Malaysian Minister urges palm oil sector to support biofuel initiative

Malaysia's commodities ministry has called on the palm oil industry in Malaysia to support a biofuel project that turns palm oil wastes into clean energy sources, according to state-run media Bernama.

Plantation and Commodities minister Johari Abdul-Ghani revealed that the technology developed by renewable energy company Wilhelmina Malaysia Energy Sdn Bhd based in Netherlands transforms empty fruit bundles (EFBs) collected from palm oil plantations into an energy source.

Bernama reports that the plant uses EFB to produce "TG2 black pellet", an environmentally-sustainable drop-in replacement fuel for coal.

He said that Japan is interested in this technology and has begun the buying process.

Johari called for industry players to allocate between 10% and 20 % of their EFB production to help scale up the production. He added that this would position Malaysia as a global exporter TG2 Black pellet.

He added, "I invite palm-oil mills to visit and experience the technology to see for themselves how it works and benefits the environment."

Johari stated that the plant can produce 80,000 tonnes of black pellets TG2 annually. Ashley Tang reported; Chizu Nomiyama edited.

(source: Reuters)