POTENTIAL OF USING OIL PALM FLY ASH AS FERTILIZER FOR

AGRICULTURAL PURPOSE AND OTHER RELATED USAGE

by

Joseph Dal Khan Suan

A special study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Degree of Master of Science in
Agricultural Systems and Engineering

Examination Committee:

Dr. Avishek Datta (Chairperson)

Dr. P. Abdul Salam

Nationality:
Previous Degree:

Myanmar
Bachelor of Agricultural Science
Yezin Agricultural University
Yezin, Myanmar

Scholarship Donor:

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affair

Asian Institute of Technology

School of Environment, Resources and Development
Thailand
August, 2014

ABSTRACT
The oil palm industry was tremendously increased during the past few decades. As a result,
the biomass produced from oil palm industry is subsequently increased. For every kg of
palm oil produced, approximately four kg of dry biomass is produced. Biomass produced
from oil palm mills such as empty fruit bunches, palm kernel and palm fiber are used as
fuel for boiler to generate electricity. Oil palm ash, produced from the burning of oil palm
biomass in the boiler, is abundantly available in major oil palm production countries like
Indonesia and Malaysia and likely to increase in the future. Many researchers have been
engaged in the utilization of oil palm ash in different fields due to its properties such as
pozzolanic, alkaline nature, etc. This paper reviewed on the potential use of oil palm fly
ash as fertilizer for agricultural purpose and other related use. Oil palm ash has the
potential in many uses such as cement supplement, adsorbent, and raw material for black
soap production, fertilizer supplement and soil amendment for acid soil.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER TITLE

PAGE

Title Page
Abstract
Table of Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Abbreviations

i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi

Introduction
1.1
Background
1.2
Rationale of the study

1
1
1

The Oil Palm

2.1 Origin and history
2.2
Morphology
2.3
Climate condition
2.4
Production process
2.5
Treatment of waste products
2.6 Production quantity
2.7 Yield
2.8 The uses of palm oil
2.9 Environmental concerns

2
2
2
3
4
4
5
6
8
8

The Uses of Oil Palm Ash

3.1
Oil palm ash as geopolymer material
3.2
Oil palm ash as adsorbent
3.3 Oil palm as a catalyst in biodiesel production
3.4 Oil palm ash as sludge chemical binder
3.5 Oil palm ash as coupling agents in natural rubber processing
3.6
Oil palm ash as raw material for black soap production
3.7
Oil palm ash as fertilizer for agricultural purpose
3.8 Conclusions

9
9
11
12
12
12
12
13
14

References

15

iii

LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE

TITLE

PAGE

2.1

Map showing the extent of oil palm cultivation in the 43 oil palm
producing countries in 2009 (Kongsager & Reenberg, 2012)

2.2

Fresh fruit bunch (left) and fresh fruitlet (right).

Source: Internet.

2.6.1

The production quantity (Mt) of palm oil in relation to other major

oils (Kongsager & Reenberg, 2012).
Source: data from FAOSTAT (2011).

2.6.2

Production quantity (Mt) of palm oil from 1961 to 2009 for the
world and the four regions producing palm oil (Kongsager &
Reenberg, 2012).
Source: data from FAOSTAT (2011).

2.7.1

Yield (tCPO/ha) development for the regions from 1961 to 2009.

Yield is calculated by dividing production quantity of palm oil by
area harvested (Kongsager & Reenberg, 2012).
Source: data from FAOSTAT (2011).

2.7.2

Yield (tCPO/ha) for the countries with more than 10,000 ha of oil
palm in 2009. Yield is found by dividing production quantity of
palm oil by area harvested (Kongsager & Reenberg, 2012).
Source: data from FAOSTAT (2011).

2.8.1

Uses of oil palm byproducts and biomass in food and manufacturing

industries (Fairhurst & Mutert, 1999).

3.1

Boiler ash (A) and palm oil fuel ash (B) (Zarina et al., 2013).

iv

LIST OF TABLES
TABLE

TITLE

PAGE

3.1

Chemical composition of POFA (Zarina et al., 2013)

10

3.2.1

Previous researches in the utilization of oil palm ash as novel

adsorbents for different applications (Foo & Hameed, 2009a)

11

3.7.1

Elemental composition of oil palm ash Chun et al., (2008)

13

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
%

C
Al
Al2O3
BET
CaO
Ca(OH)2
CRD
CPO
FAOSTAT
Fe2O3
FFB
g
kg
K 2O
ha
L
m
m2
mg
MgO
mm
MPa
Mt
MPOB
NPK
Na2SiO3
NaOH
Na2O
OPA
POFA
pH
RCB
RSPO
Si
SiO2
SO3
t
UNEP
w/b
wt

