By Muguntan Vanar

The Star

21 May, 2011

Rising de-mand for oil palm fibre in China should spur millers in Sabah to look at using their own waste products to generate money, said state Industrial Development Datuk Raymond Tan.

“The market is there. The prices are good and the technology is not expensive,” he said after returning from a visit to an oil palm mill in Bidor, Perak, where fibre from empty fruit bunches were exported to mattress factories in China or turned into briquette.

Tan, who is also the chairman of the state-owned POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd which is developing the Lahad Datu palm oil industrial cluster, said the company was discussing with Global Green Synergy Sdn Bhd to develop a proposed biomass cluster there. Read the rest of this entry »

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By Hanim Adnan

The Star

21 May, 2011

PALM biomass waste previously is often perceived as a bane to many oil palm mill operators.

Every year, millers had to incur huge costs to transport and dispose empty fruit bunches (EFB), palm shells and mesocarp fibre after the process of crushing and extraction of palm oil and palm kernel oil from the fresh fruit bunches (FFB).

This situation, however, will no longer persist as many oil palm plantation owners with mills in Malaysia are now actively looking at palm biomass waste as feedstock for them to set up “green” renewable energy projects; thus creating an additional lucrative income for the operators.

One such company in the forefront of utilising palm biomass waste to generate renewable energy and power projects is Felda Global Group, which is also the world’s largest plantation group. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Star

20 May, 2011

The Government is set to implement the B5 biodiesel programme next month starting with Putrajaya, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said.

“The programme will be introduced in stages, starting from Putrajaya, before its full implementation at all petrol stations nationwide,” he told reporters yesterday after launching the Palm International Nutra-Cosmeceutical Conference.

He said the price mechanism for B5 biodiesel would be regulated and fixed by the Finance Ministry.

“The price will not burden the people and the Government will ensure that it will be affordable to everyone,” he added.

The Government introduced the B5 blend programme that involves the blending of 5% biodiesel with 95% fossil fuel, which is suitable for diesel engine vehicles and was initially scheduled for launch in January. Read the rest of this entry »

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Bernama

19 May, 2011

The rising demand for oil palm fibres from China should spur Sabah palm oil millers to look at turning their mill wastes to wealth, said state Minister of Industrial Development Datuk Raymond Tan.

“The market is there. The prices are good and the technology is not expensive,” he told a media briefing on his recent visit to Global Green Synergy Sdn Bhd (GSS) oil palm mill in Bidor, Perak recently.

He said the mill exported fibres from empty fruit bunches (EFBs) to mattress factories in China or turned them into briquette.

Tan, who is also chairman of state-owned POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd, which is developing the Lahad Datu palm oil industrial cluster (POIC Lahad Datu), said the company was in talks with GSS to develop the proposed biomass cluster at POIC Lahad Datu. Read the rest of this entry »

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By D. Arul Rajoo

Bernama

18 May, 2011

Malaysia will carry out biomass projects using waste from the oil palm industry to produce electric power, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

He said the feedstock from oil palm waste would be also used to produce other products such as sugar and even vaccines.

Technology companies from the United States, with the capacity to invest and produce products from oil palm biomass, will be matched with Malaysian companies to garner profits for the country which is the world’s largest producer of palm oil, Najib said following the Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council (GSIAC) for Malaysia inaugural meeting which he chaired at the New York Academy of Sciences here Wednesday.
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International Business Times

16 May, 2011

Biofuels may pollute the environment much more heavily if the process used to make them isn’t done in the right way, researchers say.

Conventional fossil fuels may sometimes be much “greener” than their biofuel counterparts, according to a new study.

University Research funded by a pair of U.S. federal government agencies found that taking into account a biofuel’s origin is important.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers say, for example that conventional fossil fuels may sometimes be the “greener” choice compared with fuel made from palm oil grown in a clear-cut rainforest. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Star

5 April, 2011

Sime Darby Plantation Sdn Bhd, a unit of Sime Darby Bhd, yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Malaysia’s national power producer, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), and Japanese industrial conglomerate Mitsui & Co Ltd to conduct a feasibility study on the potential of biogas projects at eight of its palm oil mills spread across Peninsular Malaysia.

The two-year study will involve the technical feasibility, financial viability and undertaking the necessary preliminary development works for implementation of potential biogas power-generation projects.

“It is a timely study because today the world continues to grapple with the issue of depleting sources of energy and environmental protection,” Sime Darby Plantation executive vice-president Franki Anthony Dass said in his speech.

“We are confident that the result of the study would be positive and that the three parties would come out of the Read the rest of this entry »

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Stock Market Wire

29 March, 2011

Biofutures to looking at the viability of owning its own plantation following the recent extreme volatility of feedstock prices.

And the group is exploring the possibility of collaborating with reputable process plant suppliers to consider other downstream activities such as further fractioning of RBD palm oil into RBD palm olein that will complement the activities and revenue of its refinery.

Biofutures also announced that its subsidiary, Zurex Corporation, had agreed feedstock supply deals with two crude palm oil suppliers – Teck Guan Group and CC Palm Trading Sdn Bhd.

And it said an off-take/contract manufacturing memorandum of understanding had been signed between Zurex and CC Palm Trading.

Biofutures said: “As prices of CPO have been highly volatile in the first three months of 2011, Zurex has been extremely cautious in its refining approach in the view of optimising the use of its resources and to avoid any unwarranted losses.

“These agreements should help reduce the impact of such volatility in the longer term.”

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