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8
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9 Palm oil is an important edible oil due to its high content of beta-carotene and
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10 vitamin E, high oil output, and solid fat content. However, its extensive
11 commercialization has resulted in a vast amount of waste, leading to challenges
12 for the development of an economically feasible conversion of palm oil waste
13 into useful products. This review focuses on exploring the various conversion
14 processes of the liquid waste produced from the palm oil processing industry.
15 The main treatment of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME), which can be separated
16 into fiber, wastewater, residual oils, and other impurities, involves a digestion
17 process which produces biogas, while the fiber and other impurities are often
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18 converted into animal feed, soil fertilizer, fermentation media, and yeast
19 production. Residual oil found in POME, known as Sludge Palm Oil (SPO),
20 contains high levels of free fatty acid (FFA). Other residual oils resulting from
21 palm oil refining include Palm Fatty Acid Distilled (PFAD) and Palm Acid Oil
22 (PAO) that also have a high FFA content. The transesterification and
23 esterification processes are utilized to convert SPO, PFAD and PAO into fuel.
25 Introduction
26 Most oil palm trees in Malaysia are from the species Elaeis guineensis originated from
27 West Africa and typically grow in tropical peat soil. They mature and start fruiting
28 around 30 months after planting. These trees can reach up to 20 meters in height and
29 produce up to 25kg of fruit bunches a day (Malaysian Palm Oil Council 2017). The two
30 types of oil that can be extracted from oil palm trees are crude palm oil, obtained from
31 the mesocarp, and palm kernel oil, derived from its kernel.
32 The growth of the palm oil industry is proliferating due to the ever-increasing
33 demand for palm oil compared to other types of vegetable oil (Sumathi et al. 2008). The
34 superiority of palm oil over other vegetable oils includes its lower production cost,
35 higher production yield per hectare (Silalertruksa et al. 2012), high solid fat content, and
36 other desirable properties. When compared to soybean, sunflower, and rapeseed oils,
37 palm oil exhibits the lowest production cost and market price (Berger 1986; Amiruddin
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38 et al. 2005). Palm oil also contains beta-carotene and vitamin E (tocotrienols and
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40 The large scale of palm oil production leads to the generation of high amounts of
41 waste and by-products. Hence the primary objective of this article is to review the
42 alternatives available in liquid palm oil waste utilisation and the processes in its
43 conversion into renewable energy sources. This review will also try to highlight the
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44 waste classification of palm oil mill effluent (POME), sludge palm oil (SPO), palm acid
45 oil (PAO) and palm fatty acid distilled (PFAD) and their potential uses.
47 Oil palm trees were first commercially planted in Malaysia in 1917. The palm oil
48 industry expanded rapidly ever since, and several organisations were established to
49 regulate and research it, such as the Malaysia Palm oil Board (MPOB) (MPOB, 2017a).
50 According to the MPOB statistics, the plantation area in Malaysia increases each year,
51 as depicted in Figure 1. Between 1960 and 2016, the plantation area in Malaysia is
52 estimated to have increased from 0.05 to 5.73 million hectares (Awalludin et al. 2015;
53 MPOB 2017b). Figure 2 shows the increase of crude palm oil (CPO) production from
55
56 Figure 1: Plantation area of the palm oil industry in Malaysia (Awalludin et al. 2015;
57 MPOB 2017b)
58
59 Figure 2: Production of crude palm oil (CPO) (MPOB 2012; MPOB 2017c; Awalludin et
60 al. 2015)
62 Harvesting
63 The production of palm oil starts with harvesting to collect Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB)
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64 containing the palm fruit. During the collection process, Oil Palm Fronds (OPF) will be
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65 cut down along with FFB. In current practice, the harvested FFB will be collected,
66 weighed and transported to a milling plant, while OPF will be left at the plantation as
67 fertiliser or processed further for animal feed and biomass (Boschma and Kwant 2013).
68 Milling process
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69 At the milling plant, the FFB will be cleaned and sterilised using steam for about 75-90
70 minutes to ensure the hydrolytic enzymes that are responsible for breaking down oil into
71 free fatty acid (FFA) are disabled. Steam will also loosen the palm fruits from the
72 bunches, coagulate the mucilage for better oil cell breaking and recovery, and reduce
73 kernel cracking. The spent water, which contains traces of oil and palm fiber, is then
75 After sterilization, the FFB goes through the bunch stripping process where the
76 palm fruits will be separated from the bunch using a rotating drum, leaving the Empty
77 Fruit Bunches (EFB). The collected fruits will be transferred to the digester for further
78 processing, and EFB is discarded as waste and can be used as animal feed or biomass
80 The fruits are then sent to the digester machine, where they are pressed and
81 crushed to break up the mesocarp into a mash-like substance. Later, water is added to
82 the mash to increase the flowability of the mash. The mash is led into a screw pressing
83 machine to extract the oil, which is denoted as Crude Palm Oil (CPO). Some oil remains
84 in the mash and will be recovered as Sludge Palm Oil (SPO) (Vijaya et al. 2013). The
85 pressed mash cake contains palm kernel and mesocarp which can be separated later.
