Crude Palm Oil Production LCA Case Studies 50 �� 2007 ecomed publishers (Verlagsgruppe H��thig Jehle Rehm GmbH), D-86899 Landsberg and Tokyo ��� Mumbai ��� Seoul ��� Melbourne ��� Paris Int J LCA 1212 1212 12 (1) 50 ��� 58 (2007) LCA Case Studies Feasibility Study of Performing an Life Cycle Assessment on Crude Palm Oil Production in Malaysia Sumiani Yusoff and Sune Balle Hansen* Department of Civil Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia * Corresponding author (suneballe@yahoo.dk) sion is the main responsible for the prior and fertilizer produc- tion and transportation are responsible for the latter. It is also evident from the results that crude palm oil production is a sig- nificant environmental impact generator in Malaysia due to the vast production quantities. Alternative scenarios revealed that there are significant impact savings to be made by introduction of environmental investments, both regarding the overall im- pacts and in particularly regarding CO2 emissions. Conclusion. A screening LCA was successfully conducted on the Malaysian crude palm oil production thus promising poten- tials for the palm oil industry to conduct their own inventories and assessments using specific company data. Crude palm oil production in Malaysia is responsible for app. 3.5% of the total environmental impacts in the country and must thus be given attention to reduce impacts. Alternatives such as optimized use of organic fertilizer, environmentally friendlier artificial fertilizer production, rail transport, approved filters at the mill boiler stack and biogas harvest from POME digestion must thus be promoted in the industry. Recommendations. The Malaysian palm oil industry should take steps towards introducing LCA. Exhaustive inventories are likely to open the eyes of many companies towards implementing en- vironmental investments and improve the international com- petitiveness. In order to retrieve results with a greater accuracy in the future, databases must be created containing life cycle data from Malaysian scenarios and normalization and weight- ing factors must be designed to reflect Malaysian conditions. The Malaysian authorities must create incentives through in- creased tariffs on electricity and diesel and/or financial support for cleaner technology investments. Keywords: Crude palm oil Malaysia palm oil mill palm oil plantation DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2005.08.226 Abstract Background, Goal and Scope. The palm oil industry is one of the leading industries in Malaysia. With a yearly production of more than 13 million tons of crude palm oil (CPO) and planta- tions covering 11% of the Malaysian land area it is an industry to be reckoned with, also when it comes to environmental im- pacts. One way to describe and present the environmental im- pacts is through a life cycle assessment, LCA. This assessment aims to introduce the concept of LCA and perform a screening LCA on crude palm oil production in Malaysia including the stages of plantation, transport and milling. The assessment is largely based on general data and is thus meant to function as an indication of the environmental threads posed by CPO pro- duction and as a guideline to CPO producers and local universi- ties on how to perform an LCA on a palm oil scenario. Due to the general data background the results of this report should not be quoted directly for decision making. The Functional Unit, to which all masses and emissions in this assessment have been adjusted, is the production of 1000 kg of CPO in Malaysia. Method. Initially an overview of palm oil production was ob- tained and the outlines and borders of the assessment were de- termined along with the specific goal and scope of the assess- ment. The data for the assessment was collected from three different sources: 1. Earlier studies and statistics on palm oil production in Ma- laysia 2. Studies on similar processes, when palm oil related processes were not available 3. General data from the SimaPro 5 database The European Eco-Indicator 99 method and European databases included in the LCA software SimaPro 5 have been used for the impact calculations. Results and Discussion. The impact processes related to the plan- tation are the on-site energy use (mainly diesel) and the produc- tion of artificial fertilizer. Pesticide use contributes a minor im- pact due to widely used integrated biological poet management. For transportation the only impact is from combustion of diesel and at the mill the boiler is the sole significant contributor ��� positively through electricity production and negatively by emis- sions from the boiler. Impacts from POME (Palm Oil Mill Ef- fluent) are not dealt with in the main assessment, but touched upon in alternative scenarios. The results clearly show that fer- tilizer production is the most polluting process in the system followed by transportation and the boiler emissions at a tie. The most significant impacts from the system are respiratory inorganics and depletion of fossil fuels, of which the boiler emis- Introduction The Malaysian palm oil industry has grown rapidly over the years to become the world���s largest producer and ex- porter of palm oil and it products. In 2003 more than 3.79 million hectares of land were under oil palm cultivation (MPOB 2004), occupying more than one-third of the total cultivated area in Malaysia and 11% of the total land area. The industry has contributed significantly towards the coun- try's foreign exchange earnings and the increased standard of living of its population. In 2003, 360 palm oil mills were in operation in Malaysia processing 72 million tonnes of fresh fruit bunches, FFB. In

