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This study investigated the potential of using steam-exploded oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) as a renewable feedstock for producing fumaric acid (FA), a food additive widely used for flavor and preservation, through a separate hydrolysis and fermentation process using the fungal isolate K20. The efficiency of FA production by free and immobilized cells was compared. The maximum FA concentration (3.25 g/L), with 0.034 g/L/h productivity, was observed after incubation with the free cells for 96 h. Furthermore, the production was scaled up in a 3-L air-lift fermenter using oil palm EFB-derived glucose as the substrate. The FA concentration, yield, and productivity from 100 g/L initial oil palm EFB-derived glucose were 44 g/L, 0.39 g/g, and 0.41 g/L/h, respectively. The potential for scaling up the fermentation process indicates favorable results, which could have significant implications for industrial applications.

This review article provides a comprehensive summary of the chemical and biological approaches for pretreating empty fruit bunches (EFBs), a byproduct of the palm oil industry that can be used as a feedstock for biofuels and biochemicals. However, the presence of alkali metals and alkali earth metals (AAEMs) can reduce EFB quality and limit their usage. To improve EFB quality, acid washing and biological pretreatment methods are commonly used. The different types of acids used for washing, such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, and citric acid, are evaluated for their effects on EFB quality under various concentrations and washing conditions, and the pros and cons of each acid-washing method are discussed. Additionally, the application of biological pretreatment techniques, such as fermentation using fungi and bacteria, is explored to improve the quality of EFBs. The impact of different fermentation conditions and microbial strains on EFB quality is assessed, and the benefits and drawbacks of each biological pretreatment method are analyzed. This review article provides a comprehensive understanding of the acid washing and biological pretreatment methods for EFBs and their impact on feedstock quality. The knowledge gained from this research can be used to optimize the pretreatment process and increase the efficiency of EFB utilization, promoting the development of a sustainable and circular bioeconomy. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this research is to analyze the functional groups and the amount of energy in biocoke at different temperatures. Biocoke production is carried out simultaneously using pressure and heating methods. The Fourier transform infrared measurement range is 400–4000 cm−1, room temperature 18oC–25 °C, and humidity

In light of environmental issues, lignocellulosic empty fruit bunch (EFB) biomass is promoted as a carbon–neutral, environmentally friendly, and renewable alternative feedstock. A comprehensive environmental assessment of EFB biorefineries is critical for determining their sustainability in parallel with the bioeconomy policy. Nonetheless, no life cycle assessment (LCA) has been performed on co-producing food and biochemicals (furfural and glucose) derived from EFB biomass. This research is the first to evaluate the environmental performance of the furfural and glucose co-production processes from EFB biomass. Environmental analysis is conducted using a prospective gate-to-gate LCA for four impact categories, including global warming potential (GWP), acidification (ADP), eutrophication (EP), and human toxicity (HT). Aspen Plus is used to simulate the co-production process of furfural and glucose as well as generate mass and energy balances for LCA inventory data usage. The findings suggest that the environmental footprint in respect of GWP, ADP, EP, and HT is 4846.85 kg CO2 equivalent per ton EFB, 7.24 kg SO2 equivalent per ton EFB, 1.52 kg PO4 equivalent per ton EFB, and 2.62E-05 kg 1,4-DB equivalent per ton EFB, respectively. The normalized overall impact scores for GWP, ADP, EP, and HT are 1.16E-10, 2.28E-11, 6.12E-10, and 2.18E-17 years/ton of EFB, respectively. In summary, the proposed integrated plant is not only economically profitable but also environmentally sustainable. In the attempt to enhance the Malaysian economic sector based on the EFB, this study has the potential to serve as an indicator of the environmental sustainability of the palm oil industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review paper focuses on investigating the effectiveness of washing pretreatment in reducing slagging and fouling index during the combustion process of empty fruit bunches (EFB) materials. Slagging and fouling are common problems encountered in combustion systems that burn these types of materials for energy generation, leading to operational and maintenance issues. Washing pretreatment has emerged as a promising solution to mitigate these problems by removing undesirable chemical species from the biomass before combustion. This paper examines the existing literature on the effectiveness of washing pretreatment in reducing slagging and fouling index during the combustion process. The review covers various aspects, including washing methods, and combustion conditions used in previous studies. The review highlights that washing pretreatment can effectively reduce slagging and fouling index during the combustion process of EFBs. The paper also discusses the mechanisms behind the effectiveness of washing pretreatments, such as the removal of alkali and heavy metal compounds, and the reduction in ash content. Finally, the review paper provides recommendations for future research directions in this area. Overall, this study provides valuable insight into the factors, such as temperature, soak time, and water use, that can reduce slagging and fouling during the combustion process and have the potential to increase the effectiveness and dependability of energy generation systems. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is one of the problems arising from mining activities. Acid mine drainage is formed due to the oxidation of sulfide minerals such as pyrite (FeS2) by water and oxygen. Alternative management of AMD in a sustainable and eco-friendly way is constructed wetland. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the type and composition of potential organic matter that can improve AMD quality. The study consisted of three stages: a screening of organic matter, a combination of two organic matters, and a combination of cow manure and empty fruit bunches (EFB) in various compositions. Types of organic matters used are cow, goat, and chicken manure, three types of compost, EFB, sawdust, wood chips, chopped water hyacinth, cocopeat, fresh waste and compost waste cajuputi leaf, waste of citronella distillation, baglog waste, and bagasse. The results showed that several types of organic matter could increase the pH of AMD. The combination of EFB and cow manure with a ratio of 2:1 is the best result because it can increase pH, reduce dissolved heavy metals and sulfates, and availability of raw materials that are abundant in nature, especially in Indonesia.

