Empty Fruit Bunches Evaluation: Mulch in Plantation vs. Fuel for Electricity Generation

mpob_admin — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 00:26:10 +0000

There are compelling reasons for supporting the use of empty fruit bunches (EFB) as a source of fuelfor renewable energy (RE) power generation. Although the current use of EFB as a mulch does have financial benefits, there are better financial gains, with a number of other advantages when used as a fuel for RE power generation. The rapid depletion of fossil fuel needs an alternative replacement and most developed nations are pursuing the development of biomass as an alternative method of power generation. In Malaysia, fortunately the country has a ready source of biomass in EFB. It is conveniently collected and available for exploitation in all palm oil mills. All that needs to be done is to convert the energy in the fuel in the most efficient manner and the country is well on the way to pursue this most important and sustainable renewable source of energy for the future. As the country has to meet the target of achieving 5% of its grid connected electrical energy from this source by the year 2005, it has to move fast. The main achievement will be the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) if biomass-based RE power generation is used where there is a gain of substantial volume of carbon credits. This factor alone is a compelling reason to pursue. A deeper insight into the mechanism of EFB utilization with the financial analysis, if used as a mulch or fuel, is presented in this paper, without taking into account the capital investment involved in the RE power project.

Factors Affecting Fluctuations in Net Returns from the Processing of Oil Palm Fruit Bunches

mpob_admin — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 08:11:12 +0000

This paper attempts to elucidate factors which affect the efficiency of oil palm fruit processing in a selected palm oil mill. Three efficiency proxies are used, i.e. revenue per tonne (RPT) of fresh fruits bunches (FFB), cost per tonne (CPT) and net revenue per tonne (NRPT), with the analysis being focused on a 30-month time series data. From the study, it was found that the RPT of the mill was positively correlated with the differentials in the oil extraction rate and kernel extraction rate (KER), differentials in crude palm oil (CPO) price as well as FFB intake. The differentials in OER and KER, in particular, were significant income generators, as they resulted in increases in RPT as high as 20% and 12% respectively. Nevertheless, both OER and KER had declined at the rate of 0.27% and 0.22% per month, respectively and the processing toll was negatively correlated with RPT by 1%, indicating the need to crosscheck the sources of RPT variability. The study also identified two causal factors, which affected CPT variability. These comprised maintenance, either major or routine, and depreciation. The study also revealed that the amount of FFB received was positively correlated with either RPT or NRPT and was found significant in reducing CPT. This implied economies of scale, as denoted by the significance of the utilization factor and workers’ overtime.

PALM OIL MILLS – OPIEJ

Empty Fruit Bunches Evaluation: Mulch in Plantation vs. Fuel for Electricity Generation

Factors Affecting Fluctuations in Net Returns from the Processing of Oil Palm Fruit Bunches