Percentage
Degree
Degree Celsius
Alumina
Aluminum oxide
Brunauer-Emmet-Teller
Calcium oxide
Calcium hydroxide
Completely Randomized Design
Crude Palm Oil
Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations Statistics
Iron (iii) oxide
Fresh Fruit Bunch
Gram
Kilogram
Potassium oxide
Hectare
Liter
Meter
Meter square
Milligram per gram
Magnesium oxide
Millimeter
Megapascal
Metric ton
Malaysia Palm Oil Board
Nirtogen, Phosphorus and Potassium
Sodium silicate
Sodium hydroxide
Sodium oxide
Oil palm ash
Palm Oil Fuel Ash
Soil reaction
Randomized complete block design
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
Silica
Silicon dioxide
Sulfite
Ton
United Nations Environment Programme
Water to binder ratio
Weight

vi

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1

Background

The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) gives the highest yield of oil per unit area compared
to any other oil crop and produces two types of oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil (Poku,
2002). During the past few decades, the oil palm plantation has been rapidly expanding
around equatorial regions in the world and is now grown in 43 countries, especially in
Indonesia and Malaysia, and their total cultivated area accounts for nearly one-tenth of the
worlds permanent cropland (Koh & Wilcove, 2008).
Despite the large amount of palm oil production, the oil contributes to less than 25% by
weight of the palm fruit bunch (Poku, 2002). For every kg of palm oil produced,
approximately four kg of dry biomass is produced, excluding palm oil mill effluent. In
Malaysia alone, the production of palm biomass was approximately 87 Mt in 2010,
although this value excludes oil palm fronds and trunks, which would further increase the
amount of biomass produced by the palm oil industry (Ng et al, 2012). This has inspired a
growing interest in the utilization of oil palm waste as a renewable source of energy or
feedstock for a large variety of downstream products (Foo & Hameed, 2009a).
In the early cultivation, it was a common practice to dispose oil palm waste by
uncontrolled tipping or dumping, an operation in which waste is spread over the estates
ground or tipped to fill in low economic value open dumps on selected pieces of land
(inundated swampland, abandoned sand mines and quarries), without taking care of the
surrounding environment, nor considering any precautions to compact, cover and prohibit
the spreading of contaminants into the underlying waterways (Foo & Hameed, 2009b).
1.2

Rationale of the study

Waste from the palm oil industry also abundantly produced which caused criticism and
complaint. The waste such as palm fibers, nut shells, palm kernel and empty fruit bunches
are the solid wastes obtained from palm oil processing for oil extraction. Furthermore, they
were incinerated in boilers and due to the burning of empty fruit bunches, fibers and shells
as fuel to generate electricity, the waste, which is collected as ash, becomes oil palm ash
(Subramaniam et al., 2008). Oil palm ash is a waste and byproduct of the palm oil industry
which is one of the most important agro industries in South-East Asia and in the African
Sub-Sahara region (Ranjbar et al., 2014). In 2007, a total of 3 million tons of oil palm ash
was produced in Malaysia in 2007 and hundred thousand tons of oil palm ash is produced
annually in Thailand, and this production rate is likely to increase as palm oil plantation
areas have increased (Tangchirapat et al., 2007).
Disposal of oil palm ash caused environmental pollution and public health concerns. In
order to reduce the problems, many researchers have been focused on a way to utilize oil
palm ash as raw material for geopolymer composite, cement replacement in production of
concrete, wastewater treatment and air purifier in cleaning atmospheric contaminants
(Zarina et al., 2013). This paper studies about the potential of using oil palm fly ash as
fertilizer for agriculture purpose and other related usages.

CHAPTER 2
THE OIL PALM
2.1

Origin and history

The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.), the most important species in the genus Elaeis, is
belongs to the palm family, Arecaceae (Syed et al., 1982). It originates from West Africa,
where the main palm belt originally extended from Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast,
Ghana, and Cameroon to the equatorial Congo (Hartley, 1988), but at present oil palm is
cultivated in the majority of countries in the tropics (Figure 2.1).
Oil palm has long been used as food and medicine. The earliest archaeological evidence of
this is an earthenware jar containing residues of palm oil in a 5,000-year-old Egyptian
tomb (RSPO, 2011). The development of oil palm as a plantation crop began in Southeast
Asia, and it has become the most important industrial crop in countries like Malaysia,
Indonesia and Thailand (Shuit et al., 2009). The African oil palm was introduced to Asia in
the form of four seedlings from Mauritius and Amsterdam, which were planted in the
botanical gardens in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1848 (Tate, 1996).