The decline in fossil fuel sources has prompted research into finding renewable fuels. One of environmentally friendly energy sources with high efficiency is by producing liquid oil from palm oil empty fruit bunch (EFB) and coal. Pre-treatment of empty fruit bunches using NaOH and various concentrations of H2O2, various ratios of EFB/coal, the ratio of CaO catalyst, chemical and physical characteristics were studied to produce the better liquid oil yield. The H2O2 concentrations are 0%, 1%, 2%, and 3%. The ratios of EFB/coal (R) are 0/100, 25/75, 50/50, and 75/25. The ratios of catalyst CaO/raw material are 0%, 3%, 6%, and 9%. It ran at 400 °C with 100 mL/min nitrogen gas flowing during one hour. The results showed that adding sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide in the EFB pre-treatment increased the liquid oil yield. With an increase in the EFB/coal ratio, the liquid oil yield increased. Co-pyrolysis treated EFB and Coal with a ratio of 75:25 produced 32% liquid oil yield, but the liquid oil yield decreased to 19% with the addition of 9% CaO catalyst. However, the addition of CaO catalyst reduces the acidity and increases the calorific value of the liquid oil.

Used plastic in the form of polybags in the rehabilitation of plantation and agricultural land takes a very long time to be degraded naturally by sunlight (photodegradation) and soil microorganisms (biodegradation). One way to overcome this deficiency is to make bio polybags that function as nursery containers. This research aims to make biopolybags from empty fruit bunches (EFB) more environmentally friendly because they are easily decomposed into natural fertilizers for plants. The research was carried out from June to September 2021 at The Processing Technology Laboratory and Material Laboratory, LPP Polytechnic. Bio polybag is made in several stages, i.e. grinding, mixing of materials and adhesives, shaping, drying and mechanical testings. Mechanical tests carried out are compressive tests, tensile strength tests, and hardness tests, and to confirm the results, a density test was performed. Each mechanical property test was repeated three times. The samples represent each variation of the variables. The best bio polybag result is the bio polybag of EFB, which is reinforced by a 6 g rice husk filler with a tapioca adhesive of a measure of 20%. The highest test value obtained is: 1,495 kg.cm-2 for press strength value; 404,46 kgf.cm-2 (39,67 MPa) for tensile strength; and 63,99 HV for hardness value. The existence of this bio polybag is expected to replace the plastic that is difficult to degrade because it can decompose quickly, is more practical to be planted directly, and does not cause root damage during seedling.

The availability of the raw materials needed to produce fibre is decreasing as demand for fibre increases over time. In an effort, to preserve natural biodiversity and improve waste management, this research aims to substitute available raw materials for wood fibres. Empty fruit bunch (EFB) is regarded as waste in the oil palm industry and is abundantly available as a renewable energy source, particularly in Southeast Asian countries. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the utilisation of EFB as a substitute for insulating paper in transformers. The morphology, degree of polymerization, tensile strength, thermal characteristics, permittivity, conductivity, and electrical properties (breakdown field strength and lightning impulse performance) of EFB were measured and compared to the properties of Kraft insulating paper. Using FESEM at a magnification of $500\times $ , the morphological properties were examined. Based on FTIR measurement, the chemical bonding between Kraft and EFB samples varied slightly. Compared to EFB, Kraft-pulped insulating paper has a higher degree of polymerization and the ability to endure high temperatures. Furthermore, the breakdown field strength performance demonstrates that Kraft insulating paper is 20.30% higher than EFB insulating paper. In terms of tensile strength and lightning impulse, EFB insulating paper demonstrated comparable performance to conventional insulating paper. A new approach to the manufacturing of EFB insulating paper could result in improvements to the material’s insulation qualities.

Presence of toxic dyes in industrial wastewaters deteriorates the environment. Wastewater pollution control using locally obtainable agricultural by-products could be an eco-friendly and sustainable strategy. Efficiencies of activated carbons (AC) developed from empty fruit bunches (EFB) and mesocarp fibers (MF) of oil palm were evaluated in methylene blue (MB) and Acid orange 10 (AO10) dyes removal. Impacts of operational parameters including adsorbent dose, pH, initial concentration of dyes, and contact time were examined on dyes adsorption. Maximum adsorption values of MB (24.00 mg/g) and AO10 (18.76 mg/g) were achieved at pH 2 and 3, respectively, 50 mg/L initial dyes concentration, adsorbents dosage of 5 g/L, and 90 min contact time. Evaluation of adsorption isotherms revealed that the Freundlich model provided the best fit to the empirical data (R2 ≥ 0.692). MB isotherm through MF, however, was better represented by Langmuir model (R2 = 0.979). MF activated carbon showed higher capacity in immobilization of both dyes probably due to its larger surface area (552.72 m2/g) and porosity (0.4458 cm3/g). Dye adsorption on to the activated carbons go along with pseudo-second order kinetic model.

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is one of the problems arising from mining activities. Acid mine drainage is formed due to the oxidation of sulfide minerals such as pyrite (FeS2) by water and oxygen. An alternative treatment of AMD in a sustainable and eco-friendly way is by constructing a wetland. This study was conducted to select the best composition of organic matter capable of treating acid mine drainage to comply with environmental quality standards. The study consisted of three stages, namely; a screening of organic matter, a combination of two organic matters, and a combination of cow manure and empty fruit bunches (EFB) in various compositions. Types of organic matter used are cow, goat, and chicken manure. Three types of compost, EFB, sawdust, wood chips, chopped water hyacinth, cocopeat, fresh waste, and compost waste cajuputi leaf, waste of citronella distillation, baglog waste, and bagasse. The results showed that several types of organic matter could increase the pH of AMD. The combination of EFB and cow manure with a ratio of 2:1 was the best composition of organic matter with the highest pH and the lowest dissolved heavy metals and sulfates in accordance with the established quality standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the poor physical properties of raw bio-oil from pyrolysis, in this work reactive distillation was used to upgrade vaporized bio-oil from selected co-pyrolysis of palm kernel shell and palm empty fruit bunches at 75%/25% mixing ratio by using 10%Ni/HZSM-5 catalyst and ethanol at various reboiler temperatures. In the pyrolysis process, the feed temperature (biooil vapor and non-condensable gas) was in the range between 35 and 230 °C. The reboiler temperature not only influenced the separation of heavy oil from raw bio-oil, which would help minimize catalyst deactivation, but also possibly affected contact time of reactants with catalyst via the residence time. The vaporized bio-oil was upgraded by esterification and acetalization reactions producing levulinic acid ethyl ester, nonanoic acid ethyl ester, and 1,1-diethoxyethane. The physical characteristics density, kinematic viscosity, water content, and pH were improved from those of the raw bio-oil.