86 The palm kernel is separated from the press cake by using a splitter machine.
87 Palm kernels can be processed further to extract the oil denoted as Crude Palm Kernel
88 Oil (CPKO). CPKO and the crushed Palm Kernel Shell (PKS) are then separated using
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89 a hydrocyclone by both the dry and wet method (Hassan et al. 2005). The separated
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90 press cake and PKS are treated as a by-product and can be used as biomass. At this
91 point, the CPO and CPKO will be refined to reduce the fatty acid and remove impurities
92 by an either physical or chemical process. The physical refining process costs less than
93 the chemical refining process; hence, it is the favoured and widely used method in the
95 Refining process
96 Refining is a process of converting CPO into refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD)
97 olein and stearin, while CPKO is processed into refined, bleached and deodorised palm
98 kernel (RBDPK) olein and stearin. The refining process can be either physical or
99 chemical.
100 Physical processes involve using hot water to refine the feedstock, where the oil
101 is suspended at the top of the water and is then skimmed off. Any impurities and
102 contamination will stay in the water. Chemical processes use chemicals such as
103 phosphoric acid and caustic soda to remove non-hydratable phosphatides, soap, free
104 caustic and other soluble impurities from the crude oil. The drying, degumming,
105 bleaching and deodorising process follow afterwards to produce the final product
107 Several solid and liquid by-products and residue are produced during the milling
108 and refining stages, which can be processed further to generate energy or other useful
109 products. Figure 3 summarizes the palm oil production processes and the waste products
112 Management and conversion of waste products from the palm oil industry
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113 Globally, Indonesia is the largest palm oil producer with a market share of
114 approximately 54%, followed by Malaysia with 30% and all others amounting to 16%
115 (Global Palm Oil Production 2016). The enormous quantities of waste and by-products
116 generated by the palm oil industry have raised public concern, resulting in research
117 focusing on the proper management and recovery of palm oil waste to reduce its impact
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119 It is estimated that for one-hectare of plantation area, approximately 1.7 to 6 tons
120 of CPO are produced (Rupani et al. 2010) and for each ton of CPO produced, 3 tons of
121 wastewater are generated (Borja and Banks 1994; Wicke et al. 2008; Wu et al. 2010). In
122 2016, palm oil plantations occupied almost 5.7 million hectares in Malaysia, with CPO
124 of wastes water produced. Without proper management, this will make a significant
126 Proper methods and technologies to convert high quantities of waste into a
127 renewable energy source or useful by-products are desirable and the potential of each
128 palm oil waste product for generating energy, producing biomass, animal feedstock,
129 fertiliser, carbon capture, fermentation medium, biogas and biofuel has been previously
130 reviewed (Yusoff 2006; Sumathi et al. 2008; Singh et al. 2011; Sulaiman et al. 2011;
131 Abdullah and Sulaim 2013; Loh et al. 2014; Kurnia et al. 2016; Bello and Abdul Raman
132 2017).
133 A study conducted by Hansen et al. (2015) concluded that 60% of palm oil
134 research papers published in the years between 2004 to 2013 focused on the handling of
135 palm oil waste. The palm oil industry emits solid wastes such as OPF, EFB, PKS and
136 fiber, as well as liquid wastes such as POME. Solid wastes can be treated through
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137 physical and thermochemical processes (Awalludin et al. 2015; Kurnia et al. 2016). In
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138 the physical process, shredding, densification, and drying are applied to convert the
139 waste into a usable biomass product such as soil fertiliser, animal feedstock, bio-
140 briquette, carbon capture and pressed board (Boschma and Kwant 2013; Hassan et al.
141 2013; Awalludin et al. 2015; Kurnia et al. 2016; Rivera-Mendez et al. 2017). In the
143 electricity and heat (Li et al. 2009a; Li et al. 2009b; Nipattummakul et al. 2012; Atnaw
144 et al. 2013; Ariffin et al. 2015; Sivasangar et al. 2015; Ariffin et al. 2016a; Ariffin et al.
145 2016b; Samiran et al. 2016). Another method of managing the wastes from the palm oil
146 industry is to produce soil fertilisers through composting (Vakili et al. 2015), where the
147 use of worms can promote the composting process (Rupani et al. 2010; Singh et al.
148 2011).