Figure 2.1: Map showing the extent of oil palm cultivation in the 43 oil palm-producing
countries in 2009 (Kongsager & Reenberg, 2012).
2.2

Morphology

The stem of oil palm is stout and stands erect. It could attain a height of 30m when full
grown. The plant is monoecious (bears both the male and female flowers). When four
spear leaves appear on the palm, it is matured for tapping. Tapping the base of the spear
leaf produces exudates called the palm sap or palm wine. The leaves are pinnate and reach
between 3-5m long. A young palm produces about 30 leaves a year. Established palms
2

over 10 years produce about 20 leaves a year. The flowers are produced in dense clusters;
each individual flower is small, with three sepals and three petals (Obahiagbon, 2012).
The palm fruit is a drupe (a fleshy fruit with thin skin and a central stone containing the
seed), it takes five to six months to mature from pollination to maturity. It is reddish, about
the size of a large plum, and grows in large bunches. The fruit produces two types of oil;
the palm oil from the mesocarp and the kernel oil from its kernel. Palm oil is rich in
carotenoids, (pigments found in plants and animals) from which it derives its deep red
color, and the major component of its glycerides is the saturated fatty acid palmitic; hence
it is a viscous semi-solid, even at tropical ambients, and a solid fat in temperate climates.
The individual fruitlet, (Figure 2.2) ranging from 6-20g, are made up of an outer skin (the
exocarp), a pulp (mesocarp) containing the palm oil in a fibrous matrix; a central nut
consisting of a shell (endocarp); and the kernel, which itself contains an oil, quite different
to palm oil, resembling coconut oil (Poku, 2002).

Figure 2.2: Fresh fruit bunch (left) and fresh fruitlet (right).
Source: Internet.
2.3

Climate condition

Oil palms can grow in the tropical climate zone 16 north and south of the equator; the
annual rainfall should preferably be around 2,000mm evenly spread throughout the year.
Consequently, tropical monsoon regions with distinct dry and rainy seasons are less
suitable for the cultivation of oil palms. The humidity should preferably be around 8090%, and temperatures, which affect flowering and the ripening of the fruit, must be
around 30C. Oil palms need approximately five hours of sun daily and do not grow well
under closed canopies. The high leaf area ensures high primary production (Okamoto,
2000).
Irrigation is often too expensive, though the young trees in the nurseries are irrigated when
planted. Nowadays, plantations have well-established drainage systems with small canals
and streams running through the groves. Seasonal droughts found at higher tropical
latitudes greatly reduce yields (Basiron, 2007), and irrigation is often needed in plantations
more than 10 North and South from the equator (Kongsager & Reenberg, 2012).

2.4

Production process

The production process is divided into four stages (Sheil et al., 2009; Tivy, 1990):
1. In the nursery, the seedlings are raised for about 12 months prior to transplantation
in the field.
2. After 24 to 30 months, the oil palm starts to yield fruit in compact fresh fruit
bunches. Depending on the plant material and palm age, each palm can produce 815 fresh fruit bunches per year, each weighing 15-25kg and consisting of 1,0001,300 reddish fruits (Figure 2.2). The yield per tree gradually increases until
peaking at approximately 20 years; hence oil palm plantations are typically
destroyed and replanted at 25 to 30 year intervals, although an oil palm can produce
for approximately 35 years. Harvesting involves cutting ripe bunches manually
using a chisel or sickle. The collection of harvested fruits is either done manually,
sometimes with a wheelbarrow, or mechanically, using a tractor-mounted grabber
with trailer. Once a plantation is established there is only a minimum of work
related to, except weeding.
3. To preserve the freshness and quality of the palm oil, the fresh fruit bunches are
preferably sent to the mill for extraction within 24 hours of harvesting. The fresh
fruit bunches are steamed under high pressure to sterilize, loosen, and soften the
fruits before they are stripped from their stalks and mechanically pressed to extract
the oil.
4. The extraction of oil. The fruit consists of a fibrous mesocarp layer and an
endocarp with a kernel (Figure 2.2). Oil (triacylglycerols) can be extracted from
both the fruit and the seed, crude palm oil (CPO) from the outer mesocarp, and
palm-kernel oil from the endosperm. The CPO is sent to a refinery to remove
impurities, colors (by bleaching), and odors (by deodorizing). The refinery also
separates the solid (palm stearin) and liquid (palm olein) fractions of oil to cater to
a wide range of uses.
2.5

