Abstract

Oil palm trees are replanted at an interval of approximately 25 years because of decreased oil
productivity of old trees. Consequently the felled trunks are the enormous amount of biomass
resources in the palm oil producing countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. In this report
!e found that the felled oil palm trunk contains large quantity of sap !hich accounts for
approximately "#$ of the !hole trunk !eight and that sugars existing in the sap increased
remarkably during storage after logging. %otal sugar in the sap increased from &' mg ml
()
to
)5' mg ml
()
the concentration comparable to that of sugar cane *uice after '# days of
storage follo!ed by the gradual decrease. %he sugars contained in the sap !ere glucose
sucrose fructose and galactose all of !hich are fermentable by ordinary industrial yeast
strains. %he results indicate that old oil palm trunk becomes a promising source of sugars by
proper aging after logging and thus its sap can be a good feedstock for bioethanol.
Keywords
Elaeis guineensis+
%runk+
,ap+
,ugar+
-thanol
Corresponding author. .apan International /esearch Center for 0gricultural ,ciences
)1) O!ashi %sukuba Ibaraki '#51&2&2 .apan. %el.3 4&) 25&'&2'#"+ fax3 4&)
25&'&2252.
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8iomass and 8ioenergy
9olume ': Issue )) ;ovember 2#)# <ages )2#&=)2)'
-nergy Conversion and Management
9olume "2 >ecember 2#)' <ages )#"'=)#&2
Highlights
?
0bout ):."2$ of the total landmass in Malaysia !as used for oil palm plantations.
?
Oil palm tree residues !ere pyroly@ed to produce bio1oil and bio1char.
?
%he process !as performed at a temperature of 5## AC and reaction time of 2# min.
?
Characteri@ation of the products !as performed.
Abstract
Oil palm tree residues are a rich biomass resource in Malaysia and it is therefore very
important that they be utili@ed for more beneficial purposes particularly in the context of the
development of biofuels. %his paper described the possibility of utili@ing oil palm tree
residues as biofuels by producing bio1oil and bio1char via pyrolysis. %he process !as
performed in a fixed1bed reactor at a temperature of 5## AC a nitrogen flo! rate of 2 7Bmin
and a reaction time of 2# min. %he physical and chemical properties of the products !hich
are important for biofuel testing !ere then characteri@ed. %he results sho!ed that the yields
of the bio1oil and bio1char obtained from different residues varied !ithin the ranges of )2.5&=
:'.5# !t$ and 2&.2'='2."5 !t$ respectively. %he variations in the yields resulted from
differences in the relative amounts of cellulose hemicellulose lignin volatiles fixed carbon
and ash in the samples. %he energy density of the bio1char !as found to be higher than that of
the bio1oil. %he highest energy density of the bio1char !as obtained from a palm leaf sample
C2'.'2 M.BkgD !hile that of the bio1oil !as obtained from a frond sample C)5.:) M.BkgD.
Keywords
<yrolysis+
8io1oil+
8io1char+
Oil palm tree residues+
Malaysia
Corresponding author. %el.3 42# )22"#52&)+ fax3 42# '"52"5')5.
Copyright 6 2#)' -lsevier 7td. 0ll rights reserved.
Abstract
,ugar palm CArenga pinnataD is a multipurpose palm species from !hich a variety of foods
and beverages timber commodities biofibres biopolymers and biocomposites can be
produced. /ecently it is being used as a source of rene!able energy in the form of bio1
ethanol via fermentation process of the sugar palm sap. 0lthough numerous products can be
produced from sugar palm three products that are most prominent are palm sugar fruits and
fibres. %his paper focuses mainly on the significance of fibres as they are highly durable
resistant to sea !ater and because they are available naturally in the form of !oven fibre they
are easy to process. 8esides the recent advances in the research of sugar palm fibres and their
composites this paper also addresses the development of ne! biodegradable polymer derived
from sugar palm starch and presents revie!s on fibre surface treatment product
development and challenges and efforts on properties enhancement of sugar palm fibre
composites.
Highlights
E Fe discuss recent advances in the research of sugar palm CArenga pinnataD. E Fe focus
on properties of fibres polymers and composites derived from sugar palm. E Fe also focus
on efforts on enhancing the properties of composites.
Keywords
Polymer-matrix composites (PMCS);
Fibres;
Mechanical properties;
Physical properties
Corresponding author. Tel. !"# $%%"&'$%(; )ax !"# %&"*"+$((.
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Carbohydrate <olymers
9olume 5) Issue 2 )2 .anuary 2#)' <ages 255=")#