Evaluating oil palm fresh fruit bunch processing in Nigeria

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Engineering
• Process Engineering
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Oil palm fresh fruit bunch (FFB) processing in Nigeria occurs via industrial, small-scale, and traditional routes.
• Quantifying fruit losses and energy wastage is crucial for optimizing palm oil production.
• Environmental impacts of waste disposal, particularly empty fruit bunch (EFB), require assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare fruit losses across industrial, small-scale, and traditional oil palm processing routes in Nigeria.
• To evaluate energy losses associated with processing by-products like mesocarp fibre (MF) and palm kernel shell (PKS).
• To estimate the environmental implications of EFB disposal and compare the socio-economics of industrial and small-scale routes.

Main Methods:

• Quantified unrecovered crude palm oil (CPO), palm kernel (PK), mesocarp fibre (MF), and palm kernel shell (PKS) after processing.
• Calculated energy losses based on the energy value of EFB, MF, and PKS.
• Estimated greenhouse gas emissions from EFB disposal and conducted socio-economic comparisons.

Main Results:

• Industrial processing lost 29 kg CPO, 18 kg PK, 75 kg MF, and 27 kg PKS per 1000 kg FFB, significantly higher than small-scale losses (grams).
• Industrial route incurred higher energy losses from MF (89 kWh) and PKS (31 kWh) compared to other routes.
• Disposal of 29,000 tonnes of EFB released 6670 tonnes CO2 equivalent of methane and nitrogen oxide.

Conclusions:

• The industrial oil palm processing route exhibits substantial fruit losses, despite its high throughput and CPO quality.
• The monetary value of lost CPO in the industrial route exceeds the small-scale processing labor cost.
• Recommends channeling poorly threshed EFB from industrial mills to small-scale processors to mitigate losses and environmental impact.