Environmentalist (2012) 32:111–117
DOI 10.1007/s10669-011-9367-0
REVIEW
Land application of biomass residue generated from palm oil
processing: its potential benefits and threats
Asha Embrandiri • Rajeev P. Singh •
Hakimi M. Ibrahim • Azhani A. Ramli
Published online: 14 December 2011
Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011
Abstract Man’s increased demand for food and better
living conditions has led to over exploitation of resources
and the consequent generation of enormous amounts of
liquid and solid waste materials. This is one of the global
challenges for mankind. In Malaysia, palm oil mill waste
(POMW) contributes the highest proportion of industrial
solid wastes produced yearly. Wastes from the mills
include palm oil mill effluent, decanter cake, empty fruit
bunches, seed shells and the fibre from the mesocarp.
Direct application of POMW into agricultural soil has
resulted in a number of problems such as water pollution,
leaching. However, with application rates specific for tar-
geted plant species, land application can be employed as a
permanent solution to the problem of waste from palm oil
mills. This review examines the characteristics of each of
the palm oil wastes and their potential for use as a future
fertilizer supplement.
Keywords Empty fruit bunch  Decanter cake  Palm
kernel cake  Land application  Composting
1 Introduction
Oil palm is a fast-growing crop, which grows in the
tropical lowlands where rainfall is distributed evenly
A. Embrandiri (&)  H. M. Ibrahim  A. A. Ramli
Environmental Technology Division, School of Industrial
Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang,
11800 Penang, Malaysia
e-mail: ashanty66@yahoo.com
R. P. Singh
Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development,
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India
(1,800–5,000 mm year-1). Palm can grow in a wide range
of soil types with relatively low pH but is susceptible to
high pH (Hartley 1988). In the last few decades, rapid
global demand for edible oils has resulted in a significant
increase in the land area of oil crop cultivation, mainly
soybean and oil palm (Yacob 2008). As compared to
soybean, an annual crop highly influenced by weather-
related changes, the oil palm is more stable as it can be
harvested all year long with very low weather-related risks.
Oil palms are efficient producers of high-quality, versatile
oils. Elaeis guineesis Jacq is the most productive species of
the genus Elaeis belonging to the family Palmae with one
hectare of oil palm producing 10–35 tonnes of fresh fruit
bunch (FFB) per year (Singh et al. 2010, 2011).
Oil palm is a perennial tree crop with an average
planting cycle of 25 years for efficient productivity. A
stand of the tree covers about 0.0068 ha of land and each
tree could yield about 150 kg of fresh fruit bunches per
year (Yusoff 2004). Malaysia and Indonesia together con-
tribute over 87% of the total world production of palm oil
(Yacob 2008). In Malaysia, more than 3.79 million hect-
ares are used for oil palm cultivation covering one-third of
the total cultivated area (Yusoff and Hansen 2007). In
2005, there was a total of 423 palm oil mills with a total
production of approximately 89 million tonnes of fresh
fruit bunch (FFB) per year (Singh et al. 2010, 2011). The
Malaysian oil palm industry contributes $ 7.3 billion to the
GDP annually as export. At present, there are over 2 mil-
lion ha of oil palm plantations in Malaysia alone replacing
other agricultural crops like cocoa, rubber and coconut,
which in recent times have lost their market values (Lim
2000). Table 1 shows the trend of some of the commercial
crops in the past decade.
Palm oil has a wide range of uses as cooking oil, an
ingredient in margarines and in most confectionaries. It is
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Table 1 Changes in land use of selected crops in Malaysia (million
hectares)
Crop 1990
Coconut 0.315
Cocoa 0.416
Rubber 1.823
Oil palm 1.980
Source: Basiron (2006)
also used as a base for most liquid detergents, soaps and
shampoos. It serves as a base for lipstick, wax and other
cosmetics in its dense form. Due to increasing demand for
palm oil, enormous quantities of wastes are generated.
Thus, a need for the sustainable management of production
which if left un-attended too will lead to environmental
problems. Research is on-going on the use of by-products
as biofuels for the future. Composting and vermicompo-
sting have been gaining grounds as good options for the
management of these wastes because they are organic in
composition. These two processes can add value and
reduce the waste volume for easier land application. (Yusri
et al. 1995; Thambirajah et al. 1995; Danmanhuri 1998).
This review deals with the land application of the biomass
residues from the palm oil mills and its potential impacts
on environment.
2 Waste from palm oil processing
FFBs are crushed to produce CPO (crude palm oil) and
several by-products. Two types of oils are produced from
oil palm; the red palm oil from the fibrous mesocarp which
amounts to 40–50% of the FFB and lauric oil produced
2005 from the palm kernel (Dashiny 2009). Kittikun et al. (2000)
report that oil yield from the kernel is about 40–50%.
0.130
Potential yield from both mesocarp and kernel accounts for
0.033 about 17 t ha-1 year-1 of oil (Corley 1983). According to
1.250 Pleanjai et al. (2004), about 1 tonne of crude palm oil
4.050 (CPO) is produced from 5.8 tonnes of FFB. Fibre, shell,
decanter cake and empty fruit bunch (EFB) account for 30,
6, 3 and 28.5% of the FFB, respectively (Pleanjai et al.
2004). A flow chart of the palm oil milling process (Fig. 1)
consists of the steps A to F.
A. Sterilisation is the first stage in the extraction of crude
palm oil. The FFBs are sterilized batch-wise in an auto-
clave for about 2 h per batch at about 120–130°C. This
deactivates the hydrolytic enzymes responsible for the
breakdown of oil to free fatty acids and loosens the fruits
from the bunches. The steam condensate generated from
the sterilizer is one of the major sources of wastewater
(Thani et al. 1999).
B. Stripping (threshing) takes place after sterilisation of
FFB. The fruits are stripped by a rotary drum stripper and
collected in a bucket conveyor and discharged into a digester.
This stage results in the production of empty fruit bunches.
C. Digestion involves the mashing up of the steamed and
stripped fruit in a digester by its rotating arms. This results
in the breakdown of the oil-bearing cells. Twin screw
presses are used to squeeze out the oil from the digested
mash of fruits under high pressure. To improve the flow of
the oils, hot water is added. No particular waste is produced
in this step.

