Empty fruit bunches, potential fiber source for Indonesian pulp and paper industry

Empty fruit bunches (EFB) is one of solid waste from crude palm oil (CPO) mill. It’s about 20-22% from fresh fruit bunches (FFB) or equal to the CPO yield. Indonesian CPO production in 2019 was 51.8 million tons; increased by 9% compared to 2018. So, about 51.8 million tons of EFB was available in 2019. EFB is a potential lignocellulosic material for pulp and paper. The utilization of EFB fibers for papermaking has been studied extensively. The use of EFB for printing and writing papers tends to cause pitch problems and poor visual appearance. The most potential use of EFB fibers is for packaging papers. EFB fiber is classified as short up to moderate fibers, so its usage must still be mixed with other fibers to improve the sheet strength. Many experiments have been done regarding the mixture of EFB fibers with other fibers such as OCC (Old Corrugated Containers) and UBC (Used Beverage Cartons) recycled fibers. Other types of paper from EFB are still being developed, including for nursery bags and active packaging papers.