By-products such as oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB), palm kernel cake, and sawdust can be used as alternative feed. It contains nutrients needed by ruminants but is constrained by its high crude fiber content, including lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose, and is low in protein. This study was conducted to evaluate the physical characteristics of the fermented media from plantation by-products using Pleurotus ostreotus as an alternative to ruminant animal feed. The experimental design was a completely randomized (CRD) with 3'3 factorial patterns with three replications. Factor A was the type of substrate, namely palm kernel cake, EFB, and acacia sawdust. Factor B was the length of fermentation, namely 0, 30, and 60 d. The data collected were analyzed by variance (ANOVA), and the results were significantly different. The observed variables were the mycelium growth rate, media weight, dry matter, organic matter, particle size, specific gravity, pile density, and compacted pile density. We conclude that the fermented sawdust gave the best growth speed of the P. ostreotus mycelia. The palm kernel cake substrate without storage showed good physical quality concerning particle size, pile density, and pile-compaction density. P. ostreotus fungus grew effectively and did not negatively impact the substrates' biomass, dry matter, and organic matter. Different substrate types give different physical characteristics to the P. ostreotus-fermented media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the potential of using steam-exploded oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) as a renewable feedstock for producing fumaric acid (FA), a food additive widely used for flavor and preservation, through a separate hydrolysis and fermentation process using the fungal isolate K20. The efficiency of FA production by free and immobilized cells was compared. The maximum FA concentration (3.25 g/L), with 0.034 g/L/h productivity, was observed after incubation with the free cells for 96 h. Furthermore, the production was scaled up in a 3-L air-lift fermenter using oil palm EFB-derived glucose as the substrate. The FA concentration, yield, and productivity from 100 g/L initial oil palm EFB-derived glucose were 44 g/L, 0.39 g/g, and 0.41 g/L/h, respectively. The potential for scaling up the fermentation process indicates favorable results, which could have significant implications for industrial applications., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2024 Boondaeng et al.)

In this study, the non-oxidative torrefaction of oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) pellets was investigated from 250 to 300 °C for 30 min in a horizontal fixed bed tubular reactor. The effects of the selected conditions on the yields, distributions and fuel characteristics of the torrefaction products were examined. The mass or solid yield (MY) decreased from 68.1 to 36.2%, whereas the liquid yield (LY) and gas yield (GY) increased from 19.4–40.1% and 12.5–23.7%, respectively, due to drying, devolatilization and depolymerisation during torrefaction. Physicochemical and calorific analyses showed that the torrefied OPEFB pellets have high carbon but low oxygen contents, which accounts for the high heating values (HHV = 22.83–25.81 MJ/kg). The torrefied OPEFB pellets also exhibit lower moisture (2–4%) and volatile matter (34.38–65.31 wt.%) but high ash (4–20 wt.%) and fixed carbon (28.69–41.62 wt.%) compared to the raw pellets. The OPEFB pellet fuel properties, namely pH that ranged from 6.65 to 7.74, hydrophobicity from 100 to 23.04% and grindability from 53.66 to 108, were markedly enhanced after torrefaction at 300 °C. The LY consisted of organics (67.64–62.62%) and water (32.36–37.38%) fractions characterised by high acidity (pH = 2.89–3.22) and dark hues formed by holocellulose and lignin thermal degradation at higher torrefaction temperatures. Based on the findings, the torrefied OPEFB pellets is a highly grindable, hydrophobic, thermally stable and promising solid biofuel for firing, co-firing or substituting coal in power plants provided the existing challenges that affect global biomass supply chains are addressed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The valorisation of oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) in the palm oil industry is hampered by major challenges due to its poor fuel properties, which require comprehensive characterisation and pre-treatment. This paper presents an overview of the various technologies currently employed for the fuel characterisation and pre-treatment of OPEFB in the literature. Furthermore, the paper presents the current challenges and prospects of OPEFB characterisation and pre-treatment techniques. The reviews indicate that OPEFB characterisation studies in the literature are limited to the chemical, thermal, kinetic, and thermodynamic fuel properties. The authors opine that future characterisation studies are required to examine the physical, morphological, and microstructural properties of OPEFB. The paper also notes that drying, size reduction, and pelletisation are the most common pre-treatment techniques for OPEFB. The various characterisation and pre-treatment techniques highlighted are prone to various limitations, which indicate that more effective strategies are required to save the energy, time, and cost for future OPEFB valorisation. The design, implementation, or adoption of hybrid biomass pre-treatment and conversion systems could effectively address the issues of poor OPEFB fuel properties, operational challenges, and product distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the effect of wet torrefaction using conventional acid digestion vessel at three different temperatures (i.e., 180, 210, and 240 °C for 3.0 hours) and three different residence times (i.e., 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 hours at 240 °C) onto the physicochemical, phase, and fuel properties as well as minerals content of EFB and OPT are evaluated. In both EFB and OPT cases, increasing temperature from 180 to 240 °C at 3 hours residence time and increasing residence time from 2 to 3 hours at 240 °C led to the reduction in the mass yield and an increase in the energy density. Generally, OPT hydrochar has lower mass yield relative to that of EFB. Van Krevelen diagram analysis reveals that EFB and OPT experienced dehydration and decarboxylation reactions. Such reactions reflect the occurrence of hemicellulose and partial cellulose decomposition during wet torrefaction as indicated by the changes in the intensities of several FTIR bands as a function of temperature and residence time and also by the changes in the intensities of the three XRD peaks at 2θ of 15.5, 22.7, and 34.6o representing crystalline cellulose phase when subjected to wet torrefaction at 240 °C for 3 hours. XRD peak analysis also indicates the presence of Si, Mg, and CaCO3 in the original and wet torrefied EFB and OPT. XRF results show that wet torrefaction at up to 240 °C for 3 hours can effectively remove K, Ca, and Cl from EFB and OPT and maintain S content at below 3 wt.%, which may partially resolve the slagging and agglomeration problems related to the EFB and OPT use in boiler as well as their SOx emission issue upon combustion.

