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Palm oil, like other vegetable oils, can be used to create biodiesel for internal combustion engines. It can be either a simple high quality processed palm oil mixed with petro-diesel, or processed through transesterification to create a palm oil-methyl ester blend which meets the international EN 14214 specification. Biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine when mixed with petro diesel. The majority of vehicle manufacturers limit their recommendations to 15% biodiesel blended with petro diesel.Biodiesel is the most common biofuel in Europe.
Due to the increasing global urgency to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, palm oil biomass offers great potential as a cost-effective feedstock for biodiesel. In this capacity, it is capable of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 80%.
R & D have demonstrated that palm diesel is a cleaner energy than fossil diesel, emitting less carbon dioxide, black smoke of carbon particulates, carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide. Fuel switch from fossil to palm diesel is easy and economical as palm diesel can be used directly in unmodified diesel engines including stationary engines, passenger cars, buses and trucks. It gives good engine performance.
The palm biodiesel can be used neat or blended with petroleum diesel in any proportions. Recently, to overcome the long standing pour point problem, (pour point = 15°C), Malaysia Palm Oil Board ( MPOB ) has developed a process to produce low pour point palm biodiesel (-21°C to 0°C) which is suitable for temperate countries.There are constraints when palm oil is used as feedstock for biodiesel. As palm oil constitutes 80% to 90% of the biodiesel production cost, price fluctuations play a decisive role in the biodiesel vs. fossil fuel diesel competition. Price is very much affected by the ever increasing demands from overseas, crude oil price and climate variations.
Demand for vegetable oils is expected to increase by three million tonnes to 21mt due to increasing need from the global biodiesel industry. It is the second most productive vegetable oil producing crop in the world, after algae. Palm oil is also a primary substitute for rapeseed oil in Europe in the biodiesel production. Palm oil producers in Malaysia are currently undergoing frequent corporate activities to streamline the biodiesel industry to handle the high production costs due to increased feedstock prices.
Palm biodiesel will be attractive if the palm oil price stays below US$450 per tonne (US$554 at Mar 2009 ) and crude oil prices stay above the US$70 per barrel (US$45 at Mar 2009). While crude oil prices have fallen significantly by year end 2008, prices of palm oil resistfurther downturn, making biodiesel production unprofitable for widespread use. However on a long term basis, with the ever depleting fossil fuel supply, biofuel will become increasingly viable.
Another hurdle facing the Malaysia and Indonesia is meeting the requirements by EU, one of the major users, that carbon dioxide emissions from biodiesel must be 35% less than that from crude oil.
The European Commission in mid 2008, proposed a revision to its earlier goal of generating 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2020, that the 20% of renewable transport fuels would have to come from feed stocks, like algae of other non-food cropssuch as switch grass, jatropha, Chinese tallow or cereals that bear little grain, that do not compete with food for cropland; instead of oil palm, rapeseed, corn or maize.
Only 10% of the palm yields palm oil (from mesocarp or fleshy part of the fruits) and palm kernel oil (from seed in the fruit). Both have significant commercial value. The economics of the palm diesel project can be enhanced by the recovery of useful co-products such as carotenes, vitamin E, sterols, squalene, co-enzyme Q, phospholipids and glycerol derivatives.
The remaining 90% of biomass, consisting of empty fruit bunches (EFB), fibers, fronds, trunks, kernels and mill effluent was previously dispose of as waste, burned or left to settle in waste ponds. This undesirable disposal emits carbon dioxide and methane contributing to global warming.
Types and amounts of these biomass generated in year 2005:
Biomass
Quantity mt
Moisture Content %
Calorie kJ/kg
Main Use
Fiber
9.66
37.00
19068
Fuel