Fig. 1 Chart showing the

Fresh fruit bunch
stages in production of palm oil,
the type of waste produced and Water for boiler (2.2-
estimated quantities. Source: A Boiler Ash (0.02-0.06tons)
4.6m3)
Modified from Oil recovery
from palm oil solid wastes
Dashiny 2009. A Sterilization, EFB (1.42-1.88tons)
B
B Stripping, C Digestion,
D Extraction, E Nut and fibre
separation, F Nut cracking C

Waste water (2.6-3.3m 3)

D

DC(0.05-0.31ton)

OIL PURIFICATION E
Fibre (1.42-2.06 ton)

CPO= 1 ton F

Kernel (0.26-0.38)tons Shell (0.26-0.44tons)

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Environmentalist (2012) 32:111–117
D. Crude palm oil extraction involves removing fine
solids and water while the homogenous oil mash from the
digester is passed through a screw press followed by a
vibrating screen, a hydro-cyclone and decanter. Centrifugal
and vacuum driers are used to further purify the oil before
sending to a storage tank. The storage temperature is
maintained at 60°C with steam coil heating. Oil separation
and purification is then done by passing through a clarifi-
cation system. The mixture of various proportion of palm
oil (35–45%), water (45–55%) and fibrous materials con-
stitutes the crude palm oil (CPO) from the screw press.
This is then pumped to a horizontal or vertical clarification
tank to skim the oil from top of the clarification tank. It is
then passed through a high-speed centrifuge and a vacuum
dryer before being sent to storage tanks. The main wastes
produced in this step are wastewater and decanter cake.
E. Nut/fibre separation The composition of the press cake
discharged from the screw press is moisture, oily fibre and
the cakes, which are then conveyed to a depericarper for
the nuts and the fibre separation (Thani et al. 1999). The
fibre is usually sent to the boiler house to be used as boiler
fuel. The next step is sending the nuts to a rotating drum to
remove the remaining fibres.
F. Nut cracking takes place in a centrifugal cracker or
hydro-cyclone. Through clay suspension, the kernels and
shells are separated after the cracking process. The last
source of waste water stream comes out from this process
(Chow and Ho 2000). The separated shells from the kernels
are sent to other mills as fuel, and the kernels are sent to a
silo dryer for sale.
3 Characteristics of (palm oil mill wastes) POMW
and its applications
3.1 Empty fruit bunch (EFB)
EFBs are the residues left after the processing of fresh fruit
bunch (FFB) at the mill, which are suitable material for
recycling. In 2007, approximately 19, 03 million tonnes
of EFB was produced in Malaysia (Rosnah et al. 2009).
Earlier, they were used to generate steam for running the
mills, and the residual ash amended with 30% potassium
was used as fertilizer (Lim 2000). The burning of EFB has
been stopped to prevent air pollution. It is now mainly used
as mulch, which helps to control weed, prevent erosion
and maintains soil moisture. (Hamadan et al. 1998). This
valuable biomass not only can be converted into energy,
but can also be used as a raw material for products such as
panelling, composites, fine chemicals, pulp and paper as
well as compost and biofertiliser (Rosnah et al. 2009).
Studies have involved the feasibility of composting of EFB
113
with organic manure in order to add value and reduce mass.
This has proved to be beneficial to soil quality when
compared to using EFB alone (Prasertsan and Prasertsan
1996). EFB is very fibrous and contains cellulose
(45–50%), hemicellulose and lignin in the same proportion
(Deraman 1993) and, as such, it has replaced the sawdust
from rubber plants used earlier as the main substrate for the
cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom) (Tabi
et al. 2008). Mushrooms convert the cellulose and lignin to