150 The palm oil industry’s liquid waste can be further classified into four different types:
151 palm oil mill effluent (POME), sludge palm oil (SPO), palm acid oil (PAO) and palm
152 fatty acid distillate (PFAD). POME is the wastewater which is discharged into the waste
153 pond, while SPO is the oil residue found in the POME. PAO and PFAD are classified as
154 by-products rather than wastes and can be found in refining plants. SPO, PAO, and
155 PFAD are classified as residual oils and contain different percentages of free fatty acid
156 (FFA). The wastewater and residual oils have the potential to be processed into
158 Wastewater is generated during the processing of palm oil in the milling plant
159 and refinery plant, but the wastewater generated by the refinery plant is less polluting
160 due to the absence of oil, grease and low organic loads (Hassan et al. 2005). The
161 wastewater mix from milling plant contains water, residue oil, microorganisms, palm
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162 fiber, solid fat, and other impurities. According to Onyia et al. (2001) and Hassan et al.
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163 (2005), the brown slurry wastewater resulting from palm oil milling plants is non-toxic
164 but has an unpleasant odour. The wastewater consists of approximately 4 to 5% organic
165 solids, 0.5 to 1% residual oils, and a high concentration of nitrogen. Madaki and Seng
166 (2013) described the wastewater as a water-soluble component of palm oil fruit that
167 contains suspended materials such as palm fiber and oil residue. Even though the water
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168 is non-toxic, it must be treated appropriately before being discharged into the
169 environment due to its acidity and high biological oxygen demand number. The two
170 methods that are widely employed by the palm oil industry for wastewater treatment is
171 the ponding system and the open digester with ponding system (Hassan et al. 2005).
172 In the making of biodiesel, raw materials are the main contributor to production
173 costs. Therefore, by using waste oil, residual oil, low-grade oil and fat instead of
174 vegetable oils, the cost of raw materials for biodiesel production can be reduced
175 significantly (Hayyan et al. 2013). Some examples of low-grade oils that are suitable for
176 biodiesel production include waste cooking palm oil, low industrial grade palm oil,
177 acidic crude palm oil and PFAD (Hayyan et al. 2013). SPO, which is extracted from
178 POME, can be used as biodiesel’s raw material, while the remainder of POME has a
179 high content of biological components that can be used to produce biogas.
181 POME is a denotation for wastewater from the processing of palm oil in the milling
182 plant. It consists of 95-96% water, 0.6-0.7% suspended oils and 4-5% total solids.
183 Around 2-4% of the suspended solids found in POME comes from the sterilisation,
184 sludge separation and wet hydrocyclone processes (Ma 2000). Table 1 shows the
185 characteristics of a typical POME in Malaysia, highlighting that POME typically has a
186 high number of COD, BOD, total solids and other impurities that make it harmful to
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191 aquatic life due to the high biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen
192 demand (COD) (Aluwi et al. 2013). Hence POME needs to be properly treated before it
193 can be released into the environment. Various POME treatment methods will be
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196 There are four major classifications of POME treatment including 1) the ponding
197 system which is the most widely used method, 2) anaerobic and aerobic digestion, 3)
198 physicochemical and, 4) membrane filtration (Wu et al. 2010). Each one of these
199 treatment methods has its advantages and trade-offs. The ponding system is the most
200 common method used by the palm oil industry due to its low capital and operating
201 costs, but has a high hydraulic retention time, requires a large area, and it releases
202 methane gas into the environment (Hassan et al. 2005; Wu et al. 2010; Madaki and Lau
203 2013; Liew et al. 2014; Bello and Abdul Raman 2017).
204 Aerobic and anaerobic digestion are two different methods of POME treatment
207 (including acetogenesis) and methanogenesis (Poh and Chong, 2009). The advantages
208 of aerobic digestion is a shorter retention time, whereas the disadvantage is the need of
209 an aeration system which increases the energy requirement and capital cost (Poh and
210 Chong 2009; Wu et al. 2010; Gobi and Vadivelu 2013). In contrast, some of the
211 advantages of the anaerobic digestion system includes lower capital cost and a lower
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212 energy requirement, resulting in a faster return on the investment, but does require a
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213 longer retention time (Poh and Chong 2009; Wu et al. 2010; Madaki and Lau 2013;
215 The three most commonly used physicochemical POME treatment methods are
216 sedimentation and centrifugation, coagulation and flocculation, and flotation and
217 adsorption (Wu et al., 2010). Coagulation and flocculation can also be used as a pre-
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219 ammonia nitrogen in POME (Zahrim et al. 2014). Photocatalysis is a process of using
220 light energy (activation agent) that is absorbed by a photo-catalyst to degrade an organic
221 compound. The treatment of POME by photocatalysis has been examined using titania
222 doped with platinum (Cheng et al. 2015) and silver modified with titania (Cheng et al.