Public awareness of the importance of natural food colorants is increasing. Carotenoids are a coloring agent that is widely used for food applications to give a yellow, orange, or red color to food products. Natural carotenoids can be produced by extraction from various sources, such as carrots and palm oil, or from algae and fungi. Oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) as the biomass waste of palm oil industry may contain carotenoid residue so that extraction of OPEFB constitutes the crucial step in carotenoid production. The effects of the solvent used for the extraction as well as the size of different parts of OPEFB on the obtained carotenoid were evaluated. The experiments were performed by Soxhlet extraction using n-hexane, ethanol, and isopropyl alcohol as solvents at the boiling point of each solvent. The ratio of OPEFB to solvent was 1:60 (w/v) with variation of OPEFB size. The results showed that the optimum carotene concentration was obtained from extraction using n-hexane on 5-cm OPEFB spikelets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our heavy reliance on chemical fertilizers for agricultural practices has fostered the development of a vast industry that is producing chemicals that are toxic not only for humans but also for the environment. Biofertilizers are microbial formulations containing native plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPM) which have the potential to enhance plant growth either directly or indirectly by producing different types of phytohormones, iron-binding metabolites (siderophores), and solubilizing soil nutrients and minerals. The positive impacts on crop growth and development were documented by many researchers while using biofertilizers. Thus, biofertilizers offer enormous promise for sustainable agriculture, particularly in the face of climate change. Despite the growing interest in this technology, its entire potential remains untapped. This review collectively describes the potential use of empty fruit bunches (EFB) biomass as a biofertilizer for sustainable agricultural practices and the roles of plant growth-promoting microbes (PGPM) in plant growth and development. Attempts were also made to give insights into the oil palm industry in Malaysia and the nutrient profile of EFB biomass. We concluded that more research, fund and development activities are needed to improve traits of beneficial microbes that will potentially enhance the biological pathway of different biocompounds production and find solutions for the current issues related to converting EFB biomass into biofertilizers.

Lignocellulose-rich empty fruit bunches (EFBs) have high potential as feedstock for second-generation biofuel and biochemical production without compromising food security. Nevertheless, the major challenge of valorizing lignocellulose-rich EFB is its high pretreatment cost. In this study, the preliminary techno-economic feasibility of expanding an existing pellet production plant into an integrated bio-refinery plant to produce xylitol and bioethanol was investigated as a strategy to diversify the high production cost and leverage the high selling price of biofuel and biochemicals. The EFB feedstock was split into a pellet production stream and a xylitol and bioethanol production stream. Different economic performance metrics were used to compare the profitability at different splitting ratios of xylitol and bioethanol to pellet production. The analysis showed that an EFB splitting ratio below 40% for pellet production was economically feasible. A sensitivity analysis showed that xylitol price had the most significant impact on the economic performance metrics. Another case study on the coproduction of pellet and xylitol versus that of pellet and bioethanol concluded that cellulosic bioethanol production is yet to be market-ready, requiring a minimum selling price above the current market price to be feasible at 16% of the minimum acceptable return rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of zinc sulfate as a catalyst on the pyrolysis of empty fruit bunches (EFB) from oil palm was assessed. Thus, a thermo-gravimetric analyzer coupled with a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR) was used, while the percentage of catalyst varied between 0 wt% and 3 wt% at different heating rates (10, 30, and 50 K/min). The kinetic parameters (activation energy, pre-exponential factor, and reaction order) and activation energy distribution were calculated using three kinetic models. The thermogravimetric curves for the EFB pyrolysis showed three prominent peaks in which the maximum mass loss rate was mainly due to cellulose and lignin pyrolysis. On the other hand, FTIR analysis indicated that the main gaseous products were CO2, CO, H2O, CH4, NH3, acids, and aldehydes (CH3COOH). The samples with 2 wt% of catalyst presented higher activation energies in pseudo reactions 1 and 2, ranging between 181,500 kJ/mol–184,000 kJ/mol and 165,200 kJ/mol–165,600 kJ/mol, respectively. It was highlighted that the first pseudo reaction with an activation energy range between 179,500 kJ/mol and 184,000 kJ/mol mainly contributes to the cellulose pyrolysis, and the second pseudo reaction (165,200 kJ/mol–165,600 kJ/mol) could be ascribed to the hemicellulose pyrolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lignocellulose-rich empty fruit bunches (EFBs) have high potential as feedstock for second-generation biofuel and biochemical production without compromising food security. Nevertheless, the major challenge of valorizing lignocellulose-rich EFB is its high pretreatment cost. In this study, the preliminary techno-economic feasibility of expanding an existing pellet production plant into an integrated bio-refinery plant to produce xylitol and bioethanol was investigated as a strategy to diversify the high production cost and leverage the high selling price of biofuel and biochemicals. The EFB feedstock was split into a pellet production stream and a xylitol and bioethanol production stream. Different economic performance metrics were used to compare the profitability at different splitting ratios of xylitol and bioethanol to pellet production. The analysis showed that an EFB splitting ratio below 40% for pellet production was economically feasible. A sensitivity analysis showed that xylitol price had the most significant impact on the economic performance metrics. Another case study on the coproduction of pellet and xylitol versus that of pellet and bioethanol concluded that cellulosic bioethanol production is yet to be market-ready, requiring a minimum selling price above the current market price to be feasible at 16% of the minimum acceptable return rate.

