The abundant biomass resources coming mainly from its palm oil, wood and agro-industries are used mainly to produce steam for processing activities and also for generating electricity. Biomass fuels contribute to about 16 percent of the energy consumption in the country, out of which 51 percent comes from palm oil biomass waste and 27 percent wood waste. Other biomass energy contributors are from plant cultivations, animal and urban wastes. There are currently about 400 palm oil mills in operation, which self generates electricity from oil palm wastes not only for their internal consumption but also for surrounding remote areas. Studies also found that 75.5 percent of the potential biomass that can be harnessed in Malaysia is unutilized and wasted.

7.8.1 Oil palm residues

The oil palm industry generates residues during the harvesting, replanting and milling processes. The residue that comes from the milling processes are fruit fibers, shell and empty fruit bunches (EFB). Other residues including trunks and fronds are available at the plantation area. Currently shells and fibres are used as boiler fuel to generate steam and electricity for the mill’s consumption. The EFB is return back to the plantation for mulching. This is only practiced in bigger plantations. For old palm oil mills, the EFB is burned in the incinerator to produce fertilizer. However, there are still palm oil mills disposing the EFB through landfill method particularly the mills without enough plantations or estates.

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is the wastewater discharged from the sterilization process, crude oil clarification process and cracked mixture separation process. The amount of POME generated depends on the milling operation. For a palm oil mill with good housekeeping, it is estimated that 2.5 tonnes of POME are generated from every tonne of crude palm oil produced. The average value for Malaysian palm oil mill is 3.5 tonnes for every tonne of crude palm oil produced. The POME contains high chemical and biological oxygen demand, total solids and require a treatment system before it can be discharged to the environment. Biogas is generated from the biological treatment of POME. The composition is mainly methane (60-70%) and carbon dioxide (30-40%). The calorific value is between 4740-6560 kcal per Nm3 and the electricity generation is 1.8 kWh/cm3 of biogas. Some plantations practice zero waste management system.