The Hindu Business Line : Malaysia to build three palm biodiesel plants

PALM biodiesel is set to become a viable alternative to petroleum diesel in the wake of soaring crude oil prices; and to derive benefit from this new development the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) will soon commence construction of three biodiesel plants with a combined annual capacity of 60,000 tonnes, according to Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui, Malaysia's Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities.

Addressing over 1,700 delegates from 45 countries at the official opening of the International Palm Oil Congress 2005 here today, the Minister said the technology developed by MPOB will be licensed for the benefit of the industry, allowing third parties to build biodiesel plants.

While the immediate focus was to use 5 per cent processed palm oil blended with 95 per cent petroleum diesel within the country and explore export opportunities in Europe and elsewhere, the project can potentially remove five lakh tonnes of palm oil per annum from the stocks and help stabilise prices, he asserted.

On the current issue surrounding trans-fatty acids, Mr Chin referred to the American regulation requiring food manufacturers to declare, with effect from January 2006, the fatty acid content in their product, and expressed hope that the development would have a spill-over effect in other countries which would mean demand expansion for palm oil.

"The inclusion of the Deterioration of Bleachability Index (DOBI) as a rapid way to indicate the ease of bleaching crude palm oil to remove coloured pigments, trade metals, gums and other impurities is a plus point to place food safety at the top of the agenda," the Minister said.

Addressing a press conference soon after the inauguration of the seminar and related exhibition, Mr Chin said he expects crude oil prices to stay firm and not fall below the mid-50s (that is around $55 a barrel) and even if crude were to fall to $43 a barrel, use of palm oil as biodiesel would still be feasible.

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