Treatment of solid waste products

In a well-run palm oil mill, it is expected that each 100 tons of fresh fruit bunches (FFB)
processed yields 20-24 tons of CPO and about 4 tons of palm kernels oil. Thus between
72-76 percent of the FFB comes out at various stages of the process as waste.
The solid wastes that result from the milling operations are:
Empty fruit bunches,
Palm fiber, and
Palm kernel shell.
In the large- and medium-scale mills the above-mentioned waste products are all put to
economically useful purpose. They could therefore be referred to as by-products rather
than waste products. Wet, empty bunches are partly dried in the sun and later used as fuel.
Another economic use for the empty bunches is to return them to the plantation as a mulch
to enhance moisture retention and organic matter in the soil (Poku, 2002).
4

2.6.

Production quantity

Global palm oil production has increased constantly over the last five decades, from 1.5 Mt
in 1961 to 45 Mt in 2009 (Figure 2.6.1). The rapid increase in production has led to palm
oil surpassing soybean oil as the worlds primary vegetable oil. Figure 2.6.1 shows the
relationship between global palm oil production and the other major vegetable oils over the
past five decades. Palm oil now accounts for approximately 32% of the global vegetable
oil production, soybean is second with 25%, and rapeseed oil third with 15% (Kongsager
& Reenberg, 2012).

Figure 2.6.1: The production quantity (Mt) of palm oil in relation to other major oils
(Kongsager & Reenberg, 2012).
Source: data from FAOSTAT (2011).
In terms of geography, Asia has been the predominant region since the 1980s, and in 2009
Asia processed 88% of the worlds palm oil (Figure 2.6.2). In 2007, Indonesia overhauled
Malaysia and became the worlds leading palm oil producer, and in 2009 these two
countries produced 85% of the worlds palm oil: Malaysia 39% and Indonesia 46%
(Kongsager & Reenberg, 2012).

Figure 2.6.2: Production quantity (Mt) of palm oil from 1961 to 2009 for the world and the
four regions producing palm oil (Kongsager & Reenberg, 2012).
Source: data from FAOSTAT (2011).
5

The main producer in Africa is Nigeria, which in 2009 accounted for 71% of the area
planted with oil palms in Africa, which in turn accounted for 21% of the world area
planted with oil palms. Twenty-one other countries in Africa grow oil palms, with Ghana,
Guinea, the Ivory Coast, and DR Congo as the most important palm oil growers by area
after Nigeria (Kongsager & Reenberg, 2012).
2.7.

Yield

The oil palm yield has increased from 1.87 to 2.97 tCPO/ha worldwide over the last five
decades (Figure 2.7.1), equivalent to 1.0% per year, which must be characterized as a low
growth rate. Nevertheless, oil palm yields far exceed those of other vegetable oils.
Rapeseed and soybeans, which must be considered as the main competitors of palm oil,
yield only around 1.5 and 0.5 t/ha, respectively (Thoenes, 2006).

Figure 2.7.1: Yield (tCPO/ha) development for the regions from 1961 to 2009. Yield is
calculated by dividing production quantity of palm oil by area harvested
(Kongsager & Reenberg, 2012).
Source: data from FAOSTAT (2011).
Currently, Asia has the highest yields, and in 2009 the national averages in Malaysia and
Indonesia reached 4.4 and 4.1 tCPO/ha (FAOSTAT, 2011), respectively. However, the
yield has stagnated over the past 30 years, and Indonesia and Malaysia increased their
yield by less than 1% per year in that period (FAOSTAT, 2011). The stagnated average
yields in the early 2000s were possibly a result of expansion into less fertile areas, and the
high proportion of immature plantations (Sheil et al., 2009). Intensively managed
commercial estates have achieved yields of 5-7 tCPO/ha, and even higher yields up to 1015 tCPO/ha have been reported (Persson & Azar, 2010).
Oceania has obtained high yields over the last five decades but they have only increased
their yield rate by 0.1% per year. Latin America experienced the largest increase rate of
2.4% per year in the period, yet they are still almost 1 t/ha behind Asia. Africa had the
same growth rate as Asia (1.1% per year) but the harvest is still approximately six times
less per hectare compared to rest of the world (Kongsager & Reenberg, 2012).
6

According to Carter et al., (2007) the aim behind a well-managed plantation should be to
produce an average yield of at least 20-25 t of fresh fruit bunches per hectare of mature oil
palm and an oil extraction rate of 20-25%. This means that mature oil palms should yield
between 4 and 6 tCPO/ha (plus a further 0.5 t or more of palm kernel oil when the byproduct palm kernel is crushed). As per figure 2.7.2, much of the world has not yet reached
this level of efficiency in palm oil production. Improved yields for Indonesia and Malaysia
are only slightly higher than the good commercial yields of 5.5 t/ha already obtained on
some plantations in Malaysia (Jalani et al., 2002) and significantly lower than the best
yields obtained from breeding trials of 10 t/ha and the theoretical yield of 18 t/ha (Corley
& Tinker, 2008).

