PALM oil mill effluents in Sabah are not being used to their optimum value and the government is studying ways to improve this.
“Like all materials, they can be put to different uses, such as
fertilisers, for biomass power generation or for downstreaming
activities,” Plantation Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said in Kota
Kinabalu yesterday.
There are 421 mills in the country, with
124 mills in Sabah. Together, they generate some 19.5 million tonnes of
biomass in dry weight annually, including oil palm trunk, fronds, empty
fruit bunches, mesocarp fibres and palm kernel shells.
“In
addition to the current 5 per cent replanting rate, another 33.3 million
palm oil trunks or 17.5 million tonnes are made available annually.
“There are available technologies to convert biomass into high
value-added products, such as pulp, plywood, medium density fibreboard,
particle board and many other wood-based products.
“We just have to figure out what is most valuable for us,” he said.
Dompok added that the government will continue efforts to identify measures to promote zero waste approaches.
One way is the raising of tariffs from 21 sen up to 35 sen per
kilowatt hour for biomass waste, in order to encourage more mills to
produce renewable energy.
“To promote the environmentally
friendly nature of the oil palm industry, the government encourages palm
oil mills to install biogas trapping facilities. This, I am sure will
provide the necessary incentives for the mills to produce renewable
energy from palm oil mill effluents.
“These facilities could
be used to generate electricity either for own consumption or grid
connectivity. In addition, this measure will contribute towards reducing
greenhouse gas emission from palm oil mill effluents,” he said.
Source : Business Times