The effect of zinc sulfate as a catalyst on the pyrolysis of empty fruit bunches (EFB) from oil palm was assessed. Thus, a thermo-gravimetric analyzer coupled with a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR) was used, while the percentage of catalyst varied between 0 wt% and 3 wt% at different heating rates (10, 30, and 50 K/min). The kinetic parameters (activation energy, pre-exponential factor, and reaction order) and activation energy distribution were calculated using three kinetic models. The thermogravimetric curves for the EFB pyrolysis showed three prominent peaks in which the maximum mass loss rate was mainly due to cellulose and lignin pyrolysis. On the other hand, FTIR analysis indicated that the main gaseous products were CO2, CO, H2O, CH4, NH3, acids, and aldehydes (CH3COOH). The samples with 2 wt% of catalyst presented higher activation energies in pseudo reactions 1 and 2, ranging between 181,500 kJ/mol–184,000 kJ/mol and 165,200 kJ/mol–165,600 kJ/mol, respectively. It was highlighted that the first pseudo reaction with an activation energy range between 179,500 kJ/mol and 184,000 kJ/mol mainly contributes to the cellulose pyrolysis, and the second pseudo reaction (165,200 kJ/mol–165,600 kJ/mol) could be ascribed to the hemicellulose pyrolysis.

Palm oil production results in many valuable products, but it also generates agricultural wastes such as empty fruit bunch (EFB). EFB composting usually produces nutrient-enriched bio-fertilisers and thus, able to help in reducing the chemical fertilisers applied. Most conventional vegetable farmers in Malaysia solely depend on chemical fertilisers in crop production. However, the intensive use of chemical fertilisers has led to various side effects. Thus, this study was to determine the effect on the growth of choy sum by reducing the dosage of chemical fertiliser with EFB compost as soil amendments. Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) methods were used in this study. The fresh weight, dry weight and plant height of the choy sum were found to be not significantly different among all the treatments (T1 – T4) and positive control. This study found that T4 with 30% lesser chemical fertiliser applied showed no significant growth difference with the rest of the treatments indicating that EFB may have the ability to help in reducing chemical fertiliser usage in the growth of choy sum. Further study is recommended as this will help in better EFB waste management and lowering the cost of production for local vegetables.

A simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) optimization process was carried out on pretreated empty fruit bunches (EFBs) by employing the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). EFBs were treated using sequential acid-alkali pretreatment and analyzed physically by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The findings revealed that the pretreatment had changed the morphology and the EFBs’ structure. Then, the optimum combination of enzymes and microbes for bioethanol production was screened. Results showed that the combination of S. cerevisiae and T. harzianum and enzymes (cellulase and β-glucosidase) produced the highest bioethanol concentration with 11.76 g/L and a bioethanol yield of 0.29 g/g EFB using 4% (w/v) treated EFBs at 30 °C for 72 h. Next, the central composite design (CCD) of RSM was employed to optimize the SSF parameters of fermentation time, temperature, pH, and inoculum concentration for higher yield. The analysis of optimization by CCD predicted that 9.72 g/L of bioethanol (0.46 g/g ethanol yield, 90.63% conversion efficiency) could be obtained at 72 h, 30 °C, pH 4.8, and 6.79% (v/v) of inoculum concentration using 2% (w/v) treated EFBs. Results showed that the fermentation process conducted using the optimized conditions produced 9.65 g/L of bioethanol, 0.46 g/g ethanol yield, and 89.56% conversion efficiency, which was in close proximity to the predicted CCD model.

A simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) optimization process was carried out on pretreated empty fruit bunches (EFBs) by employing the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). EFBs were treated using sequential acid-alkali pretreatment and analyzed physically by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The findings revealed that the pretreatment had changed the morphology and the EFBs' structure. Then, the optimum combination of enzymes and microbes for bioethanol production was screened. Results showed that the combination of S. cerevisiae and T. harzianum and enzymes (cellulase and β-glucosidase) produced the highest bioethanol concentration with 11.76 g/L and a bioethanol yield of 0.29 g/g EFB using 4% (w/v) treated EFBs at 30 °C for 72 h. Next, the central composite design (CCD) of RSM was employed to optimize the SSF parameters of fermentation time, temperature, pH, and inoculum concentration for higher yield. The analysis of optimization by CCD predicted that 9.72 g/L of bioethanol (0.46 g/g ethanol yield, 90.63% conversion efficiency) could be obtained at 72 h, 30 °C, pH 4.8, and 6.79% (v/v) of inoculum concentration using 2% (w/v) treated EFBs. Results showed that the fermentation process conducted using the optimized conditions produced 9.65 g/L of bioethanol, 0.46 g/g ethanol yield, and 89.56% conversion efficiency, which was in close proximity to the predicted CCD model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks such as empty fruit bunches (EFBs) prove to be potential renewable resources owing to their abundance, low prices, and high carbohydrate contents. Generally, the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into chemicals, fuels, and materials mainly includes pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation, and recovery of final products. To increase the economic viability of such processes, the cost of cellulase production and enzymatic hydrolysis should be reduced. For this, recycling cellulase can be considered for reducing the saccharification cost of lignocellulose. In this study, cellulase recycling for high-solids enzymatic hydrolysis (i.e., 20%) was evaluated in saccharification of hydrothermally-pretreated EFBs. Results High-solids (20%) enzymatic hydrolysis of hydrothermally-pretreated empty fruit bunches with 40 FPU of Cellic CTec3/g glucan was carried out for cellulase recycling. In the second round of hydrolysis using a recycled enzyme, only 19.3% of glucose yield was obtained. The most important limiting factors for cellulase recycling of this study were identified as the enzyme inhibition by glucose, the loss of enzyme activities, and the non-productive binding of enzymes to insoluble biomass solids. To overcome these limitations, PEG was added prior to the first-round hydrolysis to reduce non-productive enzyme binding, glucose was removed from the enzyme fraction to be reused in the second-round hydrolysis, and EFB solids from the first-round hydrolysis were used in the second-round hydrolysis. These three additional measures with cellulase recycling resulted in a 3.5 times higher glucose yield (i.e., 68.0%) at the second round than that of the control, the second-round hydrolysis with cellulase recycling but without these measures. Conclusions Because of the high obstacles found in this study in achieving high saccharification yields in the high-solids saccharification of high-lignin lignocellulose with cellulase recycling, effective measures for improving enzymatic saccharification yields need to be accompanied with cellulase recycling.