Figure 2.7.2: Yield (tCPO/ha) for the countries with more than 10,000 ha of oil palm in
2009. Yield is found by dividing production quantity of palm oil by area
harvested (Kongsager & Reenberg, 2012).
Source: data from FAOSTAT (2011).
Recently, the Malaysian oil palm industry has entered into a new dimension by the
successful cloning of oil palm tree. The oil palm clones are reported to be able to produce
up to 10.6 tCPO/ha. This value is at least 20-25% higher than the yield of conventional
seedlings. Moreover, this new breed of oil palm clone has a shorter maturity period (two
years compared to two and a half for the old breed). Apart from this, the new clone is also
shorter, making the harvesting process easier. However, the price of clone oil palm
seedlings is 15 times higher than the conventional price of hybrid oil palm seeds, and the
Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB) is therefore taking steps toward sponsoring the
producers of clones and the planters of oil palm to allow them to replace old oil palm trees
with high-yielding ones (Lam et al., 2009).

2.8.

The uses of oil palm

The success of palm oil can partly be connected to its wide diversity of uses. It can be
found in numerous supermarket products. Palm oil is mostly used as an ingredient in the
manufacture and further processing of food products, but many other uses are becoming
increasingly important. Moreover, there are multiple uses of oil palm byproducts, which
can increase profits and reduce waste (Kongsager & Reenberg, 2012). Figure 2.8.1 shows
an overview of uses of palm oil and oil palm byproducts.

Figure 2.8.1: Uses of oil palm byproducts and biomass in food and manufacturing
industries (Fairhurst & Mutert, 1999).
2.9.

Environmental concerns

Numerous NGOs continuously alert the international community to the negative

environmental impact of the development of palm oil. The debate has largely been spurred
by land use change that occur by converting natural rainforest, peat swamp forest,
cropland, or other land types to oil palm plantations. This land use change, in turn, has
further environmental implications such as the loss of biodiversity, emission of greenhouse
gasses from carbon stock changes in biomass and soil, forest fires, and related respiratory
diseases. Furthermore, processing mills are a source of air and water pollution, and the
impact of large estates on water regulation and quality is still under debate (Wicke et al.,
2011).

CHAPTER 3
THE USES OF OIL PALM ASH
3.1

Oil palm ash as geopolymer material

The oil palm industry was tremendously increased within the last decades. As a result, oil
palm mills are producing large amounts of biomass and these are used extensively as fuel
for steam production in oil palm mills. After combustion, a large quantity of ash is
produced and creates problems of disposal. This palm oil fuel ash was identified as a good
pozzolanic material (Sumadi, 1993) and extensive research works have been carried out in
view of the utilization of POFA as a supplementary cementing material (Mehmannavaz et
al., 2014).
Zarina et al., (2013), have reviewed the potential of various ashes from palm oil waste as
geopolymer material and published in the journal of Reviews on Advanced Materials
Science. According to the review paper, there are two types of ash, palm oil fuel ash
(POFA); by product from power electricity generation plants that used palm oil shells and
palm oil bunches as burn materials (Figure 3.1A), and boiler ash; biomass known as
mesocarp fiber and shell that consists of clinkers and ash that has been burnt in the boiler
(Figure 3.1B).

Figure 3.1: Boiler ash (A) and palm oil fuel ash (B) (Zarina et al., 2013).
The authors concluded that both of these ashes contain silica (Si) which has potential to
develop as geopolymer composites. However, only POFA has been successfully produced
ash geopolymer materials but it required other raw material that rich in alumina (Al) to
produce geopolymer with suitable strength. In order to produce geopolymer, the POFA has
been activated by alkaline activator consists of mixture of sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) and
sodium hydroxide (NaOH). On the other hand, the use of boiler ash as geopolymer
materials was never been investigated.
In that review paper, the authors present chemical compositions of POFA, analyzed by Xray florescence from a number of research articles (Table 3.1). From the table it was shown
that POFA was rich in silicon dioxide (SiO2), and more than 40% was found. It was also
found that chemical compositions of POFA from different mills were also slightly different
and the authors of the review paper did not provide any possible reason for why they were
different in chemical composition.

