What factors affect the performance of a palm oil mill?
Although the milling process is well established in the industry, insufficient research and development reported in optimising and analysing the operations of a palm oil mill. The performance of a palm oil mill (e.g., costs, utilisation and flexibility) is affected by factors such as operating time, capacity and fruit availability.
How does a palm oil mill work?
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. A palm oil mill produces crude palm oil, crude palm kernel oil and other biomass from fresh fruit bunches. Although the milling process is well established in the industry, insufficient research and development reported in optimising and analysing the operations of a palm oil mill.
Should palm oil mill effluent be a ‘low-hanging fruit’?
From a ¡°bird¡¯s eye view,¡± palm oil mill effluent (POME)-to-energy technology implementation should be ¡°low-hanging fruit¡± from both economic and government policy perspectives. In addition to the positive impact on GHGs and electricity access, the technology is increasingly understood and has been widely used in other contexts.
What is palm oil mill effluent?
Throughout the milling process, biomass such as palm kernel shell (PKS), pressed empty fruit bunch (PEFB) and palm pressed fibre (PPF) are generated as by-products. Meanwhile, large amounts of strong wastewater, which is known as palm oil mill effluent (POME) are produced during sterilisation and clarification operations. Figure 1.