Empty fruit bunches (EFB), which are wastes from fresh palm fruit bunches, are one of organic wastes from palm oil processing industries as much as 23% of the total production. The utilization of this waste, which has a high economic value, is still not optimum although it has been used as a boiler fuel. In fact, EFB has a high economic value if processed further. The EFB as a waste can be processed using hydrolysis method to obtain its pentosan content and changed into furfural with the addition of acid as a catalyst. The objectives of this research are to find out the optimum yield on the sulfuric acid concentration and the effects of the power of microwaves used on hydrolysis process of EFB. On this hydrolysis process, 10 grams of EFB was added with 250ml of sulfuric acid with the variations of 3%, 6%, 9%, 12%, 15%, and 18%, and microwave was used with the power variations of 400W, 600W, and 800W for 75 minutes. The analysis method used in this study to determine the furfural contentis Gas Chromatography (GC). The results showed the highest furfural content was obtained at H2SO4 concentration of 9% with 800W power on the microwave and the concentration of 0.39 mg/mL and furfural yield of 0.9620%.

Insects offer a promising alternative source of protein to mitigate the environmental consequences of conventional livestock farming. Larvae of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens; Linnaeus, 1758) efficiently convert a variety of organic side streams and residues into valuable proteins, lipids, and chitin. Here, we evaluated the suitability of two palm oil industry side streams—empty fruit bunches (EFB) and palm kernel meal (PKM)—as larval feed, and their impact on the larval gut microbiome. Among 69 fungal species we screened, Marasmius palmivorus, Irpex consors, and Bjerkandera adusta achieved the fastest growth and lignin degradation, so these fungi were used for the pretreatment of 7:3 mixtures of EFB and PKM. Larvae reared on the mixture pretreated with B. adusta (BAD) developed significantly more quickly and reached a higher final weight than those reared on the other pretreatments or the non-fermented reference (NFR). Amplicon sequencing of the BAD and NFR groups revealed major differences in the larval gut microbiome. The NFR group was dominated by facultatively anaerobic Enterobacteriaceae (typical of H. illucens larvae) whereas the BAD group favored obligately anaerobic, cellulolytic bacteria (Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae). We hypothesize that fungal lignin degradation led to an accumulation of mycelia and subsequent cellulolytic breakdown of fiber residues, thus improving substrate digestibility.

We conducted a study to determine the response of Late Valencia sweet orange to organic and inorganic fertilizer application for two seasons in the semi-deciduous forest agro-ecological zone of Ghana. The experiment which was conducted in a randomized complete block design with four replications consisted of six treatments: (1) 9 t/ha oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB); (2) 4 t/ha poultry manure (PM); (3) NPKZn (90 kg/ha N, 60 kg/ha P, 80 kg/ha K and 4.8 kg/ha Zn); (4) 0.5 EFB (4.5 t/ha) + 0.5 NPKZn (45 kg/ha N, 30 kg/ha P, 40 kg/ha K and 2.40 kg/ha Zn); (5) 0.5 PM (2 t/ha) + 0.5 NPKZn (45 kg/ha N, 30 kg/ha P, 40 kg/ha K and 2.40 kg/ha Zn) and (6) Control. In the 2019 harvest season, the treatment PM+NPKZn recorded the highest yield of 14.7 t/ha while the control recorded the least yield (6.4 t/ha). In the 2020 harvest season, fruit yield ranged from 17.3 t/ha with the NPKZn treated plots to 28.8 t/ha with the EFB treated plots. Economic analysis showed that for the five fertilizer application treatments, the highest benefit/cost ratio was attained with the EFB treatment for the two harvesting seasons combined. Fertilization did not significantly affect leaf nutrient content 253 days after application. However, leaf nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) contents were generally higher 253 days after fertilizer application than the initial levels while phosphorus (P) level did not change. The study suggests the need for farmers to adopt the use of organic wastes as a soil fertility management practice for citrus while at the same time ensuring timely control of diseases to reduce fruit drop and improve fruit yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insects offer a promising alternative source of protein to mitigate the environmental consequences of conventional livestock farming. Larvae of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens; Linnaeus, 1758) efficiently convert a variety of organic side streams and residues into valuable proteins, lipids, and chitin. Here, we evaluated the suitability of two palm oil industry side streams—empty fruit bunches (EFB) and palm kernel meal (PKM)—as larval feed, and their impact on the larval gut microbiome. Among 69 fungal species we screened, Marasmius palmivorus, Irpex consors, and Bjerkandera adusta achieved the fastest growth and lignin degradation, so these fungi were used for the pretreatment of 7:3 mixtures of EFB and PKM. Larvae reared on the mixture pretreated with B. adusta (BAD) developed significantly more quickly and reached a higher final weight than those reared on the other pretreatments or the non-fermented reference (NFR). Amplicon sequencing of the BAD and NFR groups revealed major differences in the larval gut microbiome. The NFR group was dominated by facultatively anaerobic Enterobacteriaceae (typical of H. illucens larvae) whereas the BAD group favored obligately anaerobic, cellulolytic bacteria (Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae). We hypothesize that fungal lignin degradation led to an accumulation of mycelia and subsequent cellulolytic breakdown of fiber residues, thus improving substrate digestibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presence of toxic dyes in industrial wastewaters deteriorates the environment. Wastewater pollution control using locally obtainable agricultural by-products could be an eco-friendly and sustainable strategy. Efficiencies of activated carbons (AC) developed from empty fruit bunches (EFB) and mesocarp fibers (MF) of oil palm were evaluated in methylene blue (MB) and Acid orange 10 (AO10) dyes removal. Impacts of operational parameters including adsorbent dose, pH, initial concentration of dyes, and contact time were examined on dyes adsorption. Maximum adsorption values of MB (24.00 mg/g) and AO10 (18.76 mg/g) were achieved at pH 2 and 3, respectively, 50 mg/L initial dyes concentration, adsorbents dosage of 5 g/L, and 90 min contact time. Evaluation of adsorption isotherms revealed that the Freundlich model provided the best fit to the empirical data (R 2 ≥ 0.692). MB isotherm through MF, however, was better represented by Langmuir model (R 2 = 0.979). MF activated carbon showed higher capacity in immobilization of both dyes probably due to its larger surface area (552.72 m2/g) and porosity (0.4458 cm3/g). Dye adsorption on to the activated carbons go along with pseudo-second order kinetic model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empty fruit bunches (EFBs) are an agro-industrial residue discarded in the environment when the fresh palm fruits are removed for oil extraction. EFBs are abundant in palm-oil-producing countries and cause environmental problems. Besides their content in lignocellulosic, EFBs also contain amounts of residual lipids from the separation process. Because the palm fruit has two main types of oil from the pulp (palm oil) or the seeds (kernal oil), the residual EFBs lipids may have different compositions. Thus, this work aimed at characterizing the lignocellulosic content and the residual lipids in two EFBs from different palm oil producers. The EFBs were classified as Type 1 and Type 2 according to their source. The results showed that Type 1 EFBs had higher lignocellulosic and fatty acid compositions, similar to palm and kernel oils, while Type 2 EFBs had lower lignocellulosic content and fatty acid composition, similar to palm oil.

