Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 11.1 Various palm mill wastes and their common uses
Sample no Type of waste residue
Uses
1
Fronds, trunks and leaves
Used as mulching material in the fields which helps in
moisture retention
Also used as roofing material and some are processed
as furniture
2
Empty fruit bunch (EFB)
As raw material for products, such as paneling,
composites, fine chemicals, pulp and paper as well as
compost and bio-fertilizer (Dashiny 2009 )
Main substrate for the cultivation of Pleurotus ostrea-
tus (Oyster mushroom) (Tabi et al. 2008 ; Rosnah et al.
2009 )
Most of it is just disposed off back into the fields as the
above uses are not in large scale
3
Palm press fibre (PPF)
Fuel for the mills
Used as a substrate for animal feed in addition to
soymeal, fishmeal
Used for making fiber boards
Polymeric composites for building materials referred
to as AGROLUMBER for products like wall panels,
sub-floors, doors and furniture parts (Malaysian Palm
Oil Board (MPOB) 2009 ; Dashiny 2009 )
Used as potting material for ornamental plants
Currently trials are on-going utilizing fibre + Pome for
vermicompositing
4
Decanter cake (DC)
Used as animal feed
Used in combination with inorganic fertilizer to
improve soil quality (Haron and Mohammed 2008 )
Currently on going work using dried, powdered
form of DC as biofertilizer for vegetable gardening
(Embrandiri 2013 )
5
Palm kernel cake(PKC)
Suitable as feedstock because it has 48 % carbohydrate
and 19 % protein (Kolade et al. 2005 )
6
Shells
Used mainly for fuel
7
Palm oil mill effluent
(POME)
Mainly used for Irrigation purposes but due to its
acidic nature is quite toxic to flora and hence needs to
be treated
In 2011, approximately 426 palm oil mills are working producing around 99.9 Mt
of FFBs year −1 (Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) 2012 ).
Palm oil mill effluent is a thick brownish liquid which comprises high solids,
grease and oil. The POME is source of organic waste and difficult to decomposes
in natural state, but it can be converted into a value added product with the help of
earthworms (Rupani et al. 2010 ). Palm oil mill effluent is categorized by brownish
colloidal suspension containing high concentrations of organic matter, amounts of
total solids (40,500 mg L −1 ), COD (50,000 mg L −1 ), oil and grease (4000 mg L −1 ),
BOD (25,000 mg L −1 ) and low pH between 4 and 5 (Ma 2000 ). The discharge of ef-
fluents and other by-products on the lands owes to environmental pollution. Hence,
there is necessity for an efficient management system for the treatment by-products.
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