Problem statement: The palm oil industry generates an abundance of oil palm biomass such as the Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB), shell, frond, trunk and Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME). For 88 million tones of Fresh Fruit Bunch (FFB) processed in 2008, the amount of oil palm biomass was more than 26 million tones. Studies about production of bio-char from oil palm biomass are still lacking in Malaysia. So, this study was aimed to: (i) determine the effect of pyrolysis temperatures on bio-char yield (ii) characterize the bio-char obtained under different pyrolysed temperatures. Approach: In this study, pyrolysis of EFB was conducted using a fluidized fixed bed reactor. The effect of pyrolysis temperatures on bio-char yield was investigated. The pyrolysis temperature used ranged from 300-700°C. The elemental analysis, calorific value, surface area and total pore volume of the bio-char were determined. Results: The highest bio char yield of 41.56% was obtained at an optimum pyrolysis temperature of 300°C with particle size of 91-106 µm and the heating rate of 30°C min −1 . The calorific values of bio-char ranged from 23-26 MJ kg −1 . Conclusion: It was found that the bio-char products can be characterized as carbon rich, high calorific value and potential solid biofuels.

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This study described the extraction of residual oils of spent bleaching earth (SBE) from palm oil refining industry, the properties and applications of residual oils obtained there from. Residual oils of SBE (acid-activated, WAC and neutral, NC) were recovered via solvent and supercritical-fluid (SC-CO 2 ) extraction. The yields of residual oils recovered from WAC were higher than those from NC using solvent and SC-CO 2 extraction respectively. Both the residual oils recovered from WAC and NC had fatty acids composition (FAC) similar to that of crude palm oil. These oils exhibited poor qualities in terms of free fatty acids (FFA) content and peroxide value (PV). As the residual oils had very high FFA value (more than 10%), they were no longer suitable for food applications. Alternatively, these oils can be converted to their respective methyl esters for biofuel and other non-food applications as they were thermally and chemically stable with induction period of up to 29 h in Rancimat test. The methyl esters conversion via esterification and transesterification gave optimum yields of more than 80%. The methyl esters obtained have comparable fuel properties as petroleum diesel; hence, they can be used as diesel substitute.

ABSTRACT

Palm biodiesel fuel is limited to 7% (v/v), that is, B7 in petroleum diesel used at Malaysian highlands due to concerns over poor flow characteristics. This article investigated the cold start performance of a common rail direct injection turbocharged diesel engine using B7, B10, B20, and B30 blends in a simulated cold climatic chamber at 5, 10, 15, and 20 C. All the blends passed the startability test at 20 C but failed at 5 C. Higher biodiesel blend of B20 could withstand moderate cold temperature (15 C) without startability issue, while B7 and B10 were usable beyond 15 C. Engine workability after start-up was insignificantly affected though, on average, 23% increase and 56% reduction observed in engine starting time and speed stability between B7 (standard) and other blends. Emissions of CO was noticeable, <0.1%, while CO 2 and NOx were reduced by 13% and 18%, respectively during cold start-up using B10 and B20. It is expected that B20 could be destined for at the Malaysian highlands with the coldest temperature not exceeding 15 C threshold for more than 5 h. Considering the importance of cold filter plugging point, it is suggested for inclusion in existing diesel standards to minimize issues while deploying high biodiesel blends at highlands commercially.