useful carbohydrates (glucose), an energy source for the
fungi. Similar to the coconut in India, EFB could be used
for coir fibre, fibre board and tiles.
3.2 Palm press fibre (PPF)
Palm press fibre (PPF) or mesocarp fibre is produced after
pressing fruit or mesocarp to obtain oil. On average, for
every tonne of FFB processed, 120 kg of fibre is produced
(Astimar et al. 2002). Pressed fibre is a good combustible
material because of the oil content. However, the shell
material is no longer used as fuel to generate steam and the
energy required for the operation of the mill because of
pollution concerns. They can also be used to improve foliar
nutrient levels and vegetative growth (Yusoff 2004). This
by-product (the fibre) is acceptable for ruminants at low
level of addition in the diet. Palm press fibre (PPF) ash
contains 1.7–6.6% P, 17–25% K, 7% Ca, which indicate
that PPF is a good source of minerals to plants.
Oil palm fibre (OPF) is non-hazardous biodegradable
material extracted from oil palm’s empty fruit bunch (EFB).
The fibres are clean, non-carcinogenic, free from pesticides
and have soft parenchyma cells. Palm fibres are versatile and
stable and can be processed into various dimensional grades to
suit specific applications such as mattress cushions, erosion
control, soil stabilisation/compaction, landscaping and horti-
culture, ceramic and brick manufacturing, thermoplastic filler,
flat board manufacturing, paper production, acoustics control,
compost, fertilizer and animal feed (Ramli et al. 2002).
3.3 Palm kernel shell (PKS)
Palm kernel shell (PKS) is difficult to decompose and it has
been used as mulch. According to Ortiz et al. (1992),
approximately 5 tonnes of shell are obtained from 66
tonnes of FFB. PKS is used for activated carbon produc-
tion. It has up tof 20.3% fixed carbon which is similar to
coconut shell. Activated carbon can be used for decolo-
urisation of dark coloured effluent of the mills.
3.4 Palm kernel cake (PKC)
Palm kernel cake (PKC), sometimes referred to as palm
kernel expeller (PKE), is greyish white colour, and PKC is
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regarded as the most useful by-product among the various
by-products produced in the palm oil industry Saw et al.
(2008). It is a product of the mechanical extraction process
to produce kernel oil. PKC is rich in carbohydrate (48%)
and protein (19%) and suitable as feedstock (Kolade et al.
2005). A combination of PKC and goat manure or poultry
droppings has been used as a good compost fertilizer (Saw
et al. 2008).
3.5 Decanter cake (DC)
Decanter cake (DC) is another waste product used as either
fertilizer or animal food (Southworth 1985). Haron and
Mohammed (2008) report that a mill with 90 t hr-1 FFB
processing capacity will produce about 160–200 tonnes of
DC. Application of DC integrated with inorganic fertilizer
can boost the efficiency of nutrient uptake by crops and
enhances the nutrient retention in the soil to improve soil
quality (Haron and Mohammed 2008).
3.6 Palm oil mill effluent (POME)
Oil extraction, washing and cleaning processes in the mills,
is the main source of POME, which contains fats, oil and
grease. It is said to be the main source of environmental
pollution (Schuchardt et al. 2008). About 3 tonnes of
POME is produced for every tonne of oil extracted in an oil
mill. 15.8 million tonnes of crude palm oil were produced
in 2007, resulting in 47.4 million tonnes of POME (Rupani
et al. 2010). Palm oil mill effluents contain high percent-
ages of carotene, an antioxidant that protects the cells
against the effects of free radicals (Abdullah 2008).
Carotenes possess anti-cancer properties, enhance immu-
nities and prevent blindness and skin disorders. Pharma-
ceutical industries are therefore very keen on the extraction