223 2016; Ng et al. 2016b) as catalysts. A review on the photocatalytic treatment of POME
224 has been discussed in detail by Alhaji et al. (2016), but due to its low BOD reducing
225 capability, this approach was deemed only to be practical when used as a post-treatment
226 process. Some of the disadvantages of this method are that it requires large amounts of
227 chemicals such as coagulants and adsorbents to cater the high organic loading, which
228 can increase the cost, and the non-biodegradability of the chemicals used (Wu et al.
229 2010; Bello and Abdul Raman 2017). To reduce the cost, a list of lower cost materials
231
232 Table 2: Low-cost coagulants and adsorbents used in POME treatment
233
234 Another POME treatment method that shows promise is the membrane filtration
235 method, but POME contains high solid impurities such as fiber that can cause clogging
236 of the membrane pores, rendering the membrane ineffective (Wu et al. 2010; Bello and
237 Abdul Raman 2017). Membrane fouling increases system maintenance, leading to a
238 high total cost of ownership of such a system (Bello and Abdul Raman 2017). The
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240 pre-treatment step (Azmi and Yunos 2014). It has been proven that membrane systems
241 can remove 99.4% of the suspended solids in POME provided a pre-treatment step is
242 installed to reduce the sludge, suspended solids, BOD and COD, effectively lowering
244 Several researchers have suggested that the physicochemical and membrane
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245 filtration approaches are more effective as a tertiary treatment or polishing method than
246 as a primary treatment of POME (Gobi and Vadivelu 2013; Liew et al. 2014; Bello and
247 Abdul Raman 2017). Excessive fouling can be reduced by decreasing the organic
248 content in POME before employing these treatments. The POME polishing process
249 involves a combination of activated carbon and ultrasonic cavitation that can remove up
250 to 100% of COD and total suspended solids within a short time limit (Parthasarathy et
252 active carbon adsorption (Othman et al. 2014), followed by a membrane separation
253 process, ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis has been found to treat POME into clear
254 water effectively (Ahmad et al. 2003; Ahmad and Chan 2009). The membrane filter
255 plays an important role in reducing the colour of treated POME until it becomes clear
256 and eliminate unwanted chemicals and impurities (Ali Amat et al. 2015).
258 that degrades the organic substance in POME through the application of an OH radical
259 (Liew et al. 2014; Taha and Ibrahim 2014; Ahmed et al. 2015; Alhaji et al. 2016; Bello
260 and Abdul Raman 2017). The OH radical can be generated by a combination of ozone,
261 hydrogen peroxide, radiation and ultrasound (Bello and Abdul Raman 2017). The
262 review by Bello and Abdul Raman (2017) stated that AOP as a POME polishing
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263 method is promising despite the challenges, as this method can improve the POME
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265 The most desirable POME treatment choice is the anaerobic digestion system
266 because it is easy to set up, has a low investment and maintenance cost, has a high
267 organic loading and high methane production. There are disadvantages, however,
268 including high retention time and large space requirements. A combination of POME
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269 anaerobic treatment and polishing treatment can increase the effectiveness of waste
270 removal that will be better able to meet discharge regulations. Some examples of
271 methods that can improve anaerobic digestion and overall performance of the process
272 include the use of sorbents (Mohammed and Chong 2014), electrolysis (Aluwi et al.
273 2013), membrane filtering (Shah and Singh 2003), adsorption and magnetic field
274 (Mohammed et al. 2014), and ultrasonic and hydrogen peroxide (Manickam et al. 2014).
275 An anaerobic reactor with the addition of bacteria to enhance digestion was
276 introduced to reduce retention time and space requirements. The bacteria can
277 breakdown POME effectively, but they require proper monitoring as they are sensitive
278 to changes in their environment (Madaki and Seng 2013). Alternatively, the reactor can
279 employ both physicochemical treatments and anaerobic digestion at a high reaction rate
280 (Zinatizadeh et al. 2006). For more controlled and faster digestion that improves the
281 efficiency of the treatment and increases biogas production, Khemkhao et al. (2015)
282 developed a reactor which can accept multiple variables such as changing the digestion
283 process, modifying organic loading rate and continuous stirring to achieve the optimum
285 To find the optimum reactor parameter, Zinatizadeh et al. (2006) used the
286 response surface methodology (RSM). By varying the feed flow rate and up-flow
287 velocity in up-flow anaerobic sludge fixed film, COD removal time was improved
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288 (Zinatizadeh et al. 2006). Other parameters affecting POME treatment include the
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289 oxygen flow rate, catalyst loading time and the initial concentration of POME (Ng et al.
290 2016a). Also, RSM was used to determine the optimum parameter for incubation time,
291 enzyme concentration and impeller speed for the recovery of sludge palm oil (SPO) in
292 POME (Noorshamsiana et al. 2013). Fuzzy optimisation is another method used to find
293 a suitable parameter for the reactor process (Chan et al. 2015).
