MPOB experiences "from concept to market"

Malaysia has a huge supply ofoil palm biomass including felled oil palm trunks (OPT), oil palm fronds (OPF), empty fruit bunches (EFB) and palm kernel shells (PKS). At present, the oil palm biomass is mainly used for soil mulching, as fertilizers for nutrient recycling as well as fuel for power generation, with a limited amount used in the plywood and fiberboard manufacturing and other products. Oil palm biomass is available incessantly from oil palm fronds (during pruning), empty fresh fruit bunch (from FFB processing) and also from oil palm trunks (during replanting). In spite of their continuous availability, palm biomass is not being commercially utilized as feedstock or raw materials for the production ofvarious biomass based products.Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has more than 20 years experience in the investigation of oil palm biomass characteristics, possible uses and had undertaken numerous research to promote the use of oil palm biomass especially for high valued products. These include composite panel products, pulp and paper, plywood, molded furniture products (particleboard), and medium density fiberboard (MOF). At present, particleboard manufactures in Malaysia based their supply of raw material on woods waste from logging in the timber industry and from rubber wood wastes. With the shrinking of logging activities and the tropical timber industries and the decline in the number of rubber trees, oil palm biomass offer an attractive alternative source for the particleboard industry. Unlike the logging and tropical timber (which is depleting), oil palm biomass supply is resourceful and can therefore replace the depleting timber or tropical forest.The estimation of oil palm biomass supply in Malaysia as raw material for plywood, molded furniture product, MOF and other products had been established earlier by MPOB. This paper highlights the advantages of oil palm biomasds as renewable source, being 'green" and also as a resource to replace the timber. Meanwhile information on the oil palm biomass supply, the market analysis, the R & D collaborative supports, etc will continue to be required to facilitate the production and commercialization of oil palm biomass based products.