Although isobutanol has been successfully produced from glucose-based media by various microbes, only a few studies have reported isobutanol production from lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, the feasibility of producing isobutanol from hydrothermally-pretreated empty fruit bunches (EFBs) was analyzed. Firstly, the Escherichia coli JK209 strain was constructed; subsequently, optimal fermentation conditions for isobutanol production using this strain were determined. Next, the raw EFBs were hydrothermally pretreated at 190 °C for 15 min, and the pretreated EFBs were hydrolyzed using 10 FPU of cellulase/g glucan. Finally, the resulting hydrolysate was fermented at 25 °C for 84 h, and isobutanol give rise to the yield of 0.26 g isobutanol/g glucose. These results imply that 80.1 g of isobutanol could be produced from 1 kg dry weight of EFBs. To our knowledge, this is the first feasibility study of isobutanol production from pretreated EFBs. Image 1 • Isobutanol was produced from empty fruit bunches (EFBs). • EFBs were hydrothermally pretreated and were hydrolyzed using a cellulase. • EFB hydrolysate was fermented to produce isobutanol using an engineered E. coli. • By using this process, 80.1 g of isobutanol could be produced from 1 kg of EFBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second‐generation bioethanol production process was developed using pretreated empty fruit bunches (EFB). Consecutive acid/alkali EFB pretreatment was performed, first with HCl and then with NaOH with final washing steps for phenolic compounds elimination. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that EFB chemical treatments indeed attacked the cellulose fibers and removed the silica from surface pores. The optimization of enzymatic hydrolysis of EFB's cellulosic fraction was performed with 0.5%–4% v/v of Cellic® CTec2/Novozymes, different EFB concentrations (5%–15%, w/v), and hydrolysis time (6–72 H). Optimization essays were carried out in Erlenmeyer flasks and also in a 1 L stirred tank reactor. After enzymatic hydrolysis, a hydrolysate with 66 g/L of glucose was achieved with 2.2% (v/v) Cellic® CTec2, 15% (m/v) acid/alkaline pretreated EFB after 39 H of hydrolysis. A gain of 11.2% was then obtained in the 1 L stirred tank promoted by the agitation (72.2 g/L glucose). The hydrolysate was employed in bioethanol production by a new isolate Candida pelliculosa CCT 7734 in a separate hydrolysis and fermentation process reaching 16.6 and 23.0 g/L of bioethanol through batch and fed‐batch operation, respectively. An integrated biorefinery process was developed for EFB processing chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil palm waste from South Sumatra may represent an abundant source of biochar for beneficial agronomic use in Australian broad-acre farming systems. Here a cost–benefit analysis and carbon footprint of biochar applied to three different Australian broad-acre crops are presented, covering application rates of between 1 and 40 Mg ha−1 and considering either the effect of the biochar on yield or the effect of the biochar on reduced fertilizer requirement. Yield and nutrient efficiency effects are assumed to be constant across all crops. Analysis reveals that empty fruit bunch biochar could be produced in South Sumatra and transported to the farm gate in Australia at a minimum acceptable sale price per Mg of USD $266 to the biochar manufacturer. Despite assumed uniformity of the biochar effect, the return on investment for the biochar user from the perspective of yield increase varied significantly by crop (sugarcane: 67% return on investment [ROI], irrigated cotton: 43% ROI, dry land cotton: −22% ROI, wheat: −72% ROI). The study found that the average carbon footprint in CO2e over 100 years was −691 kg Mg−1 biochar when used to influence crop yield, and −286 kg Mg−1 biochar when used to reduce fertilizer requirements.