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295 Typically, palm oil mill discharges POME into the pond for anaerobic processes only to
296 comply with and satisfy environmental quality regulations, because this process will
297 lower POME’s COD (Chin et al. 2013). To avoid biogas from escaping into the
298 environment, a proper collection method should be employed such as a closed tank
299 reactor or a closed ponding system, where the biogas can be collected directly into a
300 storage tank (Nasrin 2016). Anaerobic treatment in a bioreactor is more favourable for
301 producing biogas than ponding, as it is both the most cost-efficient and has the lowest
302 time trade-off (Poh et al. 2010). The resulting biogas contains approximately 60%
303 methane, which is suitable for heat and power generation (Borja and Banks 1994; Foo
305 The biogas that is produced from POME treatment can be further enhanced into
306 biological compressed natural gas (bio-CNG) by a series of processes. A recent study
307 by Nasrin et al. (2017) explains the process of upgrading biogas into bio-CNG through
308 three steps: pre-treatment, upgrading and storing. In the pre-treatment process, a
309 combination of biological and chemical methods was used to reduce the hydrogen
310 sulphide content to less than 10 ppm. The biogas was then compressed, and a membrane
311 technology was used to remove the carbon dioxide in the upgrading process to ensure
312 that the methane content in the biogas is similar to the composition of natural gas (>
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313 94%). After this condition had been met, the biogas is then stored and distributed. Table
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314 3 compares the specifications of bio-CNG to natural gas and biogas. It is shown that the
315 bio-CNG properties are almost the same as natural gas. Hence bio-CNG can be used to
317 Table 3: Comparison of Bio-CNG to biogas and natural gas (Nasrin 2016)
318
319 Another method used to enhance biogas is the addition of hydrogen gas and
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320 studying the effect it has on the flame behaviour. Hydrogen enrichment showed an
321 increase in flame temperature, flame stability, and flame length, but NOx emissions did
322 increase slightly due to the rise in temperature (Hosseini et al. 2015). The biogas
323 produced can be used to power self-preheated reactors, and the power generated from
324 the reactor was increased when hydrogen gas was added (Hosseini and Wahid 2015).
325
327 When POME is discharged into the pond, residual oils that leached out during the
328 milling process floats on the water. This oil is known as the sludge palm oil (SPO),
329 which is a foul smelling-dark brown substance which solidifies at room temperature.
330 SPO contains a significant amount of FFA, usually around 20-80%, depending on the
331 time of its exposure to the environment. It has a low deterioration of the bleachability
332 index (DOBI), which renders it unusable as a food source. SPO has a total fatty matter
333 content of at least 95%, moisture and impurities at a maximum of 3% and FFA content
334 of at least 50%, with palmitic acid as the main component (Mohamad and Yahya 2012).
335 Chow and Ho (2002) reported composition of natural lipids in SPO to be approximately
336 84% which contain 70.14% triglycerides, 6.72% diglycerides, 0.42% monoglycerides
337 and 6.72% FFA suitable for microbial growth during the production of biosurfactants.
338 Table 4 shows the details of SPO characteristics summarize from Ainie et al. (1995).
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340
341 A refining process can transform SPO into an oil product that can be used as fuel
342 or detergents. For example, SPO oil products can be used directly in a burner as fuel,
343 biodiesel production feedstock or as FFA feedstock in soap manufacturing (Wafti et al.
344 2010; Abd. Wafti et al. 2012). SPO can be refined further through degumming (using
345 phosphoric acid), bleaching (using hydrogen peroxide and sodium hypochlorite) and
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346 deodorising (to remove short-chain acid) (Wafti et al. 2010). However, palm acid oil
347 (PAO) and palm fatty acid distilled (PFAD) has better quality as feedstock for the
348 refining process to yield the same products (Wan Nawawi et al. 2010).
351 FFA into FAME. However, it only works well if the FFA content is below 2% (Liu
352 1994). Above an FFA content of 2%, soap is generated, preventing the separation
353 between glycerine and ester (Canakci and Gerpen 2001). The high content of FFA in
354 SPO, therefore, needs to be reduced through an esterification process before the
355 transesterification process can be undertaken. The esterification process reduces the
357 The esterification process for FFA reduction usually involves short chain
358 alcohols such as methanol or ethanol in the presence of an acid catalyst. There are two
359 groups of catalysts, namely homogeneous and heterogeneous acids. Homogeneous acids
360 such as sulphuric acid are the most commonly used in SPO esterification compared to
361 heterogeneous acids because they are less costly (Jain and Sharma 2010; Hayyan et al.
362 2013). However, homogeneous acid catalysts require a high alcohol molar ratio and a
363 longer reaction time to convert FFA to FAME (Jain et al. 2011), while heterogeneous
364 acids such as PTSA are more desirable due to their higher catalytic activity (Guan et al.
