Malaysia is the leading producer of palm oil with about 52% of the world’s palm oil production and 8.7% of world’s oil and fats production. To maintain the competitive edge of the industry, a number of strategies have been adopted, one of which is the zero-waste energy. This involved the conversion of oil palm residues, which is actually oil palm biomass, into value-added products, such as pulp and paper, and medium density fibreboard. Earlier collaborative research between GIRIS (Government Industrial Research Intitute, Shikoku) and PORIM, and quite recently between PORIM, FELDA and Oji Paper demonstrated that fibres from oil palm frond (OPF), oil palm trunk (OPT) and empty fruit bunches (EFB) could be used to produce pulp and paper of high quality.

Main Research: Kamarudin Hassan