26/09/2011 (The Sun Daily) - The production of bio-fuel, bio-fertiliser and animal feed is expected to generate an additional RM14 billion annually to the palm oil industry, giving it a 20% boost to the current palm product revenue of RM60 billion.

Bio-fuel production will also bring "useful contribution" to the nation's pledge of reducing green house gasses (GHG) and enable Malaysia to earn carbon credits, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin during the launch of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)-Sime Darby Foundation Chair for Sustainable Development – Zero Waste Technology for the Palm Oil Industry here, today.

"More than 80 million metric tonnes of oil palm biomass are produced and unutilised anually. With the anticipated higher fresh fruit bunch yields and increase in planted areas, Malaysia is expected to produce between 87 and 96 million metric tonnes of biomass annually from 2011 till 2015.

"Research projects under the Chair will lead specifically to the production of renewable fuel, bio-fertiliser and animal feed among other things. It is expected that the overall process will be tested in a pilot scale plant within three years, to be followed by full commercialisation of the process within five to 10 years," said Muhyiddin.

He added that the production of bio-fertiliser and animal feed is expected to reduce annual import bills of the two commodities by about RM4.2 billion and RM2.6 billion respectively.

The first Chairholder is Dr Pieternel Claasen, a senior scientist from the Biomass and Bioenergy Group at Wageningen University Food and Biobased Research Institute of the Netherlands.

The Chair's first project is to eliminate black smoke from Sime Darby's palm oil mills with the developed system being tested next month. If successful, black smoke from the West Oil Mills' chimey in Carey Island and other Sime Darby mills will be eradicated.

The Sime Darby Foundation contributed RM15 million for the Chair's research and development purposes.

Researchers from other institutions such as Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi), UTM, UiTM, UMP and University of Nottingham Malaysia are also working in collaboration with UKM in various areas.

Meanwhile, UKM vice-chancellor Professor Tan Sri Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin urged the government to give a double tax exemption for company research expenses in light of Sime Darby Foundation's support.

She also hoped the goverment will also consider matching a ringgit-to-ringgit incentive for effective Public-Private Partnerships.