of carotene from the mill effluent (Wood and Lim 1989).
Adsorption chromatography is adopted to recover the
carotenes present in the oil. The pollution potential of the
effluent is also reduced when oil and grease are removed.
Most of the palm oil mills in Malaysia have adopted the
2-pond system for the treatment of their effluents (Ma and
Ong 1985); initially, anaerobic digestion can take place,
followed by facultative ponds, where degradation of the
effluent occurs under aerobic conditions.
3.7 Palm oil mill sludge (POMS)
Palm oil mill sludge is semi-solid portion left after the oil
extraction and cleaning is complete. If disposed directly, it
will impact the environment adversely; it can be composted
(Zahrim et al. 2007). This is usually done by drying the
sludge in open air ensuring it is secure from insects and
rodents.
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Environmentalist (2012) 32:111–117
3.8 Palm oil fuel ash (POFA)
Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) is a by-product of the palm oil
industry produced when the solid wastes of the mill are
used as fuel to generate electricity. Utilisation of POFA as
a source of siliceous material for the synthesis of adsorbent
for flue gas desulfurisation is currently being studied
(Schuchardt et al. 2008; Zainudin et al. 2005). Its minute
particles are difficult to manage so frequently it is disposed
of as landfill. The other agricultural waste ashes have been
used in concrete making, but POFA is silica-rich waste
with the potential to be used as constituent in cement
(Tangchirapat et al. 2007). However, more research must
be conducted to demonstrate its usefulness. This potential
application would in the long run reduce environmental
problems and render the landfill sites safe.
4 Comparison of biomass residues from palm oil mill
with other agro-industrial waste
The high cost of chemical fertilizers and associated harmful
effects on fruit and vegetable crops have renewed interest in
use of organic materials as nutrient sources for the culti-
vation of crops such as tomato, spinach, okra, pulses and
rice. The use of easily available and cheap agro-industrial
wastes by farmers in both urban and rural areas ensures
sustainability of production, a more balanced crop nutrition
and mitigation or reduction in environmental impacts.
Organic fertilizers mainly come from crop residues like rice
bran, various oilseed cakes and animal by-products like
meat bone meal, blood meal, fish meal and crab meal. They
contain specifically high levels of nutrients (e.g. N meal in
oilseed cakes and blood meal and P in rice bran and bone
meal). They have high organic matter content and a variety
of micronutrients (Blatt 1991; Cayuela et al. 2008; Jongtae
2010). As such, they have widely been used as a fertilizer.
Among the organic wastes recycled in agriculture, residual
sludge generated by wastewater treatment is a source of
organic matter rich in both phosphorus and nitrogen. Land
application of residual sludge can contribute to the reha-
bilitation of degraded soils by improving soil quality (e.g.
increased organic matter content and fertility). (Singh and
Agrawal 2007, 2008). Agrowastes such as poultry drop-
pings and compost have been successfully used on tomato
plants (Adediran et al. 2003). Wastes such as spent grain,
cocoa pod husk, rice bran and sawdust have not yet received
much attention in vegetable production. (Moyin-Jesu and
Atoyosoye 2002) observed that these agro-industrial wastes
are very effective in increasing the nutrient content, growth
and yield of amaranthus, cocoa seedling and okra, respec-
tively. Table 2 gives the percentage dry matter of some
agro-industrial wastes.
Environmentalist (2012) 32:111–117 115