Table 3.1: Chemical composition of POFA (Zarina et al., 2013).

Chemical
Palm ash composition (wt. %)
Components
Malaysia Thailand
Thailand
Thailand
(Johari
et al., 2012)

SiO2
Al2O3
Fe2O3
CaO
MgO
SO3
K 2O
Na2O

3.1.1

51.18
4.61
3.42
6.93
4.02
0.36
5.52
0.06

(Altwair
et al., 2011)

Malaysia

(Tangchirapat
et al., 2009)

(Tangchirapat
et al., 2007)

(Chindaprasirt
et al., 2008)

63.6
1.6
1.4
7.6
3.9
0.2
6.9
0.1

57.7
4.5
3.3
6.5
4.2
0.2
8.2
0.5

43.6
11.4
8.4
4.8
0.4
2.8
3.5
4.7

65.3
2.5
1.9
6.4
3.0
0.4
5.7
0.3

Utilization of POFA as geopolymer material

Researches on the utilization of POFA as supplementary cementitious material in the

production of concrete have been done by many researchers. The research done by
(Chindaprasirt et al., 2008) found that the consumption of POFA in concrete improved the
resistance against sulfate and chloride penetration. Furthermore, the use of POFA also
enhances the other properties of concrete such as compressive strength, tensile strength,
modulus of elasticity and expansion (Johari et al., 2012). In the same time, the water
permeability, drying shrinkage and water to binder ratio (w/b) has been reduced (Altwair et
al., 2011). Tangchirapat et al., (2009), studied on the use of POFA in the production of
high strength concrete, where it was found that at 90 days the compressive strength of
concrete containing 20% of ground palm ash was 70 MPa with drying shrinkage and water
permeability lower than high strength concrete containing Type I Portland cement.
Meanwhile, Johari et al., (2012), studied about the influence of POFA fineness in the
production of high strength concrete. From the research it was concluded the compressive
strength of concrete with ultrafine POFA was more than 95 MPa at 28 days. Moreover, the
other mechanical properties such as porosity, water permeability, initial surface absorption,
gas permeability and rapid chloride permeability were enhancing with the inclusion of
ultrafine POFA.
3.1.2

Potential of boiler ash as geopolymer material

The other ash that produced from palm oil mill is boiler ash. Nowadays, the boiler ash only
used as application on roads and ground in the plantations and mills. The compositions of
boiler ash were consisting of potassium, silicon, phosphorous which is suitable to use as
fertilizer and also additive in concrete and cement (Subramaniam et al., 2008). However,
so far no study has been done about utilization of boiler ash in production of geopolymer.
As such, future work will be study about the utilization of boiler ash as geopolymer
material (Zarina et al., 2013).

10

3.2

Oil palm ash as adsorbent

Li et al., (2008) witnessed the ability of activated carbon for removal of broad types of
organic and inorganic pollutants dissolved in aqueous media, even from gaseous
environment. Despite its prolific use in adsorption processes, the biggest barrier of its
application by the industries is the cost-prohibitive adsorbent and difficulties associated
with regeneration (Foo & Hameed, 2009c). For these reasons, extensive researches have
been done to evaluate the feasibility and reliability of natural, renewable and low-cost
materials as alternative adsorbents. Simultaneously, oil palm ash, an abundantly available
industrial waste from the oil palm mills, has currently emerged to be an ideal adsorbent in
the wastewater treatment processes and as air purifier in cleaning of atmosphere
contaminants (Foo & Hameed, 2009b). Table 3.2.1 shows lists of previous researches in
the utilization of oil palm ash as novel adsorbents for different applications.
Table 3.2.1: Previous researches in the utilization of oil palm ash as novel adsorbents for
different applications (Foo & Hameed, 2009a).
Adsorbate
Sulfur
dioxide gas
Sulfur
dioxide gas
Sulfur
dioxide gas
Reactive
blue 19 dye
Acid green
25 dye
Direct blue
71 dye
Disperse
blue
Disperse red
Zinc ions

BET
surface area
(m2/g)
8.60
10.20
8.60
-

Treatment/Modifications

Removal
(%)

Slurred with CaO and

Ca(OH)2
Slurred with CaO and
Ca(OH)2
Slurred with CaO and
Ca(OH)2
Composite with chitosan

100

Maximum
adsorption
capacity (mg/g)
-

100

5.06

100

423.50

5.36

Sulfuric acid

181.80

5.36

Sulfuric acid

400.01

99

47.20

Nitric acid

99
97

48.60
0.01

23.4

Reference
Mohamed et
al., 2005
Zainudin et
al., 2005
Mohamed et
al., 2006
Hasan et al.,
2008
Hameed et
al., 2007
Ahmad et al.,
2007
Isa et al.,
2007
Chu &
Hashim,
2002