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365 2009a), no soap is produced and FAME is more easily separated from the product
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366 mixture (Guan et al. 2009b; Thinnakorn and Tscheikuna 2014). The major drawback of
367 the heterogeneous catalyst is the resistance in mass transfer among three phases (oil,
368 catalyst and methanol) during the conversion process, but this shortcoming can be
369 overcome by increasing the stirrer speed (Thinnakorn and Tscheikuna 2014b).
371 cylindracea lipase (Ricca et al. 2013), which can convert SPO into FAME. The
372 advantages of using an enzyme catalyst are that it can be a catalyst for both
373 esterification and transesterification processes (Yan et al. 2012), easy separation of
374 FAME and glycerol, and it requires less alcohol (Chen et al. 2011; Yan et al. 2012;
375 Zheng et al. 2012). The disadvantage of using an enzyme catalyst is the high cost of the
376 enzyme (Ricca et al. 2013). Also, a higher enzyme loading, which is favourable for
377 biodiesel synthesis, results in unfavourably high water content in the product
380 feedstock’s acid content, the alcohol to oil molar ratio, the reaction time, the reaction
381 temperature, and the stirrer speed (Hayyan et al. 2010b). The optimum parameters are
382 desirable to reduce alcohol use and reaction time. Table 5 lists publications describing
383 the conversion of SPO into biodiesel using various parameters and catalysts. The
384 shortest reaction time for esterification process was achieved through the use of a
385 heterogeneous acid called trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TFMSA) at 0.75% (w/w), 10:1
386 molar ratio of methanol to SPO, and 60°C reaction temperature for 40 minutes. Almost
387 similar efficiency was achieved by using toluene-4-sulfonic monohydrate acid (PTSA)
388 for 60 minutes, instead of the 40 minutes of TFMSA. A less expensive option is through
389 the use of homogeneous acids is achieved by using 0.75% (w/w) sulphuric acid and 8:1
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390 molar ratio methanol at 60°C for 60 minutes. The usage of an enzyme in SPO
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391 conversion into biodiesel required longer reaction time but at lower ethanol
393
394 Table 5: The esterification process parameter to convert SPO into biodiesel
395
396 Each method has its merit. Increasing the acid content does not improve the
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397 esterification process further as the optimum parameter is adequate to produce the same
398 yield amount. This can be explained by its chemical kinetics, which is already at
399 equilibrium. This is the same as increasing reaction time, reaction temperature, and
400 stirrer speed. While having a higher molar ratio of alcohol can prevent the reversible
401 reaction, this will cause waste as more alcohol is needed, and it will require a long
403 Following esterification, the SPO will contain less than 2% FFA, which allows
404 the transesterification to proceed. There is not much variability in the choice of methods
405 and catalysts that can be selected for the transesterification process. Typically, 1%
406 (w/w) potassium hydroxide is used as a catalyst, with a methanol molar ratio of 10:1
407 and a reaction temperature of 60°C for 60 minutes to produce FAME that meets the EN
408 14214 and ASTM D6751 requirements (Hayyan et al. 2010a; Hayyan et al. 2011;
412 SPO can also be used directly in a burner as a fuel alternative. In a recent study (Zuber
413 et al. 2018), measured the average calorific value of SPO and compared it to diesel,
414 concluding that SPO has on average, a lower calorific value (38MJ/kg) than diesel
415 (45MJ/kg). SPO’s viscosity is much higher than that of diesel and is often semi-solid
416 and unable to flow or spray properly. Hence, heating the SPO will increase its
Page 18 of 40
417 flowability by reducing the viscosity significantly. During the combustion process, it
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418 has been reported that the flame temperatures of SPO were lower than that of diesel,
419 resulting in lower emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO)
420 compared to diesel. This study indicated that SPO could be used as fuel without the
421 need to convert into biodiesel as it only required heating to reduce the viscosity.
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423 Palm acid oil is a by-product of the chemical refining process of CPO and is widely
424 used in laundry soap and calcium soaps for animal feed (Kuntom et al. 1994). During
425 the chemical refining process of CPO using alkaline solution, soapstock will be
426 produced as a by-product. The soapstock contains emulsified neutral oil which can
427 easily be separated from the soapstock due to different densities. The acidification
428 process will then turn the emulsified neutral oil into PAO.
429 The Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB) classifies PAO as a waste from the
430 chemical CPO refining process, whereas palm fatty acid distilled (PFAD) comes from a
431 physical method. Since the chemical refining process uses alkaline, PAO is less acidic
432 compared to PFAD (Kuntom et al. 1994). Since most palm oil refining in Malaysia uses
433 the physical refining process, the production of PAO is smaller compared to that of
434 PFAD.
436 al. 2015), which consists of free fatty acid, neutral oil and moisture (Kuntom et al.