Oil palm plantations in Indonesia have reached 16.31 million hectares, distributed over various types of soil, including sandy soil. Specific cultivation technology is needed to manage this soil to find profitable oil palm productivity. This study aims to reveal the role of Nephrolepis biserrata as understorey in the performance oil palm yield on sandy soil. The study was carried out in a 14-year-old oil palm plantation, the observations were conducted on mineral soil and sandy soils, both of which were overgrown with N. biserrata, and mineral soils without this vegetation, each trial represented by three estate blocks. Yield performance is indicated by the number of fresh fruit bunches (FFB), FFB weight, and total FFB weight. The results of the study revealed that FFB production in sandy soil + N. biserrata (2.089 ton/ha/month) is higher than mineral soil - N. biserrata (1.963 ton/ha/month). However, the yield rate is still below to mineral soil +N. biserrata (2.299 tons/ha/ month). However, the number and weight of FFB (0.858 FFB/palm/month and 18.032 kg/FFB) in sandy soil + N. biserrata showed no significant difference compared to mineral soil +N. biserrata (0.850 FFB/palm/month and 20.700 kg/FFB). It is also revealed that the use of N. biserrata can improve the stability of the oil palm yield performance between estate blocks on mineral or sandy soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrothermal pretreatment of biomass can improve fuel characteristics based on the decomposition properties of subcritical water. Thus, this study used a hydrothermal treatment to improve the fuel characteristics of empty fruit bunches (EFBs), which are generated as waste after palm oil extraction. The experimental reaction temperature was increased from 180 °C to 250 °C at an interval of 10 °C and the mass ratios between the dry sample and water content were set to 1:8 and 1:16 so that the sample was sufficiently immersed. Additionally, the material properties of EFB under hydrothermal treatment conditions were investigated using mass and energy yields, elemental analysis, proximate analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, derivative thermogravimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis of the reaction products. As the reaction temperature increased, the fixed carbon content and heating value increased because volatile matter, including oxygen, was removed first, which is similar characteristics to coal. All analyses revealed that the water content exhibited little influence on EFB material properties since the samples were sufficiently immersed in water. Thus, it is not necessary to add more water that required for sample immersion for the hydrothermal treatment of EFB.

Empty fruit bunches (EFB) have great potential to be used as a renewable fuel. Its current low rate of utilization due to high moisture content and low calorific value (CV) can be overcome via a thermal pretreatment, i.e., torrefaction. This study investigated the effects of torrefaction temperature (225, 250, 275, and 300 °C), residence time (20, 40, and 60 min) and particle size (< 106, 106–250, and 500–700 μm) on EFB's final product distribution and their characteristics in a fixed bed. Structural and thermal properties of the torrefied EFB at different temperatures were determined. Optimum temperature to produce torrefied EFB was identified at 225 °C, while optimum residence time and particle size were 20 min and 500–700 μm, respectively, for a maximum mass (90.3 wt.%) and energy (98.8%) yields. The mass and energy yields of torrefied EFB decreased with increasing temperature and residence time, but increased with increasing particle size of EFB. It was found that the torrefaction temperature had the greatest influence on mass and energy yields of torrefied EFB compared with residence time and particle size. In addition, the study revealed that moisture content had reduced, and carbon content increased with an increasing torrefaction temperature, but those of the O/C ratio, and H and O contents decreased, resulting in an improved CV up to 24.6 MJ kg−1 from its raw form of 17.6 MJ kg−1. The findings obtained are useful for future upscaling of EFB-based solid fuel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Methane production from SS-AD of empty fruit bunches (EFB) was investigated. • Liquid AD sludge was better than solid AD sludge for EFB degradation. • Methane production from EFB with L-AD sludge was 54 m3 CH 4 tonne−1 EFB. • Methane production from EFB with S-AD sludge was 39 m3 tonne−1 EFB. • Liquid AD digested was suitable inoculum for SS-AD of EFB for biogas production. Abstract Methane production from solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) of empty fruit bunches (EFB) using recycling solid-anaerobic digested (S-AD) sludge and liquid-anaerobic digested (L-AD) sludge as inoculum was investigated under thermophilic (55 °C) and mesophilic conditions (40 °C). The methane production rate of L-AD sludge (2.98–3.27 L-CH 4 L−1 reactor d −1) was 1–2 times higher than recycling S-AD sludge (1.36 L-CH 4 L−1 reactor d −1) as inoculum. Methane production of L-AD and S-AD sludge inoculum was 53.5–54.1 and 31.2–39.0 m3 CH 4 tonne-1 EFB, respectively. The SS-AD of EFB with L-AD and S-AD sludge under thermophilic condition had specific methane activity of 34–96 times higher than the mesophilic condition. Clostridium sp., Methanosaeta sp., and Methanoculleus sp. were responsible for the SS-AD of EFB with L-AD sludge inoculum. The L-AD sludge was suitable inoculum for SS-AD of EFB in terms of methane production rate, cellulose degradation efficiency, biogas production, and microbial activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empty fruit bunches (EFBs) are an agro-industrial residue discarded in the environment when the fresh palm fruits are removed for oil extraction. EFBs are abundant in palm-oil-producing countries and cause environmental problems. Besides their content in lignocellulosic, EFBs also contain amounts of residual lipids from the separation process. Because the palm fruit has two main types of oil from the pulp (palm oil) or the seeds (kernal oil), the residual EFBs lipids may have different compositions. Thus, this work aimed at characterizing the lignocellulosic content and the residual lipids in two EFBs from different palm oil producers. The EFBs were classified as Type 1 and Type 2 according to their source. The results showed that Type 1 EFBs had higher lignocellulosic and fatty acid compositions, similar to palm and kernel oils, while Type 2 EFBs had lower lignocellulosic content and fatty acid composition, similar to palm oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil palm fibres are easy to degrade, eco-friendly in nature and once composted, they can be categorized under nutrient-enriched biocompost. Biocompost is not only a good biofertilizer but also a good biocontrol agent against soil-borne pathogens. In this research, experimental works on the composting of empty fruit bunches (EFB) from the oil palm industry were conducted using two potential Trichoderma strains. Analysis of pH initially found the soils to be slightly acidic. However, after composting, the soils were found to be alkaline. Trichoderma propagules increased by 72% in the soils compared to other fungi. Soil electrical conductivity was found to be 50.40 μS/cm for compost A, 42.10 μS/cm for compost B and 40.11 μS/cm for the control. The highest C:N ratio was obtained for compost A at 3.33, followed by compost B at 2.79, and then the control at 1.55. The highest percentages of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) were found in compost A (0.91:2.13:6.68), which was followed by compost B (0.46:0.83:5.85) and then the control (0.32:0.26:5.76). Thus, the biocomposting of oil palm fibres shows great potential for enhancing soil micronutrient, plant growth performance, and crop yield production.