Table 2 Chemical analysis of crop residues (dry matter basis)

Source C:N ratio OM% C% N% P2O5% K2O% CaO% MgO%

Rice straw 78–88 – 54–56 0.64–0.69 0.05–0.11 2.0–2.1 0.42–1.2 0.3–0.52

Rice hull 70–106 – 39–52 0.48–0.70 0.11–0.46 0.28–1.3 0.21–0.34 0.09–0.4
Rice bran 18–22 67–78 50–55 2.0–2.4 3.60–4.47 1.43–2.45 0.13–0.35 1.11–1.78
Corn stalks 68 – 55 0.81 0.37 1.61 0.35 0.48
Sorghum stalks 73 – 53 0.73 0.25 1.94 0.60 0.62
Soybean stems 40 – 51 1.28 0.14 1.63 0.18 0.15
Peanut stems 30 – 42 1.30 0.37 1.31 1.97 1.15
Peanut hull 28 – 49 1.73 0.37 1.27 1.96 0.77
Coconut shell 37 96 53 1.43 0.18 0.50 0.36 0.20
EFB* – – 43.7 0.52 0.05 (P) 1.34 (K) 0.19 (Ca) 20 (Mg)
PKC** – – 96.21 2.88 0.60 (P) 0.19 (K) – –
DC** – – – 2.42 0.51 1.24 1.68 0.54
Source: Hsieh and Hsieh (1990)
C:N Carbon to nitrogen ratio, OM Organic matter, EFB Empty fruit bunch, PKC Palm kernel cake, DC decanter cake
* Singh et al. 2010, 2011
** Ramli et al. 2002

