Palm-based Oleochemicals in Non-Food Applications: Meeting the Environmental Regulatory Challenges

Abstract

The oleochemical manufacturing is one of the industrial sectors that contributed significantly to the economic growth of the country. Palm oil (PO) and palm kernel oil (PKO) have been utilised as feedstocks for production of the five basic oleochemicals, namely fatty acid, methyl ester, fatty alcohol, fatty amine and glycerol. These basic oleochemicals could be used without further treatment or they could be processed further for the purpose of purification and improving functionality, and then formulated with other ingredients into finished products. The industries, however, are challenged with the growing concern on safety, toxicity and eco-toxicity level, biodegradability profile and hence marketability of the products and new technologies developed. While Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB)’s R & D focused on developing various oleochemicals derivatives, the method to assess the environmental impact of the production of these products are also being looked into together with process feasibility and technology viability study. With a complete entity comprises of laboratories, facilities and expertise, MPOB can now assist Malaysian manufacturers/exporters to establish a complete dataset on biodegradation, ecotoxicity and life cycle assessment (LCA) to facilitate the market access of their products and ensure conformation to regulation set by importing countries.

Transition Pathway Palm Oil Research Framework Toward a Bio-Circular-Green Economy Model Using SWOT Analysis: A Case Study of Thailand

“…4) Accelerating the implementation of environmental impact assessment research using LCA principles to identify the sources of pollution and propose solutions to manage it (WT strategy): To avoid environmental pollution and create a suitable strategy for waste management in the palm oil industry, the green approach with less environmental impact should be selected by LCA as a tool for decision-making and management. The application of LCA with palm oil extraction and refinement, including the oleochemical process, should be an important measure (Ghazali et al, 2021).…”

Sustainability assessment of palm oil-based refinery systems for food, fuel, and chemicals

“…Also, biorefineries can be designed for additional unit processes such as materials, energy, or chemicals which are value-added products. Palm-based biorefineries have been developed and promoted continuously in response to the high oil palm production following a great demand from consumer markets (Ghazali et al, 2021) while also trying to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which is an urgent global issue (IEA Bioenergy, 2020). However, including additional production processes for the biorefinery results in the escalation of environmental impacts as well as changing the social and economic impacts (Huailuek et al, 2019).…”