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Abstract
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Physiological
Analysis of an Oil Palm Density Trial on a Peat Soil
A detailed physiological analysis
was made of an oil palm density x fertilizer experiment established
on a deep peat soil near Teluk Intan,Perak.Data on above-ground vegetative
dry matter production,leaf area and leaf area development,flowering,bunch
dry matter production and bunch composition were collected from the
time of first flowering up to the 17th year after planting.Three
planting densities (120, 160 and 200 palms ha-1 )were combined with
18 factorial fertilizer treatments.From data on leaf area,vegetative,bunch
and total dry matter production,it was possible to derive the efficiency
of radiant energy conversion to dry matter and the partitioning of dry
matter between vegetative and reproductive biomass as well as between
oil and non-oil components of dry matter.The influence of planting density
on the extent of biomass turnover was assessed. Optimum densities for
bunch yield were calculated as a function of age from single palm yield
response to density.The proportions of assimilated carbon used for dry
matter production,growth respiration and maintenance respiration were
also calculated.Maintenance respiration per unit biomass was seen to
decrease as a function of increasing palm age and density.The evaluated
dry matter production and gross assimilation were compared with outputs
from a simulation model. The results are discussed and compared with
those of other studies in the literature.
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Structural, Mechanical
and Optical Properties of Recycled Paper Blended with Oil Palm Empty
Fruit Bunch Pulp
The effects of blending oil palm
empty fruit bunch (EFB)pulp with recycled papers on the paper properties
were studied.The EFB was pulped by the soda-anthraquinone process.Laboratory
papers were made by blending the unbleached EFB pulp with old carton
board (OCB),copier paper (OCP)and newspaper (ONP) at ratios of 25%,
50% and 75%.The structural,mechanical and optical properties of these
papers were measured and compared to unblended recycled papers.The paper
properties were considerably affected by incorporation of the EFB pulp.The
changes on the properties varied,depending on the particular property,
level of pulp incorporation and the type of recycled paper used.ONP
has the highest degree of change and OCB has the lowest degree of change.OCB,OCP
and ONP have the highest tensile index when incorporated 25%, 75% and
75% of EFB pulp respectively.OCB,OCP and ONP have the highest burst
index when incorporated 75% of EFB pulp.OCB,OCP and ONP have the highest
tear index when incorporated 25%, 75% and 25% of EFB pulp respectively.OCB,OCP
and ONP have the highest folding endurance when incorporated 75% of
EFB pulp respectively.The best blend for OCB is 25% of EFB pulp and
for OCP and ONP is 75% of EFB pulp.The EFB soda-AQ pulp can be used
to enhance the structural and mechanical properties of recycled paper.
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Development of Optimum
Synthesis Method for Transesterification of Palm Oil Methyl Esters and
Trimethylolpropane to Environmentally Acceptance Palm Oil-Based Lubricant
Chemical synthesis of palm oil trimethylolpropane
esters was conducted via transesterification of palm oil methyl esters
(POME)with trimethylolpropane (TMP).The palm oil TMP esters are potential
biodegradable base stock for lubricant production.The influence of the
main operating variables,namely,temperatures and pressures,molar ratio
of palm methyl esters to TMP,and catalyst amount was studied and analysed.The
effects of temperature (80 ºC to 140 ºC)and reduced pressure
(0.1, 10, 50, 100 and 500 mbar)were investigated and found to have a
significant impact on the reaction.On the contrary,the amount of catalyst
(% w/w) and molar ratio of POME to TMP had little influence on the conversion
but affected the overall yield of the reaction.The optimal reaction
conditions are as follows: duration: 1 hr; temperature:13°C pressure:
20 mbar;catalyst:sodium methoxide at 0.8% w/w; molar ratio of POME:TMP
at 3.9:1.Palm oil TMP ester containing 98% w/w triesters was successfully
synthesized in less than an hour.