5 Land application: benefits and threats
As the prices of crude oil continue to soar, the demand for
palm oil and its products have increased with large
amounts of waste products and so have the large quantities
of waste materials from the industry. The management and
safe disposal of agricultural wastes are of global concern.
Management strategies for waste materials are a challenge
for the industry. Land application of residual waste prod-
ucts can result in ground and surface water contamination,
introduction of pathogens and odour problems. Improper
disposal of large quantities of agro-industrial waste leads
ultimately to environmental degradation. Disposal options
frequently practiced include landfilling, indiscriminate
dumping at sea, soil application and incineration (Sanchez
Monedero et al. 2004; Singh and Agrawal 2008).
Land application of sewage sludge, an organic residue, is
becoming popular due to the possibility of nutrient recy-
cling of organic matter, N, P and other plant nutrients
(Singh and Agrawal 2007, 2008). This is applicable to other
agricultural wastes such as olive mill wastes, tannery and oil
seed cakes (Silva et al. 2010). Agro-industrial wastes such
as sawdust, rice bran, cocoa husk were amended with cattle
and goat droppings (Odedina et al. 2007). According to
Aisueni and Omoti (1999), the oil palm industry is one of
the best sources for organic fertilizer. Application of
organic residues to soil can mitigate impacts; however, the
waste composition should be determined before its land
application as plants vary in their nutrient requirements.
(Ordoñez et al. 2006; Singh and Agrawal 2007, 2008).
Singh et al. (1997) conducted experiments with fly ash as
soil amendments to assess impacts on seed germination,
seedling growth and metal composition of Vicia faba L.
(broad bean). The results showed that addition of fly ash led
to a significant increase in both pH and EC with increased
plant height and leaf area at 10% application. Olive mill
wastes (OW) were used for the growth of lettuce and
chicory by Kelepesi et al. (2009). The OW extract caused an
increase in radical length of germinated seeds at 10-1–10-5
concentrations. The effect of oil palm sludge on cowpea
nodulation and weed control was carried out by (Ekwueribe
et al. 2008), revealing that as the level of oil palm sludge
increased, the length of root decreased irrespective of the
cultivars or season. Similarly, AdeOluwa and Adeoye
(2008) evaluated the possibility of using the composts of
different forms of EFB for raising oil palm in the nursery.
The composts were added at the rate of 4.8 g N plant-1 in
the soil. They concluded that composting of oil palm empty
fruit bunch in combination with cow dung led to better
performance of oil palm seedlings. Hence, this treatment
could be used as an alternative to mineral fertilizer for
raising oil palm seedlings. Table 3 summarises the effects
of some agricultural wastes at different amendment ratios.
The use of pesticides in the treatment of crops and the
presence of heavy metals in pesticides is one of the sources
of heavy metal pollution of vegetables (Chiroma et al.
2007). As fertilizers and pesticides are used to increase the
productivity and protect the plant from any pest and disease,
there are chances of heavy metal uptake if they are present
in nearby environment (Singh and Agrawal 2008). The
absorption, accumulation and tolerating ability of crops
vary at different levels of amendments. Davis and Carlton-
Smith (1980) reported wide variations in heavy metal
accumulation in crops grown in sludge amended soil.

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Table 3 Effect of different waste amendment ratios on growth and yield of plants
Plants Type of waste and amendment Effect on growth and yield of plants References

Maize Sewage Sludge @ 0, 10, 20, 30,
40,50 t/ha dry weight
Cucumber Sewage Sludge @ 0, 25, 50,
75 100 w/w
Broad bean Flyash @ 5–10% w/w in pots
Capsicum Tannery sludge ? straw ? cattle
manure @ 0, 25, 50,75 100% w/w
Lettuce Olive mill wastes @ 10, 30 and
50% amendment ratio
Increase in germination with increasing amendment rate. Qasim et al. (2001)
Maximum root and shoot lengths at 20 t ha-1
Percentage of seed emergence was highest in the Onder et al. (2000)
100 w/w ratio
Increase in pH and EC, lower application of fly ash enhanced Singh et al. (1997)
seed germination and seedling growth
Significant increase in leaf number, fruits, stem length Silva et al. (2010)
and chlorophyll content. Higher root, shoot length
and chlorophyll content
Improved seed emergence but reduced fresh weight Kelepsei et al. (2009)

6 Conclusion Basiron Y (2006) Palm oil production through sustainable plantations.

Unscientific disposal of POMW could lead to environ-
mental concerns such as contamination of waters, pests,
fungal, odour problems and creating an imbalanced food
chain. A cost benefit analysis suggests that with every form
of treatment comes negative and positive effects. However,
if utilised in a scientific manner, land applications of
POMW will help to improve soil characteristics, nutrient
recycling and will also be a sustainable management option
for the tonnes of oil palm waste being produced. Land
application of the palm mill waste in the recommended
doses on other crops besides the palm is a good alternative
to chemical fertilizers in the countries where they are
generated in abundance.
Acknowledgment The authors are very grateful to Prof. Sultan A.
Ismail for his encouragement and suggestions throughout the editing
of this manuscript. We would also like to thank Universiti Sains
Malaysia under the PRGS 1001/PTEKIND/844080 grant scheme for
the funding provided.
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