437 1994). According to the Palm Oil Refinery Association of Malaysia (PORAM), FFA
438 content in PAO is above 50%. Kuntom et al. (1994) reported that FFA content in PAO
439 is more than 50%, with palmitic acid as its major component. The characterisations of
440 PAO are shown in Table 6 summarize from Kuntom et al. (1994).
Page 19 of 40
443 Besides converted into biodiesel through the esterification and transesterification
444 process, PAO is also applied as a coating material to upgraded low-rank coal. The
445 upgraded coal shows higher resistance to moisture reabsorption, greater compressive
446 strength, the lower inclination of low-temperature oxidation and lower likelihood for
Environ. Rev. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by University of Alberta on 08/24/19
449 During the physical refining process of CPO, FFA and approximately 4 to 5% PFAD is
450 produced as a by-product (Wicke et al. 2008; Gapor Md Top 2010). PFAD’s market
451 price is around 15% lower than CPO (ZERO and Rainforest Foundation Norway 2016).
452 According to Gapor Md Top (2010) and Bonnie and Yusof (2009), PFAD is a light
453 brown semi-solid compound at room temperature which becomes brown liquid when
454 heated. Table 7 details the characteristics of PFAD summarize from Bonnie and Yusof
455 (2009), where it shows that PFAD has an FFA content of more than 70%, consisting
456 mainly of palmitic and oleic acids. Palmitic acid is the primary saturated acid at about
457 38.63 to 45.30%, while oleic acid constitutes the major unsaturated acid at about 33.54
458 to 44.05% (Chang et al. 2016). Other minor trace elements in PFAD are glycerides
459 (monoglyceride, diglyceride, and triglyceride) and trace metals (Cr, Fe, Ni, and Cu)
460 (Bonnie and Yusof 2009). Meanwhile, Gapor Md Top (2010) reported that moisture and
461 impurities were recorded at around 1%, while the saponifiable matter was at around
462 95%.
465 PFAD also can be utilised to produce encapsulated vitamin E, squalene, and
466 phytosterols (Top et al. 1988, 2001; Gapor Md Top 2010). Hydrogenated PFAD can be
467 used as animal feed (Gapor Md Top 2010), and other products derived from PFAD
468 include food emulsifiers, flavouring and aromatic agents, product from the
469 oleochemical industry such as candles, and pharmaceutical products (Top et al. 2001;
Environ. Rev. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by University of Alberta on 08/24/19
470 Wicke et al. 2008; Bonnie and Yusof 2009; Gapor Md Top 2010; Chang et al. 2016;
471 ZERO and Rainforest Foundation Norway 2016). The utilisation of PFAD as feedstock
472 for FAME faces fierce competition from many industries, rendering the conversion of
473 PFAD to FAME less economically feasible (ZERO and Rainforest Foundation Norway
474 2016). Where PFAD serves a market of its own, it is wise not to disturb this market with
475 biofuel production to maintain its price and demand (Gapor Md Top 2010)
476 PFAD has the potential as a feedstock for biodiesel production. A study by
477 Chongkhong et al. (2007) using the esterification process with sulphuric acid (1.834%
478 w/w) and methanol (8:1) at 60 minutes and 70°C was found to be the optimum
479 parameter which resulted in FFA reduction from 93% to less than 2%. This procedure
480 was then followed by the transesterification process with sodium hydroxide and
481 methanol at 65°C for 15 minutes that resulted in the biodiesel produced meeting the
482 ASTM D6751-02 and Thai biodiesel quality standards. Since PFAD has a high FFA
483 content, esterification and transesterification processes are suitable approaches for
485 The Rainforest Foundation Norway (ZERO and Rainforest Foundation Norway
486 2016) assessed the relevance of using PFAD as a biodiesel feedstock and found that the
487 triglycerides and fatty acids in PFAD are useful sources for renewable hydrotreated
488 vegetable oil (HVO) production. The low price and the nature of PFAD as a residue
Page 21 of 40
489 allow for the manufacturing and sale of HVO from PFAD to receive incentives and tax
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492 Wastewater from the palm oil industry has the potential to be used as feedstock for
493 biofuel production. POME can be treated through various methods and processes to
Environ. Rev. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by University of Alberta on 08/24/19
494 produce biogas. Also, residue oils such as SPO, PAO, and PFAD, can be processed to
495 produce biodiesel, products such as animal feed, food flavouring, and laundry soap, as
496 well as products from the oleochemical and pharmaceutical industries. Treated SPO can
497 even be directly used as fuel for combustion. PAO and PFAD can be treated and utilised
498 as a biodiesel feedstock. However, only limited research on SPO, PAO, and PFAD has
500 Since PFAD and PAO have been fully utilised in the industry and have specific
501 market demands, it is wise to avoid using both in any other particular products, especially
502 in biofuel and energy production. Since POME can be used to produce biogas, this leaves
503 SPO without a demand in the industry, opening up opportunities to make use of SPO for
504 biofuel and biodiesel production. The lower price and abundant availability of SPO
505 without any other major market demands make SPO a prime candidate to be used as fuel
507 Acknowledgements
508 Takasago Thermal Engineering CO. LTD. (RK130000.7343.4B366)
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891 8–16. doi: 10.1016/j.jwpe.2014.02.002.
