0.035 0.035 0.055 0.060 0.080 0.090 0.100

341
IP 242
Viscosity @ 40oC (cSt) 39.2 29.5 14.8 8.6 7.0 3.8 3.7
ASTM D445
Pour Point (oC) 9 9 12 12 12 15 15
ASTM D97
Gross Heat of Combustion 38,975 39,800 40,625 41,450 42,275 43,100 45,000
(kJ/kg) ASTM D240
Flash Point (oC) 326 142 110 99 93 90 89
PM cc ASTM D93
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Table 20 Fuel Characteristics of RBD Palm Oil (RBDPO), Petroleum Diesel and Blends of RBD Palm Oil / Petroleum Diesel (RBDPO/Diesel).

Test Conducted Diesel Blends RBD Palm Oil

(RBDPO)
RBDPO/ Diesel RBDPO/ Diesel RBDPO/Diesel RBDPO/ Diesel RBDPO/ Diesel
(90:10) (70:30) (50:50) (30:70) (10:90)

Density @ 15oC (kg/L) 0.8497 0.8492 0.8499 0.8502 0.8521 0.8525 0.9151
ASTM D 1298
Sulfur Content (%wt) 0.16 0.13 0.13 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.12

342
IP 242
Viscosity @ 40oC (cSt) 0.4248 4.895 4.576 4.656 5.010 5.021 40.68
ASTM D445
Pour Point (oC) 9 9 9 9 9 12 24
ASTM D97
Gross Heat of Combustion (kJ/kg) 45,050 45,340 45,160 45,095 45,085 45,015 39,260
ASTM D240
Flash Point (oC) 84.0 84.0 84.0 84.0 85.0 86.0 322.0
ASTM D93 ASTM D92
 BIOMASS ENERGY SOURCES IN MALAYSIA 343

2003). The results showed that the addition of 30% COCO with OD produced higher
brake power and net heat release rate with a net reduction in exhaust emissions such as
HC, NOx, CO, smoke and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH). Above 30% COCO
blends, the blended fuel developed lower brake power and net heat release rate due to the
fuels lower calorific value. However, no further research is reported on this field.

CONCLUSION
In the 8th Malaysia Plan, renewable energy is considered the fifth fuel apart from
petroleum, gas, coal and hydro. However, Malaysia energy supply is still mainly fueled by
fossil fuels. The progressive escalation of fuel price in recent times has led to an intensive
study in using renewable energy. Biomass is the most potential source of renewable energy
in Malaysia as the lands are still mostly covered by tropical forest and agricultural vegeta-
tion. Residues obtained from the harvesting and milling of the agricultural produces can be
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utilised as fuel for energy generation. The palm oil industry is bestowed with huge supply of
by-products that can be readily used as energy source with ease. Efforts are being made to
connect the excess energy supply in the form of electricity from the palm oil mills to
National Grid. Besides, Malaysia is also strongly promoting the uses of palm diesel as
replacement of fossil fuel. Currently, biofuel policy framework has been drafted by the gov-
ernment and will soon be implemented in the country to encourage the uses of biofuels.

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