Empty fruit bunches in the race for energy, biochemical, and material industry

Abstract

At present, empty fruit bunch (EFB) is used particularly as a substitute for wood fiber in few industries. Nevertheless, the end products have been reported to be relatively inferior to those made from wood and performed below the par. This chapter provides a platform to delve into the unseen keys and real facts of EFB in renewable energy, derivatives, and material industries. EFB characteristics (crosssectional observations, chemical compositions, and inorganic element analysis) and qualities (tensile stress test and fiber morphometric measurement) are presented, and a comparison is made with softwood and hardwood. The anatomical features of EFB fiber consist of 75 % fibers and 25 % vascular bundles in terms of volume/volume. In terms of mechanical properties, EFB fibers have relatively lower specific tensile stress value compared to most woods. The presence of round, spikyshaped silica compounds in EFB may hinder the quality of the panelboard, solid biofuel, and biochemical derivatives industries. Major amounts of alkaline cations in EFB present a problem to the combustion issue for renewal energy. Relating the characteristics and quality of EFB to the respective industries proved that EFB is an encumbrance to them. Conclusively, developing a proper treatment system to manipulate the characteristics and quality of EFB is crucial so that EFB can be pushed toward commercialization.