Initially, Chu & Hashim (2002) studied on adsorption and desorption characteristics of
zinc on ash particles derived from oil palm waste. They found that oil palm ash with a
competent removal of 97% corresponding to an adsorption capacity of 0.01mg/g. Lately, a
separated study on utilizing oil palm ash with sulfuric acid modification was individually
examined by Hameed et al., (2007) and Ahmad et al., (2007) for the treatment of acid
green 25 and direct blue 71 dyes molecules, denoting an adsorption capability of
181.80mg/g and 400.01mg/g. A comparative investigation has been undertaken by Hasan
et al., (2008), which complying a chitosan-oil palm ash composite beads for the
discrimination of reactive blue 19 dyes, accomplishing an adsorption of 423.50mg/g with
an early concentration of 500 mg/L.

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3.3

Oil palm ash as a catalyst in biodiesel production

Chin et al., (2009) studied the effect of methanol to oil ratio, reaction time, catalyst
amount, and temperature on the transesterification of waste cooking palm oil using oil
palm ash as a catalyst by using a central composite rotatable design. Result indicated the
addition of palm ash catalyst may constitute a three phase system, oil-methanol-catalyst,
thus creating a diffusion resistance within the viscous multiphase system, devoting the
elevation of available active sites, reaction equilibrium and production yield.

3.4

Oil palm ash as sludge chemical binder

Yin et al., (2008) attempted the employment of oil palm ash as sludge chemical binders for
stabilization of pH, reduction of contaminants mobility and improving of physical integrity
through a combination of precipitation, encapsulation, chemisorption and ion exchange
processes. Under the mixing stage, hydration occurred upon the contacting of binding
mixtures with the water molecules, thereby stimulate a rapid setting, leading to the
production of rigid calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) structure, with densely and packed
silicate fibrils interlacing the mixture entrapping inert materials and unreacted grains (Foo
& Hameed, 2009b).
3.5

Oil palm ash as coupling agents in natural rubber processing

In the natural rubber processing industry, Ismail & Haw (2008) have exhibited the
possibility of oil palm ash as coupling agents for remedying the compatibility of
hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymer matrix while enhancing its hardness, stiffness,
brittleness and vulcanization curing rates. The results indicated that the scorch time and
cure time decreased with increasing palm ash filler loading, whereas the maximum torque
exhibited an increasing trend. Increasing the palm ash loading increased the tensile
modulus, but the tensile strength, fatigue life, and elongation at break decreased. The
rubberfiller interactions of the composites decreased with increasing filler loading.
3.6

Oil palm ash as raw material for black soap production

In Nigeria, the assignation of oil palm ash in the production of traditional black soap has
been revealed by Taiwo & Osiniwo, (2001). Unlike other soaps which are made from oils
and chemicals, black soap is made from oils and agro-wastes ashes. Chemical analysis
indicated that the liquid extract from the ashes of the different agro-wastes used contained
various amounts of potassium and sodium compounds. The most common ingredient in the
agro-wastes was potassium carbonate. The amount of potassium carbonate was
43.150.13% in palm-bunch ash. Soaps made from the agro-wastes ashes had excellent
solubility, consistency, cleansing and lathering abilities.

