Sustainability of Oil Palm Biomass-Based Products

Abstract With the ever-increasing demand for palm oil products, the net acreage of palm tree cultivations has tripled in just one decade, through which both employment and economic growth have been rewardingly delivered across Southeast Asia. With respect to the palm oil industry’s substantial contribution to the global supply of oils and fats, overwhelming efforts to certify the existing industrial landscapes as sustainable producers have been vigorously carried out, reflecting the alarming environmental concerns attributed to oil palm residues. As a result, the emerging oil palm biomass-based industry has been foreseen to flourish soon due to the advantages of oil palm’s high-availability and low price. The exploitation of raw materials for value-added products is indeed a game changer toward a greener future and the best bet by far to overcome the downsides previously mentioned. In this chapter, actions and policies implemented to achieve palm oil sustainability are enthusiastically discussed, and an insight into technologies for potential biomass-based products, such as biofuels, bioelectricity, activated carbon, compost, biocomposite, and biosugar, are also summarized.