2.11
3.00
18900
Animal feed
The processing of oil palm products occurs in palm kernel crushing factories, oleo-chemical plants, and palm oil refineries, but by far the most common are the basic palm oil mills. These mills form the fundamental operational units of oil palm industry. Most of the oil palm biomass are used within mill as fuels. They are burnt in boiler to produce steam for electricity generation to run internal operations. Since 90% of the palm consists of biomass, palm oil mills have the potential of contributing very significantly to the reduction in greenhouse gas through expanded production of biofuels and biomass based generation of power.
For use as fuel outside milling, EFB and PKC are compacted into uniform solid fuel called briquette. It has higher energy content with less moisture, and is exported for cooking purposes. Briquettes are not consumed by locals for cooking purposes as cheaper substitutes are available.
The rosier outlook lies in its future utilization as feedstock for second generation biofuel, where the entire waste biomass can be harnessed in the production of renewable energy, cellulosic ethanol, biogas, biohydrogen and bioplastic.
This energy is not only cheaper but also more efficient and environment-friendly than fossil fuels. The carbon credits derived under the CDM Kyoto Protocol increase the economic viability of palm diesel as a renewable fuel.
According to the UNEP - Year End (2008) Snapshot of the CDM, Malaysia secures 145 out of 4237 projects, representing 3.5% of the total, and ranking 5th in securing the number of CDM projects.
Country
CDM registered or in the pipeline 2008
China
1557
India
1135
