Organic Waste Recycling

40 Organic waste recycling: technology and management

Figure 2.5 Product mass balance of a typical palm oil mill (Muttamara et al. 1987)

Palm oil mill wastewater characteristics

Thanhet al. (1980) conducted a study on wastewater characteristics of 4 palm oil
mills in Malaysia and Thailand. The data of wastewater flows per ton of FFB
processed were classified into 50, 70, 80 and 90 percentiles. Table 2.11 shows the
percentiles of wastewater flows in m^3 per ton of FFB measured at some sampling

From 100-ton FFB products

obtained are:

Pure oil 21 tons

Palm kernel 6 tons

Bunch ash 0.5 tons

Fresh fruit bunch

100%

Dry fibre fuel

12%

Crude oil

43%

Nuts

13%

Pericarp

14%

Bunch ash

0.5%

Empty bunch

20%

Fruits

70%

Evaporation

10%

Water

evaporation

20%

Pure oil

21%

Shell

6%

Moisture

1%

Kernel

6%

Solids 2%

(Animal

feed/fertilizer)

Water

evaporation

2%