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Palm oil mill effluent (POME) has high soluble and insoluble organic materials, which contribute to its high Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) content, thus, posing a challenge in treating it. More challenges are anticipated if the limit of BOD level below 20 ppm were to be imposed by the Department of Environment. Currently, the industry is … Read more

Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) is a byproduct of palm oil refinery process, comprising mostly fatty acids (70% as palmitic acid) and some valuable minor components such as vitamin E, sterols, and squalene (Table 1). PFAD has various food and non-food applications such as animal feed, feedstock for laundry and toilet soaps. PFAD can be … Read more

Xylooligosaccharides (XO) is a sugarbased product of lignocellulosic material produced from forestry, agricultural or industrial wastes. They possess a variety of beneficial health properties particularly in prebiotic activities and as food additives. Malaysia produces an abundance of oil palm biomass, in which one of it is empty fruit bunch (EFB). EFB is about 21%-22% of … Read more

The physical and mechanical properties of oil palm trunk (OPT) are far from homogeneous (Kamarudin et al., 2011). The conversion of OPT to sawnlumber has to be carried out immediately, as long-term storage may not be economical. This is to prevent insect and fungal attacks due to high moisture and starch contents (Nur Syuhada et … Read more

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) contains about 70%-80% holocellulose; which comprises about 40%-45% and 30%-35% of cellulose and hemicelluloses respectively; and 18%-22% lignin. Cellulose is a polymer of α-D-1,4-linked anhydrous glucose units, (C6H12O5 )n. Basically, the individual cellulose molecules are linked together to form elementary microfibrils, which, in turn are aggregated by intermolecular hydrogen bonding … Read more