Proses Pengolahan Kelapa Sawit

PKS (pabrik kelapa sawit) pada umumnya mengolah bahan baku berupa Tandan Buah Segar (TBS) menjadi minyak kelapa sawit CPO (Crude Palm Oil) dan inti sawit (Kernel). Proses pengolahan kelapa kelapa sawit sampai menjadi minyak sawit (CPO) terdiri dari beberapa tahapan yaitu: 

Kelapa Sawit

(Elaeis) adalah tumbuhan industri penting penghasil minyak masak, minyak industri, maupun bahan bakar (biodiesel). Perkebunannya menghasilkan keuntungan besar sehingga banyak hutan dan perkebunan lama dikonversi menjadi perkebunan kelapa sawit. Indonesia adalah penghasil minyak kelapa sawit kedua dunia setelah Malaysia, namun proyeksi ke depan memperkirakan bahwa pada tahun 2009 Indonesia akan menempati posisi pertama.

Technical standards biodiesel

The common international standard for biodiesel is EN 14214.

There are additional national specifications. ASTM D 6751 is the most common standard referenced in the United States and Canada. In Germany, the requirements for biodiesel are fixed in the DIN EN 14214 standard and in the UK the requirements for biodiesel is fixed in the BS EN 14214 standard, although these last two standards are essentially the same as EN 14214 and are just prefixed with the respective national standards institution codes. There are standards for three different varieties of biodiesel, which are made of different oils:

Kernel oil

World over people use massage therapy to help promote healthy skin, nourish and strengthen the body, relieve stress, reduce pain, and encourage balance and well being. Massage opens and increases the flow of energy, balancing the entire nervous system and helping to release physical and emotional disharmony. The many benefits of massage are enhanced by the use of high quality massage oil.

Anti-cancer properties of palm oil

Epidemiological data suggest a link between fat quality (i.e. types of fatty acids consumed) and cancer. Animal experiments have shown that the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), especially those of the n-6 series derived from vegetable seed oils, have tumor promoting effects in mammary cancer models. Thus the fatty acids of palm oil attracted initial attention with regards to their ability to inhibit and/or delay experimental carcinogenesis. It was shown almost 15 years ago that palm oil did not promote mammary carcinogenesis in a rat model, primarily because it contained far less PUFA than corn oil.

Palm Oil as Biodiesel

Palm oil, like other vegetable oils can and is used to create biodiesel, which can be used as a replacement fuel for gasoline, diesel and LPG in internal combustion engines. Biodiesel is promoted as a form of renewable energy that greatly reduces net emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Therefore, until recently it was being touted as a way to decrease the impact of the greenhouse effect and also the possibility of peak oil. However, recent research has confirmed that the benefits of biofuels to counter global warming will be small if not unexistent.

Ecological impacts of oil palm

Indonesia and Malaysia have, concomitant with the destruction of enormous tracts of tropical rainforest, some of the world's longest lists of threatened wildlife. Of the more than 400 land mammal species of Indonesia, 15 are critically endangered and another 125 threatened. Of Malaysia's nearly 300 land mammal species, 6 are critically endangered and 41 threatened. The numbers of threatened species climb higher when terrestrial reptiles, amphibians, and birds are included. Moreover, certain animals, such as the orangutan, are only found in these countries; when their rainforest habitat vanishes, so will they.