๐ด From Plantation to Harvest
Oil Palm Growth: Trees take 3–4 years to mature, and each can produce 14–18 fresh fruit bunches annually for up to 30 years.
Harvesting: Only ripe, reddish-orange bunches are cut. Ripeness is crucial to ensure oil content and quality.
Fast Transport: Fruits must reach the mill within 24 hours to avoid spoilage.
๐ญ Milling Process
1. Sterilisation – Fresh fruit bunches are steamed under high pressure.
Stops enzyme activity (prevents oil degradation).
Loosens fruits from bunches.
2. Threshing – Separates fruitlets from the bunch stalks.
3. Pressing – Extracts crude palm oil (CPO) from fruitlets.
4. Clarification – Removes water and impurities.
At this stage, the product is crude palm oil (raw, red-orange in colour).
๐งช Refining & Quality Control
Crude palm oil is sent to refineries like the one in Sandakan.
Lab testing checks freshness, stability, and quality at every stage.
Refining steps:
Heating – stabilises the oil.
Bleaching – removes colour & residues.
Deodorisation – neutralises smell/taste.
✅ Advantage: Palm oil naturally separates into solid & liquid fractions without hydrogenation → trans-fat free.
๐ Sustainability & the Planet
MSPO Certification:
Covers 87% of Malaysia’s planted area (4.9 million hectares).
Ensures environmental protection, labour rights, and traceability.
Circular Economy:
By-products (empty bunches, fibres, shells) reused for:
Biomass energy (powering boilers with “green steam”)
Compost for plantations
Minimal Waste: Almost every part of the palm is utilised.
๐ Economic & Social Impact
Contributes nearly 3% of Malaysia’s GDP.
Supports over 1 million jobs.
Aims to balance affordable edible oil production with global sustainability demands.
✅ In summary, Malaysian palm oil production focuses on:
Health → trans-fat free, quality tested at every stage.
Quality → harvested & processed quickly, refined under strict standards.
Planet → MSPO-certified sustainability, waste-to-energy systems, and circular use of by-products.
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