An econometric analysis of the link between biodiesel demand and Malaysian palm oil market

The objective of this study is to describe the important factors affecting Malaysian palm oil industry especially biodiesel demand. To that end a market model representing palm oil production, import, world excess demand, domestic consumption, export demand, rest of the world excess supply and palm oil prices is formulated.A system of equations of eight structural equations and four identities is estimated by two stage least squares method using annual data for the period 1976-2008.The domestic price equation is formed to investigate the link between biodiesel demand and the Malaysian palm oil market. The domestic price is significantly affected by Malaysian ending stock, world palm oil price, biodiesel demand and lagged domestic price. The elasticity of Malaysian palm oil domestic price with respect to biodiesel demand is then obtained. Results suggest that biodiesel demand has a positive impact on the Malaysian palm oil domestic price. Thus, significant growth in biodiesel demand is important in explaining Malaysian palm oil price determination

European Policies towards Palm Oil - Sorting Out some Facts

This paper analyses the role of palm oil and its sustainability from different perspectives. We consider the role of palm oil within the GHG context. We discuss the impact of palm oil on biodiversity and analyse how palm oil can contribute to economic growth and development in tropical countries. Finally, based on this analysis, we assess the current concerns about and politics towards palm oil with special focus on the EU. Palm oil is a low-energy and low-fertilizer crop that offers much higher yields per hectare than other oil crops. Furthermore, if the energy obtained by the residuals in the production process is used properly, the energy balance of palm oil production is much more favourable compared to other biofuels. Overall, palm oil turns out to be much more efficient than other oil crops and therefore offers significant advantages within the context of GHG savings. Contrary to some recent campaigns and the perception among European citizens, oil palm plantings are not a major contributor to deforestation in tropical countries. Deforestation associated with oil palm plantings is much less significant than postulated by some recent campaigns. Furthermore, biodiversity in oil palm plantations is much higher than in most monocultures in the EU. Palm oil is an important driver of economic development and growth in tropical countries and contributes to the reduction of poverty and hunger in the developing world. The EU Renewable Energy Directive is discriminatory from the outset and the GHG saving values and their interpretation are based on wrong assumptions and faulty calculations. Therefore, the EU should reshape its policies towards palm oil, conduct objective and non-discriminatory calculations regarding the GHG emissions saving values and support palm oil imports from developing countries rather than restricting them. Together with certain initiatives to further enhance energy efficiency and to protect precious habitats combined with strategies to strengthen property rights and encourage efficient land use and successful strategies of agricultural development, this would not only prevent political conflicts and trade disputes in conjunction with the issue of palm oil but also foster economic growth and development, reduce poverty and - not least - contribute to the ambitious GHG emissions savings goals on a fair and reasonable basis.Renewable Energy, Palm Oil, Biodiversity, Sustainable Development, Environmental Policy

Conservation Value and Permeability of Neotropical Oil Palm Landscapes for Orchid Bees

The proliferation of oil palm plantations has led to dramatic changes in tropical landscapes across the globe. However, relatively little is known about the effects of oil palm expansion on biodiversity, especially in key ecosystem-service providing organisms like pollinators. Rapid land use change is exacerbated by limited knowledge of the mechanisms causing biodiversity decline in the tropics, particularly those involving landscape features. We examined these mechanisms by undertaking a survey of orchid bees, a well-known group of Neotropical pollinators, across forest and oil palm plantations in Costa Rica. We used chemical baits to survey the community in four regions: continuous forest sites, oil palm sites immediately adjacent to forest, oil palm sites 2km from forest, and oil palm sites greater than 5km from forest. We found that although orchid bees are present in all environments, orchid bee communities diverged across the gradient, and community richness, abundance, and similarity to forest declined as distance from forest increased. In addition, mean phylogenetic distance of the orchid bee community declined and was more clustered in oil palm. Community traits also differed with individuals in oil palm having shorter average tongue length and larger average geographic range size than those in the forest. Our results indicate two key features about Neotropical landscapes that contain oil palm: 1) oil palm is selectively permeable to orchid bees and 2) orchid bee communities in oil palm have distinct phylogenetic and trait structure compared to communities in forest. These results suggest that conservation and management efforts in oil palm-cultivating regions should focus on landscape features.This work was supported by a Hosteling International-Austin Travel Fellowship (http://www.hiusa.org/austin) and a grant from the Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Texas (http://www.biosci.utexas.edu/graduate/ee​b/default.aspx) to GL. GL was supported by a US National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Integrative BiologyEmail: [email protected]

