Uses for Palm Oil
<p >Palm oil, like other vegetable oils, can be used to create <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiesel" title="Biodiesel" >biodiesel</a>, as either a simply processed palm oil mixed with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_fuel" title="Diesel fuel" >petrodiesel</a>, or processed through transesterification to create a palm oil <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methyl_ester" title="Methyl ester" class="mw-redirect" >methyl ester</a> blend, which meets the international <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EN_14214" title="EN 14214" >EN 14214</a> specification. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycerin" title="Glycerin" class="mw-redirect" >Glycerin</a> is a byproduct of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transesterification" title="Transesterification" >transesterification</a>. The actual process used to produce biodiesel around the world varies between countries and the requirements of different markets. Next-generation <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofuel" title="Biofuel" >biofuel</a> production processes are also being tested in relatively small trial quantities.
The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Energy_Agency" title="International Energy Agency" >IEA</a> predicts <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofuel" title="Biofuel" >biofuels</a> usage in Asian countries will remain modest. But as a major producer of palm oil, the Malaysian government is encouraging the production of biofuel feedstock and the building of palm oil<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiesel" title="Biodiesel" >biodiesel</a> plants. Domestically, Malaysia is preparing to change from diesel to biofuels by 2008, including drafting legislation that will make the switch mandatory.</p>
<table class="metadata plainlinks ambox ambox-content ambox-Update" ><tbody>
<tr>
<td class="mbox-image" >
<div ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gnome_globe_current_event.svg" class="image" ><img alt="Gnome globe current event.svg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Gnome_globe_current_event.svg/42px-Gnome_globe_current_event.svg.png" width="42" height="42" /></a></div>
</td>
<td class="mbox-text" >This article is <b>outdated</b>. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Palm_oil" title="Talk:Palm oil" >talk page</a> for more information. <small><i>(August 2010)</i></small></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p >From 2007, all diesel sold in Malaysia must contain 5% palm oil. Malaysia is emerging as one of the leading biofuel producers, with 91 palm oil plants approved and a handful now in operation.<sup id="cite_ref-forbes_32-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_oil#cite_note-forbes-32" >[33]</a></sup>
On 16 December 2007, Malaysia opened its first biodiesel plant in the state of Pahang, with an annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes, and which also produces byproducts in the form of 4,000 tonnes of palm fatty acid distillate and 12,000 tonnes of pharmaceutical-grade glycerine.<sup id="cite_ref-nst_33-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_oil#cite_note-nst-33" >[34]</a></sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neste_Oil" title="Neste Oil" >Neste Oil</a> of Finland plans to produce 800,000 tonnes of biodiesel per year from Malaysian palm oil in a new <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore" title="Singapore" >Singapore</a> refinery from 2010, which will make it the largest biofuel plant in the world,<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_oil#cite_note-34" >[35]</a></sup> and 170,000 tpa from its first second-generation plant in Finland from 2007-8, which can refine fuel from a variety of sources. Neste and the Finnish government are using this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraffin" title="Paraffin" >paraffinic</a> fuel in some public buses in the Helsinki area as a small scale pilot.<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_oil#cite_note-35" >[36]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_oil#cite_note-36" >[37]</a></sup>
First generation biodiesel production from palm oil is in demand globally. Palm oil is also a primary substitute for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapeseed" title="Rapeseed" >rapeseed</a> oil in Europe, which too is experiencing new demand for biodiesel purposes. Palm oil producers are investing heavily in the refineries needed for biodiesel. In Malaysia, companies have been merging, buying others out and forming alliances to obtain the economies of scale needed to handle the high costs caused by increased feedstock prices. New refineries are being built across Asia and Europe.<sup id="cite_ref-grain_37-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_oil#cite_note-grain-37" >[38]</a></sup></p>
<p>
As the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_vs._fuel" title="Food vs. fuel" >food vs. fuel</a> debate mounts, research is turning to biodiesel production from waste. In Malaysia, an estimated 50,000 tonnes of used frying oils, both vegetable oils and animal fats, are disposed of yearly, without treatment, as wastes. In a 2006 study, researchers found used frying oil (mainly palm olein), after pretreatment with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silica_gel" title="Silica gel" >silica gel</a>, is a suitable feedstock for conversion to methyl esters by catalytic reaction using<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hydroxide" title="Sodium hydroxide" >sodium hydroxide</a>. The methyl esters produced have fuel properties comparable to those of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_diesel" title="Petroleum diesel" class="mw-redirect" >petroleum diesel</a>, and can be used in unmodified <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_engines" title="Diesel engines" class="mw-redirect" >diesel engines</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_oil#cite_note-38" >[39]</a></sup></p>
<p>
A 2009 study by scientists at Malaysian Science University concluded palm oil, compared to other vegetable oils, is a healthy source of edible oil and at the same time, available in quantities that can satisfy global demand for biodiesel. Oil palm planting and palm oil consumption circumvents the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_vs._fuel" title="Food vs. fuel" >food vs. fuel</a> debate because it has the capacity to fulfill both demands simultaneously.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_oil#cite_note-39" >[40]</a></sup> By 2050, a British scientist estimates global demand for edible oils will probably be around 240 million tonnes, nearly twice 2008 consumption. Most of the additional oil may be palm oil, which has the lowest production cost of the major oils, but soybean oil production will probably also increase. An additional 12,000,000 hectares (46,000 sq mi) of oil palms may be required, if average yields continue to rise as in the past. This need not be at the expense of forest; oil palm planted on anthropogenic grassland could supply all the oil required for edible purposes in 2050.<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_oil#cite_note-40" >[41]</a></sup></p>