Oil Palm

Purpose With increasing attention on sustainable development, the environmental and social relevance of palm oil production are now important trade issues. The life cycle assessment (LCA) study of Malaysian oil palm products from mineral soils including palm biodiesel was aimed to provide baseline information on the environmental performance of the industry for drawing up policies pertaining to the sustainable production. The share of greenhouse gas (GHG) contribution by the various subsystems in the oil palm supply chain is considered here. Materials and methods The life cycle inventory data for the study were collected based on subsystems, i.e., gate-to-gate. The subsystems include activities in oil palm nurseries and plantations, palm oil mills, refineries, biodiesel plants and the use of biodiesel in diesel engine vehicles. Two scenarios were considered: extraction of crude palm oil (CPO) in a mill without and with a system for trapping biogas from palm oil mill effluent (POME). Inventory data were collected through questionnaires. On-site visits were carried out for data verification. Background data for resource exploitation and production of input materials were obtained through available databases and literature. Foreground data for all subsystems were site-specific data from nurseries, plantations, palm oil mills and refineries and biodiesel plants in Malaysia. Results and discussion Using a yield of 20.7 t oil palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB)/ha, the results showed that the production of 1 t of FFB produced 119 kg CO 2 eq. The production of 1 t of CPO in a mill without and with biogas capture emitted 971 and 506 kg CO 2 eq, respectively. For the production of 1 t of refined palm oil in a refinery which sourced the CPO from a mill without biogas capture and with biogas capture, the GHG emitted was 1,113 kg and 626 kg CO 2 eq, respectively. For palm biodiesel, 33.19 and 21.20 g CO 2 eq were emitted per MJ of biodiesel produced from palm oil sourced from a mill without and with biogas capture, respectively. Conclusions GHG contribution by the nursery subsystem was found to be minimal. In the plantation subsystem, the major sources of GHG were from nitrogen fertilizers, transport and traction energy. For the mill, biogas from POME was the major contributor if biogas was not trapped. Excluding contribution from upstream activities, boiler fuel and transport were the major sources of GHG in the refinery subsystem. In the biodiesel subsystem, activities for production of refined palm oil and methanol use were the most significant contributors.

Laminated veneer lumbers from oil palm trunk were manufactured using urea formaldehyde, phenol formaldehyde, melamine urea formaldehyde, and phenol resorcinol formaldehyde adhesives. The density of the oil palm laminated veneer lumber was slightly higher than the solid oil palm trunk. The thickness swelling and water absorption of laminated veneer lumber of oil palm were higher than those made from rubberwood. Laminated veneer lumber bonded with phenol resorcinol formaldehyde showed higher shear strength compared to other adhesives. The contact angle on the loose surface was lower than on the tight surface. Phenol formaldehyde adhesive has a higher contact angle compared to the other adhesives.

Insects found associated with corpse can be used as one of the indicators in estimating postmortem interval (PMI). The objective of this study was to compare the stages of decomposition and faunal succession between a partially burnt pig (Sus scrofa Linnaeus) and natural pig (as control). The burning simulated a real crime whereby the victim was burnt by murderer. Two young pigs weighed approximately 10 kg were used in this study. Both pigs died from pneumonia and immediately placed in an oil palm plantation near a pig farm in Tanjung Sepat, Selangor, Malaysia. One pig was partially burnt by 1-liter petrol while the other served as control. Both carcasses were visited twice per day for the first week and once thereafter. Adult flies and larvae on the carcasses were collected and later processed in a forensic entomology laboratory. Results showed that there was no significant difference between the rate of decomposition and sequence of faunal succession on both pig carcasses. Both ca...