To date, palm oil mills have generally complied with the 100ppm BOD requirement of POME discharged into a watercourse. However, the current 20ppm requirement by the Department of Environment (DOE) in some sensitive areas, especially those involving tourism activities in Sabah and Sarawak, is difficult to comply with due to uncertainties in the performance of existing technologies. POME generates biogas containing approximately 65% of methane. Methane has 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide; thus’ the free emissions of biogas into the atmosphere can adversely affect the sustainability and marketability of palm oil, especially in the biofuels sector. To improve the environment impact and promote a greener image of palm oil, the industry must be willingly to capture methane from POME ponds as part and parcel of the 3Ps involved in sustainability i.e. planet, people and profit.

Main Research: Dr Loh Soh Kheang