LCA Case Studies Crude Palm Oil Production Int J LCA 1212 1212 12 (1) 2007 51 the same year production of palm oil in Malaysia had reached 13.35 million tonnes of crude palm oil and 1.64 million tonnes of crude palm kernel oil which was an increase of app. 12% over that of the previous year. Malaysia's pro- duction of palm oil in 2003 contributed to about 49 percent of world palm oil output and 8.9% of world output of the 17 major oils and fats bringing Malaysia an export revenue of RM 26.15 billion including export of oil related prod- ucts. The world demand for palm oil is expected to increase due to the competitive prices and energy efficient produc- tion of palm oil along with the growing markets of e.g. China and India (MPOB 2004). Being involved in 3 sectors, namely agriculture (plantation), transport and industry (milling) the production of palm oil faces a triple environmental challenge which must be moni- tored and dealt with. With a vast use of fertilizer in the plan- tations, poorly maintained transportation trucks and air emissions and wastewater from the mill, the industry has both environmental responsibilities to live up to and money to save by making the right technological investments and incorporating environmental management. Within the last few years, environmental issues are increas- ingly becoming more important in Malaysia and the world over. The palm oil industry is aware of the environmental pollution and is striving towards quality and environmental conservation through sustainable development and cleaner technology approach. However, continuous environmental improvements are necessary and to remain competitive the oil palm industry must be prepared for new challenges ahead. Self regulated environmental management tools like the ISO 14000, EMAS and Life cycle assessment could be adopted by the palm oil industries to structure their environmental efforts to the benefits of themselves and the environment. 1 Goal Definition This screening LCA has the purpose of promoting LCA through illustrating the functions and possibilities of LCA as a methodological assessment/decision tool in the palm oil industry and uncovering the environmental consequences and heavy-impact stages/processes of crude palm oil (CPO) production in a life cycle perspective. Further more, alterna- tives to the heavy-impact processes will be assessed. The assessment is intended for use amongst environmental managers and policy makers in the palm oil industry and as a general environmental guide for oil palm plantations and palm oil mills. It is also the hope of the commissioner that this study will contribute to enhanced LCA use and research in academic environments. As this LCA is intended mainly as a promotional insight into the possibilities of LCA on palm oil production, it is important to hold in mind that it presents an overview of the present situation and should be used as a guide. Due to the general data background the results of this report should not be quoted directly for decision making. It is rather more appropriate to be used as an inspirational platform onto which detailed and broad spectre assessments can be produced. 2 Scope Definition The scope of this assessment evolves around the environ- mental consequences of production of crude palm oil (CPO) in Malaysia. The main life cycle stages of palm oil include oil palm plantation processes (growth and harvest), mill- ing, use and disposal. Palm oil has a wide variety of uses in both edible and non-edible aspects and thus diverse dis- posal procedures depending on the product. These stages in the palm oil life cycle are therefore easier dealt with in LCAs for the respective products. Emphasis in this assess- ment is thus put solely on the production of CPO that is plantation processes, transportation and milling. In other words a cradle to gate study. The functional unit (FU) to which all masses and emissions in this assessment have been adjusted is the production of 1000 kg of CPO (the output from 5000 kg of fresh fruit bunches, FFB) in Malaysia. As impacts from clearing of jungle are not easily quantified and subject to harsh discussions, it has been included solely qualitatively in this assessment. The cradle of the assess- ment is thus the start-up of the plantation whereas the grave is the final production of CPO. This assessment uses the LCA software SimaPro 5 and the LCA method Eco-Indicator 99. The impact assessment pa- rameters are listed in Table 1. The final human health im- pact is derived by adding up the DALY values the ecosys- tem quality value is derived by adding up the PDF values (PAF = PDF/10) and the resources depletion is derived by adding up the SE values. Impact Category Characterization Damage Category Emissions Carcinogens DALY/kg Human Health Respiratory organics DALY/kg Human Health Respiratory inorganic DALY/kg Human Health Climate change DALY/kg Human Health Radiation DALY/kg Human Health Ozone layer DALY/kg Human Health Ecotoxicology PAF*m2*year/kg Ecosystem Quality Acidification PDF*m2*year/kg Ecosystem Quality Eutrophication PDF*m2*year/kg Ecosystem Quality Land use Decreased diversity PDF*m2*year/kg Ecosystem Quality Resource depletion Metals/Minerals SE/kg Resources Fossil fuels SE/kg Resources (Goedkoop & Spriensma 2001) DALY: Disability Adjusted Life Years (Years of disabled living or years of life lost due to the impacts) PAF: Potentially Affected Fraction (Animals affected by the impacts) PDF: Potentially Disappeared Fraction (Plant species disappeared as result of the impacts) SE: Surplus Energy (MJ) (Extra energy that future generations must use to excavate scarce resources) Table 1: Assessment parameters