Small scale palm oil producers and supply chains left out from existing certification schemes. [ID781]

Agricultural history explains most of current palm oil production models (organization of actors including oil palm growers and supply chains). An indigenous non-timber forest product in Central Africa which plant was domesticated and integrated into family farming, later joined by colonial industrial plantations. An imported cash crop in Southeast Asia, dominated by industrial producers while smallholders have still to learn artisanal milling to get their autonomy from industrial mills. Also an imported cash crop in Latin America, but whose production models evolved in the confrontation with social agrarian reforms, ending with original 'social models'. These production models have a great diversity of social, economic and environmental impacts. Taking into consideration national specificities (social organization, market, public policies, and environment) and local knowledge regarding palm oil, can we draw lessons learnt from one place to improve palm oil local and global benefits in another? Industrial models are targeted to promote sustainable and zero-deforestation in the palm oil sector, because industries are generally considered as the main culprits of deforestation and land grabbing resulting from oil palm plantations expansion in Southeast Asia. However the expansion patterns in the original producing countries of Africa or in Latin America might prove different. Hence, are certification schemes efficient to shape sustainable oil palm landscapes? In an attempt to answer these questions, we built on pantropical expertise in palm oil producing countries (Indonesia, Central African countries, Colombia) with strong field experience, on literature review and on recent field work in Mexico and Peru, to argue on the inadequacy of certification schemes to reach non-industrial palm oil production models. Furthermore, we highlight some social and economic risks reinforced by this strategy, such as exclusion of smallholders from supply chains, or the development of informal supply chains not regulated regarding working conditions and environment impacts

A segmented capacitance tomography for visualizing material distributions in pipeline conveying crude palm oil

A segmented electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) imager for palm oil process monitoring system is constructed and presented in this work.The goal of this study is to use the process monitoring system as an instrument to upkeep the local and foreign palm oil mill. This is to ensure that the monitoring of crude palm oil (CPO) in conveying pipeline during extraction of palm oil mill process flow process is efficiently controlled. The system has the capability to visualize the percentage of liquid that exist within the vessel therefore the data can be utilized to design and create better process equipment in mill process. It will also be used to control some processes in order to boost the quality of crude palm oil and the POME (Palm Oil Mill Effluent) treatment process. Most ECT in earlier research were created rapidly and utilized well in multiphase flow measurement in numerous applications such as in oil and gas industries, gas/solids cyclone, milk flows and fluidized beds. Experimentally, this work investigates the capability of using a twin-plane segmented ECT sensor with 16 portable electrodes using two differential excitation potentials transmitted signal in order to recognize the concentration and velocity profile as well as the phase concentration of crude palm oil related multiphase systems (liquid and gas). The attained concentration profile which is received from the capacitance measurements is capable to provide image of the liquid and gas mixture in the pipeline therefore, the separation process (between oil and liquid waste) becomes much easier and the crude palm oil‟s quality can be dependably monitored. The visualization results deliver information regarding the flow regime, superficial velocity and concentration distribution in two-phase flow-rate measurement system incorporating a liquid flow measuring device. The information obtained is able to help in the process equipment designing, verification of existing computational modeling and simulation techniques. It may also assist in process control and monitoring during the palm oil extraction proces

