1.

Development of Crude Palm Oil in Malaysia.

Oil palm or its specific name, (Elaeis guineensis jacq.) actually comes from South
Africa. Four oil palm seeds were brought from Africa in 1848 and planted in the Botanical
Garden Bogor, Indonesia. Then, the seeds are taken to Deli, Sumatera in 1880s to be planted
as ornamental plant. In 1911, the seeds are then taken to Rantau Panjang, Kuala Selangor, as
well as ornamental plants. Palm trees may grow up to sixty feet and more in height.
The trunks of young and mature trees are wrapped in fronds which give them a rather rough
appearance. The older trees have smoother trunks apart from the scars left by the fronds
which have withered and fallen off.

Figure 1: Palm oil tree

The history of the oil industry in Malaysia started in 1917, when the Dura oil palm
seed (shell thickness) of Rantau Panjang, Malaysia began to be grown in farm Tennamaran,
Kuala Selangor. By doing some research methods and understand the inheritance of oil palm
fruit, commercial cultivation of Dura was changed to breed hybrid of Dura x Pisifera (DxP)
which form Tenera (palm with thin shell). Pisifera is a fruit that does not have a shell, and
known as a female sterile fruit as the premature bunches fall before it develop into fruit. The
oil palm trees of DxP breed type is lower and it has very large clusters. The oil palm
plantation in Malaysia, has been dominated mostly by palm trees DxP type.

Figure 2: Types of palm oil seeds (Dura, Pisifera, and Tenera)

Palm oil Cultivation in Malaysia

Oil palm cultivation in Malaysia was introduced by the government in order to
eradicate poverty among the rural population. In 1960, the Federal Land Development
Authority (FELDA) has opened up new lands for oil palm plantations. Development in the
palm oil industry is promising with emphasis on research in order to produce new methods of
cultivation technology, seed production quality and production of new products based on
palm oil. The government has set up several agencies responsible for matters relating to the
plant. Department of Agriculture was established in 1912 and assigned to implement
agricultural policies that have been outlined by the government. Federal Land Development
Authority (FELDA) was established to coordinate the opening of new lands and the Palm Oil
Research Institute of Malaysia (PORIM) and also serves to focus greater efforts in research
and development (R & D) thus, increased the output. Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB)
also plays an important role in efforts to promote and introduce the benefits and use of palm
oil in the world.

There are two types of oils that produced by the oil palm which are crude palm oil
(CPO) and crude palm kernel oil (CPKO). Although both oils originate from the same fruit,
palm oil is chemically and nutritionally different from palm kernel oil. It is one of the only
two mesocarp oils available commercially, the other being olive oil. For every 10 tonnes of
palm oil, about 1 tonne of palm kemel oil is also obtained. Several processing operations are
used to produce the finished palm oil that meets the users' requirements. The first step in
processing is at the mill, where the crude palm oil is extracted from the fruit.

Figure 3: Palm oil processing flow chart

The crude palm oil may be further refined (second stage of processing) to get a wide
range of palm products of specified quality. The partly and wholly processed grades require
little further treatment before use, offering end-user a saving in processing costs. Palm oil
may also be fractionated, using simple crystallization and separation processes to obtain solid
(stearin) and liquid (olein) fractions of various melting characteristics. The different
properties of the fractions make them suitable for a variety of food and non-food products.