Search Results (7)

This work presents an effective design of a strategy to manage biomass waste (empty fruit bunch—EFB, kernel shell, and fiber) available from the processing of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) in Colombia as a renewable energy source. This type of study is conducted for the first time in the country, and the proposed strategy is structured in four phases. Firstly, an inventory of available biomass waste was prepared based on information from 45 African palm oil companies of the approximately 70 that exist in the country. It was determined that the country had about 2762 kt of available waste (63.64% EFB, 12.55% kernel shell, and 23.81% fiber) for the year 2023. The estimates were conducted using a model that correlates processing capacity, the biomass generated, and the biomass demanded. The validation was performed using national reports. Subsequently, the minimum number (six) of storage centers in Colombia, where the largest amount of biomass can be stored, was determined. The center of gravity method was used to find the geographical location of each bulk storage center (municipality of Aracataca, Agustín Codazzi, San Martín, Puerto Wilches, Castilla La Nueva, and Cabuyaru). The next step was to determine the transportation costs as a decision criterion to select the best bulk storage center. When the required storage capacity does not exceed 211 kt·year⁻¹, Agustín Codazzi is the best option because it has the lowest transportation cost (USD 1.01·t⁻¹). When the storage capacity requirements exceed 211 kt·year⁻¹ but are less than 423 kt·year⁻¹, then Puerto Wilches and/or Aracataca are the best options (transportation cost of USD 1.7·t⁻¹). In all cases, Cabuyaru has the highest costs (USD 6.56·t⁻¹). Finally, an energy potential of 50,196 × 10⁶ GJ·year⁻¹ for the collected biomass was estimated, which makes this kind of waste an environmental alternative that could replace coal in Colombia. Full article

The demand for palm oil is expected to increase due to its wide use in the market. Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of the African palm tree, yielding crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel oil (PKO). The production process involves multiple stages, from harvesting to drying; while the problem lies in the scarcity of fresh fruit bunches and the lack of diagnosis of the process. This study proposes to carry out a WEP (Water–Energy–Product) technical assessment to optimize the use of water, energy, and raw materials in the production of CPO, calculating a series of technical parameters and indicators and determining the latter’s efficiency. The results showed that for a processing capacity of 30,000 kg/h of African palm bunches, 5070 kg/h of CPO were obtained, reaching a production yield of 69.63%, a wastewater production ratio (WPR) of 58.64 %, a fractional water consumption (FWC) of 2.38 m³/t of CPO, a total cost of freshwater (TCF) of 347.33 USD/day, a total cost of energy (TCE) of 13,235.95 USD/day, an energy-specific intensity (ESI) of 4905.66 MJ/t of CPO, a natural gas consumption index (NGCI) of 103,421.65 m³/t of CPO, an electric energy consumption index (EECI) of 165.67 kWh/t of CPO, and a net energy ratio (NER) and energy utilization index (ECI) of 165.67 kWh/t of CPO. The EUI is higher than 1. Additionally, five indicators showed an efficiency higher than 80%, highlighting the energy indicators (TCE, NGCI, and EECI), which reached the highest efficiency (95.45%) due to the predominant use of natural gas, and the water indicators (FWC and TCF), which reached 92.90% and 88.12%, respectively. Finally, improvements are required in the WPR (41.36%) and the ESI (78.13%), which merit optimization techniques using mass and energy integration, respectively. Full article

Harvesting is a serious issue in oil palm plantations after 15–20 years owing to the increased height of the trees (>9 m). The slow vertical growth of the oil palm dura genotypes is desired for increasing the D × P progenies’ productivity and economic life span upto ten years. A reduced height increment has a long-term impact on harvesting costs. The current study assessed 308 genotypes generated from African germplasm. Over a three year period, the biometric properties of eleven D × D crosses were evaluated in order to quantify genetic parameters and phenotypic correlations, and principal component analysis was performed for genetic attributes of the better-performing dwarf progenies in terms of yield. The evaluated genotypes have a highly significant influence (p < 0.01) on the majority of characteristics. The progenies yielded between 165 and 208 kg of fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) per palm every year. The height increment (HI) varied between 17% and 19%, with an overall average of 18%. Genotypes G8, G300, and G221 had the lowest yearly height increments, measuring 28.98, 29.19, and 30.87 cm, respectively. The outcome of the present study shows that they are slow-height-increment genotypes with a high FFB yield (>25 T/Ha). The creation of dura parents with a slow height increment in combination with a high bunch weight helps for prolonging the productive life of the palm to more than 35 years, adding value to obtain distinct oil palm varieties. Overall, this targeted breeding effort towards developing dwarf oil palm hybrids reflects a strategic approach to addressing specific challenges in oil palm cultivation, ultimately helping to promote the oil palm sector globally. Full article

