Palm Oil as a Biodiesel Fuel
Palm Oil as a Biodiesel Fuel Dec. 7,2007
Palm oil has many uses, including, to name just a few, the making of
margarine, as a cooking oil, in many processed foods, as a lubricant, in
cosmetics and in pharmaceuticals. Recently the production of palm oil for
use as a biodiesel fuel has been rapidly expanding which has resulted in
serious environmental problems
One reason f0r the expansion of palm oil use as a diesel fuel is the high
energy efficiency of its production and use. Conversion of any form of
biomass to a transport fuel requires energy. The ratio of the energy
obtained from the fuel to the energy used to grow various types of
biomass and convert them to fuel varies widely. An article in the current
WorldWatch magazine says this efficiency ratio ranges from 5.6 to 9.6 for
obtaining biodiesel fuel from oil palm plantations as compared to only 1.4
for obtaining ethanol fuel from corn Other data in the literature shows
palm oil to have the highest energy efficiency of all current types of
biomass that are grown for conversion to transport fluid.
The chief sources of palm oil are Malaysia and Indonesia, but several other
countries are now undertaking its production. The principal market is in
Europe where an EU Biofuels Directive demands that 5.75% of
transportation must be run by biofuels in 2010..It is estimated that
demand for palm oil will double by 2020.
The booming market for palm oil biodiesel has made it profitable to
convert large areas of native forests into palm tree monoculture where the
ground beneath the trees is kept free of vegetation. To create these
plantations, existing forests are slashed and burned, resulting in
dangerous levels of smog and smoke which has extended to nearby
countries. The undergrowth in the palm plantations is kept cleared casing
a loss of wildlife. Because of the high profitability of palm oil production,
along with inadequate policing forces and corruption, governments have
been unable or unwilling to control the environmentally hazardous
practices often practiced in the slash and burn destruction of native
forests. Both the slash and burn destruction of rain forests and the
drying of the peat soil has released extensive amounts of carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere. Friends of the Earth researchers are quoted as
saying that this has caused 8% of all the global carbon dioxide emissions
I recent years. Application of fertilizer in the palm plantations is releasing
N2O, a potent greenhouse gas.
So, although the high energy efficiency of palm oil as a transport fuel is a
benefit re global warming, the immediate effects of establishing the
necessary palm plantations cause emissions that accelerate global
warming.
John J. Burton
jjjburton@verizon.net