Biocomposites based on oil palm tree as packaging materials

Every parts of the oil palm tree can be utilized to form useful products, including the waste from palm oil processing either intermediates or final biomasses. Utilization oil palm wastes and palm oil product will be presented for the application in the packaging industry, especially as environmental friendly packaging materials. For the development of these new biodegradable packaging materials, product and waste from oil palm tree are compounded to form biocomposites. Empty fruit bunch, waste that is derived after palm oil extraction process, is grinded and compounded with polyethylene to form biocomposites for blow film process. Palm cooking oil (PCO) is used as processing aids/lubricant in the blown film processing of low density polyethylene with empty fruit bunch fiber (LDPE/EFB) to form biofilm. This oil ease the process ability of LDPE/EFB on the conventional blown film thermoplastic machinery. The higher the composition of the PCO the better will be the processability of LDPE/FFB as the resistance to flow is decreased. With PCO composition greater than 2% the processing parameters of LDPE can be used to process LDPE/PCO/EFB into film. Tensile properties of the biocomposite film are found to be dependent on the PCO composition and comparable to the polyethylene film at low PCO composition. As the composition of PCO in LDPE/EFB is increased the tensile strength and elongation at break of the biofilm is decreased

Doubled haploid ramets via embryogenesis of haploid tissue cultures

Tissue culture in the oil palm business is generally concerned with the multiplication (clonal production) of dura, pisifera and tenera palms. These are all normal diploids (2n=2x=36). Sumatra Bioscience has pioneered haploid tissue culture of oil palm (n=x=18). Haploid oil palm is the first step in producing doubled haploid palms which in turn provide parental lines for F1 hybrid production. Chromosome doubling is known to occur during embryogenesis in other haploid cultures, e.g. barley anther culture. Haploid tissue cultures in oil palm were therefore set up to investigate and exploit spontaneous chromosome doubling during embryogenesis. Flow cytometry of embryogenic tissue showed the presence of both haploid (n) and doubled haploid (2n) cells indicating spontaneous doubling. Completely doubled haploid ramets were regenerated suggesting that doubling occurred during the first mitoses of embryogenesis. This is the first report of doubled haploid production in oil palm via haploid tissue culture. The method provides a means of producing a range of doubled haploids in oil palm from the 1,000 plus haploids available at Sumatra Bioscience, in addition the method also produced doubled haploid (and haploid) clones. 1

Motorized cart

Motorized cart is known as an effective tool and timeless that help people carry heavy loads. For farmers, it has an especially vital tool for moving goods. Oil palm farmers typically uses the wheelbarrow to move the oil palm fruit (Figure 10.1). However, there is a lack of equipment that should be further enhanced in capabilities. Motorized carts that seek to add automation to wheelbarrow as it is to help people save manpower while using it. At present, oil palm plantation industry is among the largest in Malaysia. However, in an effort to increase the prestige of the industry to a higher level there are challenges to be faced. Shortage of workers willing to work the farm for harvesting oil palm has given pain to manage oil palm plantations. Many have complained about the difficulty of hiring foreign workers and a high cost. Although there are tools that can be used to collect or transfer the proceeds of oil palm fruits such as carts available. However, these tools still have the disadvantage that requires high manpower to operate. Moreover, it is not suitable for all land surfaces and limited cargo space. Workload and manpower dependence has an impact on farmers' income

Improvement design of existing threshing machine at Kilang Sawit Risda, Ulu Keratong

Palm oil is very important in the agricultural and economic sectors in Malaysia. It’s origin is in the tropical rain forest region of West Africa, which the main belt runs through the southern latitudes of Cameron, Cote D’ ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierria Leone, Togo and into the equatorial region of Angola and the Congo (FAO,2004). The crude palm oil have a very wide range of application which is about 80% of the crude palm oil (CPO) produced can be converted into food products while the others can be used as non-food applications. The by-products or wasted product of palm oil fruit processing such as empty bunches and fibers can be processed as raw materials for potash fertilizer, pulp and paper manufacturing. The shell fragments can be used as renewable energy as fuels and also for decoration of living apartments