PT. SUMBER PRATAMA BIOENERGY

Palm oil is an extremely useful vegetable oil derived from the pulp of the of the fruit of oil palms. [1] The main varieties that are used in the production of palm oil are African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) and American oil palm (Elaeis oleifera). Palm oil is naturally reddish-orange in color because of its high beta-carotene content. It is also one of the very few naturally saturated vegetable fats that increase the LDL cholesterol levels in a person’s body.

 

Palm Acid Oil (PAO) is a by-product from the chemical refining of palm oil. It consists mainly of FFA (over 50%) and neutral oil, with 2-3% moisture and other impurities. It is very similar to palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD), but its FFA is generally lower. Except for some special uses, the relative proportion of FFA to neutral oil does not usually matter very much, as it does not affect its fitness for use. In most cases the smell and colour are more important.

The main uses of PAO are in are animal feeds, in soap making and for distilled fatty acid production. This product is not now produced on any great scale outside Europe, because in Malaysia and Indonesia palm oil is refined by the physical process which gives PFAD rather than PAO.

 

Palm Kernel Shell (PKS) has high calorific values on par or better than other biofuels. This is partly due to the high concentration of carbon - approx. 46%. The gross calorific value of PKS is as high as 5,200 kWh/MT (18.80 GJ/MT) with an average of 4,300>4,800 kWh/MT and (17.18 GJ/MT) while coconut shells have a high calorific value of 4,600 kWh/MT (17.45 GJ/MT) with an average of 4,400 kWh/MT (15.74 GJ/MT) - PKS has a low moisture content of 11.2% ARB