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Preparation and Characterization
of Trimethylolpropane Esters from Palm Kernel Oil Methyl Esters
Palm-based polyol esters are potential
biodegradable base stocks for environmentally friendly lubricants.The
synthesis of palm kernel oil trimethylolpropane (TMP) esters was performed
by transesterification of palm kernel methyl esters with TMP using sodium
methoxide as a catalyst.Approximately 98% w/w conversion to palm kernel
TMP triesters was obtained.Temperature and vacuum pressure were found
to be the key parameters because of their effects on the rate and reversibility
of the reaction.A reduced pressure of at least 20 mbar was crucial for
high product yield at which the optimal operating temperature was 130ºC.The
basic lubrication properties of the non-additived palm and palm kernel
TMP esters were the following:viscosity at 40ºC in the range of
39.7 to 49.7 cSt,pour point between -1ºC to 1ºC and high viscosity
indices in the range of 167-187.Other chemical and lubrication properties
compared well with the commercial vegetable oils- based TMP esters.
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Formation
of Microemulsions with Palm-Based Oils Stabilized by a Non-Ionic Surfactant
There is growing
interest to replace petroleum-based ingredients in products with natural-based
materials such as palm oil and its derivatives.One of the potential
uses of these natural materials is in microemulsion formulations.This
paper describes the solubilization and ternary phase behaviour of palm
oil and its derivatives with a non-ionic surfactant – coco alcohol (C
12-14 ) ethoxylate with 6.9 moles of ethylene oxides (6.9EO) (also
called Imbentin coco 6.9EO). The capacity of solubilization by Imbentin
coco 6.9EO for palm oil methyl esters (POME) tetradecane >palm kernel
oil-medium chain triglycerides (PKO-MCT) and palm olein.The phase inversion
temperatures (PIT) for POME, PKO-MCT and palm olein were 59°C, 70°C
and 71°C at 2:1, 1:1 and 0.5:1 ratios of oil to surfactant.The PIT
for tetradecane,a petroleum-based oil, was 56°C at 1:1 oil to surfactant
ratio,ut ~73°C at a 2:1 ratio. The capacities for solubilization
and formation of a larger microemulsion region with POME were higher
than those with PKO-MCT and palm olein in Imbentin coco 6.9EO systems.The
maximum solubilities of POME and PKO-MCT were 2:1 and 1:1 oil to surfactant,both
at 60ºC, and palm olein 0.5:1 oil to surfactant at 70°C. We
indicate that the POME molecules penetrate the liquid crystalline (LC)
phase into the palisade layer.They then expand the LC (L a)
region and move to the water-rich axis.However,the micellar solution
and/or O/W microemulsion can exist at up to 45% (w/w) surfactant at
the lower concentrations of PKO- MCT and palm olein in the ternary systems.
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Development of a Transient
Promoter Assay System for Oil Palm
Optimization
of the physical parameters was carried out to produce transient b-glucuronidase
(GUS) and green fluorescence protein (GFP) activities in oil palm tissues
(leaf, mesocarp and root) for promoter analysis. The optimum conditions
for DNA delivery into mesocarp slices and root tissue were 1550 psi
helium pressure, 9 cm distance from macrocarrier to the sample and using
1 µm gold particles as microcarrier to penetrate the tissues.For leaf
explants, a lower pressure of 1350 psi sufficed with the same size gold
particles and distance.The specificity of the Type 3 metallothionein-like
gene (MT3-B ) promoter was determined using the optimized system developed.The
MT3-B promoter was cloned into an expression cassette (pBI221) containing
GUS as the reporter gene with the removal of the existing Cauliflower
Mosaic Virus (CaMV ) 35S promoter to form a pBI-4C vector.The original
pBI221 plasmid containing the CaMV 35S promoter was used as a control.In
our study, expression of the MT3-B promoter was only observed in the
root tissue at a low level but not in the other tissues (mesocarp and
leaf).In contrast, with the constitutive promoter (CaMV 35S), expression
was observed in all the tissues tested.These results correlated with
the expression profile obtained for the MT3-B gene using northern blot
analysis.
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