892 Thinnakorn, K. and Tscheikuna, J. 2014 ‘Biodiesel production via transesterification of
893 palm olein using sodium phosphate as a heterogeneous catalyst’, Applied
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895 10.1016/j.apcata.2014.02.016.
896 Top, A. G. M., Leong, L. W., Ong, A. S. H., Kawada, T., Watanabe, H. and Tsuchiya,
897 N. 1988 ‘Production of high concentration tocopherols and tocotrienols from
898 palm oil by-product’. European Patent: EP0333472A2. Available at:
899 https://patents.google.com/patent/EP0333472A2/pt
900 Top, A. G. M., Abd Rahman, H., Hassan, M., Rifaeh, M., Wan Hassan, W. H. and
901 Sulong, M. 2001 ‘A study on the utilization of PFAD as a source of squalene’,
902 Proceedings of the 2000 National Seminar on Palm Oil Milling, Refining
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906 Vakili, M., Rafatullah, M., Ibrahim, M. H., Salamatinia, B., Gholami, Z. and Zwain, H.
907 M. 2015 ‘A review on composting of oil palm biomass’, Environment,
908 Development and Sustainability. Springer Netherlands, 17(4), pp. 691–709. doi:
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914 industrial applications’, MPOB Information Series, June, pp. 1–2. Available at:
915 http://palmoilis.mpob.gov.my/publications/TOT/TT-457.pdf.
916 Wan Nawawi, W. M. F., Jamal, P. and Alam, M. Z. 2010 ‘Utilization of sludge palm oil
917 as a novel substrate for biosurfactant production’, Bioresource Technology.
918 Elsevier Ltd, 101(23), pp. 9241–9247. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2010.07.024.
919 Wicke, B., Dornburg, V., Junginger, M. and Faaij, A. 2008 ‘Different palm oil
920 production systems for energy purposes and their greenhouse gas implications’,
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947 Zheng, J., Xu, L., Liu, Y., Zhang, X. and Yan, Y. 2012 ‘Lipase-coated K 2SO 4 micro-
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8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Palm oil production in Malaysia
Palm oil plantation area in Malaysia
(Million tonnes)
2017b)
Figures
(Million Hectares)
al. 2015)
0
5
10
15
20
25
0
1
2
3
4
5
2000 6
1960
2001
1965
2002
2003 1970
2004 1975
2005 1980
2006
1985
2007
1990
2008 Year
Year
1995
2009
2010 2000
2011 2005
2012
2010
2013
2015
2014
2016
2015
2016
Figure 2: Production of crude palm oil (CPO) (MPOB 2012, MPOB 2017c; Awalludin et
Figure 1: Plantation area of palm oil industry in Malaysia (Awalludin et al. 2015; MPOB
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Page 37 of 40
9
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POME: Biogas
Waste SPO: Biodiesel,
OPF Sterilization
water
Fuel
Stripping EFB
POME: Biogas
Digester Fiber + waste SPO: Biodiesel,
water
Fuel
Environ. Rev. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by University of Alberta on 08/24/19
Separation Fiber
Refining
Nut cracking
LEGEND
Process and Potential Renewable
product Energy (Biogas, Biodiesel,
Biofuel)
Waste
10
11 Figure 3: Summary of palm oil process
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1 Tables
65000 102696
Total solids 40,500 - 40500- -
72058
Suspended 18,000 15660- 18000- 47690
solids 23560 46011
Total volatile 34,000 - 34000- 30870
solids 49300
Ammoniacal 35 - 35-103 -
nitrogen
Total nitrogen 750 - 750-770 -
5
6
8
Page 39 of 40
9 Table 3: Comparison of Bio-CNG to biogas and natural gas (Nasrin 2016; Mohtar et al.,
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15
16
17
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Parameter Value
Free fatty acid (FFA) (%) 50
Iodine value (meg/kg) 40-50
Peroxide value (meg/kg) <5
Moisture (%) <2
Saponification value 72-197
Unsaponifiable matter 0.04-1.67
19
Parameter Value
Iodine value (g/100 g) 46.3-57.6
FFA (palmitic, %) 72.7-92.6
Titre (°C) 46-48
Water content (%) 0.3-0.24
Saponifiable value (mg KOH g-1 of sample) 200.3-215.4
Unsaponifiable matter (%) 1.0-2.5
21