Abstract
The Malaysian palm oil industry spans the entire value chain from upstream processes to downstream activities. This paper aims to review the progress of the palm oil industry and the current issues in the plantation sector, such as labor shortage, sustainable production, and greenhouse gas emission from the cultivation process. Palm oil cultivation is known for its labor-intensive process. Foreign laborers are usually employed in Malaysian palm oil plantations for harvesting, fruit collecting, and general maintenance works. Some issues have affected the supply of workers to Malaysian palm oil plantations. Farm mechanization, which has always been recommended as a tool to reduce dependency on foreign workers, is expected to solve the issues. However, certain considerations should be investigated, such as fuel consumption, to reduce its impacts on the environment. The currently available farm machineries that are frequently used contribute to almost 211 million kg of CO2-eq per year, as diesel consumption stands at 290 million L per year. Therefore, this paper also examines the potential renewable energy resources for the palm oil cultivation process. Exploiting renewable energy technologies in plantation operations, such as battery-powered electric vehicles charged using a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, can reduce up to 750 tonnes of CO2-eq per year. Therefore, this initiative will increase the sustainability of the Malaysian palm oil industry in general.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 9-15 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Cleaner Production |
| Volume | 65 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Feb 2014 |
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Keywords
- Mechanizations
- Palm oil
- Renewable energy
- Sustainability
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Environmental Science(all)
- Strategy and Management
Cite this
Malaysian oil palm plantation sector : Exploiting renewable energy toward sustainability production. / Ahmad Ludin, Norasikin; Bakri, M. Azwan M; Kamaruddin, Norman; Sopian, Kamaruzzaman; Deraman, M. Solah; Hamid, Norul Hisham; Asim, Nilofar; Othman, Mohd. Yusof.
In: Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 65, 15.02.2014, p. 9-15.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Malaysian oil palm plantation sector
T2 - Exploiting renewable energy toward sustainability production
AU - Ahmad Ludin, Norasikin
AU - Bakri, M. Azwan M
AU - Kamaruddin, Norman
AU - Sopian, Kamaruzzaman
AU - Deraman, M. Solah
AU - Hamid, Norul Hisham
AU - Asim, Nilofar
AU - Othman, Mohd. Yusof
PY - 2014/2/15
Y1 - 2014/2/15
N2 - The Malaysian palm oil industry spans the entire value chain from upstream processes to downstream activities. This paper aims to review the progress of the palm oil industry and the current issues in the plantation sector, such as labor shortage, sustainable production, and greenhouse gas emission from the cultivation process. Palm oil cultivation is known for its labor-intensive process. Foreign laborers are usually employed in Malaysian palm oil plantations for harvesting, fruit collecting, and general maintenance works. Some issues have affected the supply of workers to Malaysian palm oil plantations. Farm mechanization, which has always been recommended as a tool to reduce dependency on foreign workers, is expected to solve the issues. However, certain considerations should be investigated, such as fuel consumption, to reduce its impacts on the environment. The currently available farm machineries that are frequently used contribute to almost 211 million kg of CO2-eq per year, as diesel consumption stands at 290 million L per year. Therefore, this paper also examines the potential renewable energy resources for the palm oil cultivation process. Exploiting renewable energy technologies in plantation operations, such as battery-powered electric vehicles charged using a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, can reduce up to 750 tonnes of CO2-eq per year. Therefore, this initiative will increase the sustainability of the Malaysian palm oil industry in general.
AB - The Malaysian palm oil industry spans the entire value chain from upstream processes to downstream activities. This paper aims to review the progress of the palm oil industry and the current issues in the plantation sector, such as labor shortage, sustainable production, and greenhouse gas emission from the cultivation process. Palm oil cultivation is known for its labor-intensive process. Foreign laborers are usually employed in Malaysian palm oil plantations for harvesting, fruit collecting, and general maintenance works. Some issues have affected the supply of workers to Malaysian palm oil plantations. Farm mechanization, which has always been recommended as a tool to reduce dependency on foreign workers, is expected to solve the issues. However, certain considerations should be investigated, such as fuel consumption, to reduce its impacts on the environment. The currently available farm machineries that are frequently used contribute to almost 211 million kg of CO2-eq per year, as diesel consumption stands at 290 million L per year. Therefore, this paper also examines the potential renewable energy resources for the palm oil cultivation process. Exploiting renewable energy technologies in plantation operations, such as battery-powered electric vehicles charged using a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, can reduce up to 750 tonnes of CO2-eq per year. Therefore, this initiative will increase the sustainability of the Malaysian palm oil industry in general.
KW - Mechanizations
KW - Palm oil
KW - Renewable energy
KW - Sustainability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84893716159&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84893716159&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.11.063
DO - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.11.063
M3 - Article
VL - 65
SP - 9
EP - 15
JO - Journal of Cleaner Production
JF - Journal of Cleaner Production
SN - 0959-6526
ER -