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3.7

Oil palm ash as fertilizer for agricultural purpose

Extraction of the oil from fresh oil palm fruits requires separation of the fruitlets from
empty fruit bunches prior to further processing. After processing, these empty fruit
bunches, which consist of fibers and shells, are often used as boiler fuel by palm oil mill
plants to produce steam for electricity generation and palm oil extraction. Yin et al., (2008)
conducted an investigation into physicochemical characteristics of ash produced from
combustion of oil palm biomass waste in a boiler and found that the oil palm ash should
not be classified as toxic wastes in terms of heavy metal leachability since leachable
copper, cadmium, lead and nickel concentrations were detected below the stipulated
leachability limits. It was determined that the oil palm ash (OPA) contained high amount
of potassium as well as presence of silica (Table 3.7.1) which implied its suitability to be
reused as crude fertilizer.
Table 3.7.1: Elemental composition of oil palm ash Yin et al., (2008).
Elements
Weight (%)
Oxygen (O)
56.30
Magnesium (Mg)
2.27
Aluminium (Al)
0.56
Silicon (Si)
4.65
Potassium (K)
16.04
Calcium (Ca)
1.36
Iron (Fe)
0.59
Zinc (Zn)
0.33
Other
1.42
The effect of oil palm bunch ash, spent grain, poultry and turkey manures applied solely
and their supplemented forms, as sources of fertilizer on soil fertility, leaf mineral
composition and growth of bitter kola (Garnicia colae) seedlings was investigated at
Akure in the rainforest zone of Nigeria by Moyin-Jesu & Adeofun, (2008). They used eight
organic fertilizer treatments: spent grain, oil palm bunch ash, poultry manure, turkey
manure, spent grain + poultry manure, spent grain + turkey manure, oil palm bunch ash +
poultry manure and oil palm bunch ash + turkey manure and applied at 40g per 10kg soil
filled polybag and arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD) and replicated three
times. The results indicated that these organic fertilizers showed better performance than
control treatment at 5% significant level. Among the treatments, oil palm bunch ash +
poultry manure applied at 8 t/ha was most effective treatment in improving bitter kola
growth parameters, soil and leaf mineral composition.
In 2012, Adjei-Nsiah studied the effects of oil palm bunch ash and mineral fertilizer
application on grain yield and nutrient uptake in maize and soil chemical properties were in
both the major and minor rainy seasons in the semi-deciduous forest agro-ecological zone
of Ghana. In both the major and minor rainy seasons, the response of maize to four levels
(0, 2, 4, and 6 t/ha) of palm bunch ash and 200 kg/ha of NPK (15-15 15) application was
evaluated using randomized complete block design (RCB). Results of the study showed
that application of oil palm bunch ash increased soil pH, soil phosphorus, and
exchangeable cations at 5% significant level. Maize grain yield varied among the different
treatments at 5% significant level in both the major and minor rainy seasons. The highest
13

maize grain yield of 4530 and 6120 kg/ha was obtained at oil palm bunch ash application
rate of 2 t/ha for the major and minor rainy seasons, respectively.
Another study was conducted at the Forest and Horticultural Crops Research Centre,
Ghana by Adjei-Nsiah & Christian, (2013), to investigate the effects of oil palm bunch ash
application on growth, nutrient uptake and yield of three vegetable crops; garden eggs,
pepper and okra both in the field and in the pot. The results of the study showed that oil
palm bunch ash application increased soil pH, soil phosphorus and exchangeable cations at
5% significant level. In the field experiment, mineral fertilizer application resulted in an
increase in the fresh fruit yield of the garden eggs and the pepper over the control by as
much as 93% while oil palm bunch ash application resulted in fresh fruit yield increase of
between 55-91%. For okra, fertilizer application resulted in fresh fruits yield increase of
about 83% over the control while yield increase as a result of oil palm bunch ash
application ranged between 8 and 69%. For the garden eggs, the highest fruit yield of 9.52
t/ha was obtained at oil palm bunch ash application rate of 4 t/ha while for the pepper and
the okra, the highest fruit yields of 6 and 4.96 t/ha were obtained at the oil palm bunch ash
application rate of 2 t/ha. The study suggested that oil palm bunch ash could be used as a
liming material and fertilizer supplement to increase soil pH of acid soils and increase the
yield of vegetable crops.
3.7.1

Oil palm bunch ash fertilizer in market

Oil palm bunch are now available in global market with different size of packages and
specifications. DST and PalmNJR are Malaysia based companies and they commercialized
oil palm bunch ash fertilizer with their own packaging size. The package size of oil palm
ash fertilizer produced by PalmNJR company is 25 kg/bag while the package size of oil
palm ash fertilizer produced by DST company is either 900 kg/bag or 50 kg/bag. Although
different size of package, due to its alkaline nature, all oil palm ash fertilizers are sold as
fertilizer supplements, soil amendments for acidic soil, and organic source of potassium.
3.8.

Conclusions

As the oil palm industry in rapidly growing, the amount of ash produced from oil palm
mills is also increased. In Malaysia alone, the production of oil palm ash was estimated as
4 million ton/year (Zarina et al., 2013). This has inspired a growing interest in utilization
of this agro-industrial waste. In Malaysia, one such effort is the usage of ash as fertilizers
for agricultural plots. However, this may present another environmental dilemma since
such application is usually not well-controlled and may result in major alterations in the
physicochemical properties of the existing agricultural soils (Yin et al., 2008). Until now,
there were several studies conducted to evaluate the practicability of utilization of oil palm
ash and it finds its potential as geopolymer material, adsorbent, catalyst in biodiesel
production, sludge chemical binder, coupling agent in natural rubber processing, raw
material for black soap production and as organic fertilizer amendment.

14

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