Hydrogen has become a prospective energy carrier for a cleaner, more sustainable economy, offering carbon-free energy to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and address climate change challenges. However, hydrogen production faces significant technological and economic hurdles that must be overcome to reveal its highest potential. This study focused on evaluating the economics and technoeconomic resilience of two large-scale hydrogen production routes from African palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) by indirect gasification. Computer-aided process engineering (CAPE) assessed multiple scenarios to identify bottlenecks and optimize economic performance indicators like gross profits, including depreciation, after-tax profitability, payback period, and net present value. Resilience for each route was also assessed, considering raw material costs and the market price of hydrogen in relation to gross profits and after-tax profitability. Route 1 achieved a gross profit (DGP) of USD 47.12 million and a profit after taxes (PAT) of USD 28.74 million, while Route 2 achieved a DGP of USD 46.53 million and a PAT of USD 28.38 million. The results indicated that Route 2, involving hydrogen production through an indirect gasification reactor with a Selexol solvent unit for carbon dioxide removal, demonstrated greater resilience in terms of raw material costs and product selling price. Full article

The low annual growth rate of the stipe in oil palm progenies is desirable to increase these crops’ productive and economic life. Recurrent reciprocal selection (R.R.S.) has allowed the development of oil palm populations through several breeding cycles with an increased frequency of favorable alleles associated with traits of interest. The present study evaluated families derived from Deli dura × African dura crosses. For 12 years, the yield, vegetative characteristics, and the amount of oil in seven dura progenies were assessed to estimate, from the information collected, the genetic parameters, heritability, and phenotypic correlations among quantitative genetic traits of high-yielding dwarf progenies. The analysis was carried out using analysis of variance, followed by a comparison of means for all estimated traits. The effect of the progenies was highly significant (p ≤ 0.01) for most traits. The yield values, expressed in fresh fruit bunches (FFB) for the progenies, ranged from 165 to 208 kg per palm per year. The oil-to-bunch ratio (O/B) ranged from 17% to 19%, with an overall average of 18%. One of the essential characteristics in this study was the vertical growth of the stipe. Progenies P6 and P7 were identified as those with the lowest annual increase in height, with values of 0.29 and 0.33 m year⁻¹. The values indicate that these are slow-growing cultivars with a high FFB yield and O/B. The highest heritabilities were found for the vegetative trait height (71.62%) and the number of leaflets (46.64%). The development of dura parents with slow growth characteristics in combination with a high bunch and oil production allows extending the productive life of the crop to more than 35 years, providing added value to obtaining differentiated cultivars of oil palm. Full article

Interspecific OxG hybrids of African palm Elaeis guineensis Jacq. and the American palm Elaeis oleifera Cortes produce high-oleic palm oil (HOPO) with low saturated fatty acid content. OxG hybrids are highly productive, grow slowly, and are resistant to bud rot disease. However, OxG hybrid pollen presents low viability and germinability, so assisted pollination is a must. Hybrids can produce parthenocarpic or seedless fruits, with the exogenous application of plant growth regulators. Thus, naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) effects on parthenocarpic fruits induction, bunch formation, and oil quality were evaluated. The OxG hybrid Coari x La Mé was used. NAA doses, frequency, number of applications, and the phenological stages for the treatments were defined. A total dose of 1200 mg L⁻¹ NAA applied three or four times produced bunches with better fruit set, similar average bunch weight, and oil to dry mesocarp than those obtained with assisted pollination. At a semi-commercial scale, 1200 mg L⁻¹ NAA induced bunches that consisted of 93% or more of seedless fruits. Bunch number (2208 ± 84 versus 1690 ± 129) and oil to bunch (32.2 ± 0.7 versus 25.3 ± 0.8) were higher in the NAA induced bunches than in the assisted pollination. However, the average bunch weight was lower (12.2 ± 0.4 versus 14.9 ± 0.6). NAA increased oil to bunch in 36% (8.7 ± 0.1 versus 6.4 ± 0.3). Thus, with this technology, it is plausible to reach more than 10 tons per hectare per year of HOPO. Potentially, without increasing the planted oil palm area, OxG hybrids and NAA applications could alone meet the world’s fats and oil demands. Full article

The African palm is the main source of vegetable oil worldwide, representing about 29.60% of the total oil and fat production around the world. The rapid expansion of this sector has faced several concerns related to environmental and social aspects that have driven the search for sustainable alternatives. In this work, the inherent safety analysis and sustainability evaluation for the crude palm oil production process was performed using the inherent safety index (ISI) method and the sustainable weighted return on investment metric (SWROIM), respectively. The process was designed for a processing capacity of 30 t/h of palm bunches and under North-Colombian conditions. Three technical indicators were considered to evaluate the process sustainability including exergy efficiency, potential environmental impacts output (PEI output), and the total inherent safety index (I_TI). The economic factor is directly considered since the SWROIM is an extension of the conventional return on investment (ROI). The resulting I_TI at 11 indicated an inherently safe process, and the highest risk was observed for the process equipment safety subindex. The SWROIM reached a higher value (53%) compared to the conventional ROI (49.39%), which suggests positive impacts on sustainability. The novelty of this work lies in detecting the inherent risks and providing a decision making criteria for this project through a complete evaluation that relates economic, energy, environmental, and safety criteria. Full article