Effective composting of oil palm industrial waste by filamentous fungi: A review

(This is a sample cover image for this issue. The actual cover is not yet available at this time.)

This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attachedcopy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial researchand education use, including for instruction at the authors institution

and sharing with colleagues.

Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling orlicensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party

websites are prohibited.

In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of thearticle (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website orinstitutional repository. Authors requiring further information

regarding Elsevier’s archiving and manuscript policies areencouraged to visit:

http://www.elsevier.com/copyright

http://www.elsevier.com/copyright

Author's personal copy

Resources, Conservation and Recycling 58 (2012) 69– 78

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Resources, Conservation and Recycling

journa l h o me pa ge: www.elsev ier .com/ locate / resconrec

Review

Effective composting of oil palm industrial waste by filamentous fungi: A review

Noor Mohammada, Md. Zahangir Alama,∗, Nassereldeen A. Kabbashia, Amimul Ahsanb

a Bioenvironmental Engineering Research Unit (BERU), Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Gombak,53100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysiab Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering (Green Engineering and Sustainable Technology Lab, Institute of Advanced Technology), University Putra Malaysia, 43400UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 19 October 2010Received in revised form 24 October 2011Accepted 24 October 2011

Keywords:CompostingAgro-industrial wastesEmpty fruit bunchesPalm oil mill effluentFilamentous fungiReview

a b s t r a c t

Palm oil production is a major agricultural industry in Malaysia, in which palm oil mill effluent (POME)and oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) are considered as major waste products from the palm oil indus-try. These waste products create an environmental hazard and entail high disposal costs every year.Composting is a biologically based process which is practiced to stabilize the organic matter for soilamendment (producing compost) and to protect the environment from the detrimental effects of thesewaste products. This study reviews the composting process of EFB and POME as a single substrate and/ortheir mixture by using potential filamentous fungi that are especially lignocellulolytic and antibiotic (ina matured stage) in nature within several effective parameters, for example, C/N ratio, moisture con-tent, pH, temperature, etc. Several studies record the mature composting process as being 60 days. Inmost cases, temperature and moisture content was maintained up to 70 ◦C and 60–75%, respectively. Inaddition, this study reviews EFB and POME with their constituents for an efficient composting process.

© 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692. Composting of agro-industrial waste by the filamentous fungi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703. Major oil palm wastes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

3.1. Oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFBs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713.1.1. Constitutes of EFB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713.1.2. EFB as a fertilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

3.2. Palm oil mill effluent (POME) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733.2.1. Constituents of POME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733.2.2. POME as a fertilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

4. EFB and POME for composting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735. Compost and plant pathogenicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 756. Environmental and economic impacts of composting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757. Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

1. Introduction

The problem of disposal of waste streams from a myriad ofindustries is increasingly acute in the world. Before industrializa-tion, the production and decomposition of organic materials werebasically in balance. Decomposition is not only important to avoid

∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +60 3 61964571; fax: +60 3 61964442.E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (Md.Z. Alam).

the harmful accumulation of organic materials but it is also essen-tial for recycling nutrients and organic matters. Soils and theirmicrobial organisms play an important role in these processes.Furthermore, the fertility of many soils is decreased due to an inad-equate supply of organic matter or improper management, such asthe occurrence of acidity due to ammonium producing fertilizers.

These issues have highlighted the necessity of developing alter-natives, of which composting is a promising one. Compostingis a controlled biological decomposition process, which convertsorganic wastes into humus-like materials. It may be defined as a

0921-3449/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2011.10.009


70 N. Mohammad et al. / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 58 (2012) 69– 78

Preproc essing High rate

Phase Curing Phase Postprocess ing

Amendment

Compos tables

New Bulking Materi als Recy cled Bulking Materials

Compo sts

Product Recycle

Fig. 1. Generalized process diagram for composting process (Metcalf and Eddy, 2003).

bioconversion process of an organic waste substrate into stableorganic end products (compost) (Molla et al., 2002a). The compost-ing process consists of some basic steps such as pre-processing,high rate decomposition, recovery of bulking agents, curing andpost-processing (Fig. 1) (Metcalf and Eddy, 2003). Composting isa successful strategy for sustainable recycling of organic wastes(Fermor, 1993; Tuomela et al., 2009). It is an ecological alter-native to mass burning and land-filling of garbage. Solid-phasebio-oxidative stabilization of the organic fraction from such agri-cultural or urban residue, either source-collected or mechanicallysorted, represents a reliable technology for reducing the environ-mental impact of municipal solid waste management (Bazrafshanet al., 2006). Benefits from composting are (1) conservation of plantnutrients and (2) transformation of unsafe wastes into harmlessand useful products (Liu, 2000).

Palm oil is one of the world’s most rapidly expanding equa-torial crops. Indonesia and Malaysia are the two largest palm oilproducing countries. They are rich with numerous endemic, forest-dwelling species (Rupani et al., 2010). Malaysia has a tropicalclimate and is prosperous in natural resources. Oil palm cur-rently occupies the largest acreage of farmed land in Malaysia (Arifet al., 2001). According to the Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB,2008), global production of palm oil and plantation area has beenincreased. Malaysia contributes 41% of world production (Fig. 2).In Malaysia, the oil palm biomass (OPB) produces about 40 milliontonnes per year (Baharuddin et al., 2009). This OPB can be cate-gorized as a form of empty fruit bunches (EFBs), oil palm trunks(OPT) and oil palm fronds (OPF), and the rest is palm oil mill efflu-ent (POME). Many studies are being conducted to manage thesewastes, producing different by-products such as activated carbon(Alam et al., 2007), xylose (Rahman et al., 2006), cellulase (Alamet al., 2009), polyhydroxyalkanoates (Mumtaz et al., 2010), protease(Wu et al., 2006), hydrogen (Morimoto et al., 2004). Compostinghas been considered to be one of the most suitable ways to solvethis problem where organic wastes are converted into productsthat are beneficial for plant growth. Some compost manufactur-ing industries for residues from palm oil production are developedin various countries simultaneously. For example, Sime Darby inMalaysia is an encouraging composting plant situated at Lavang OilMill, utilizing empty fruit bunches (EFBs) and palm oil mill efflu-ents (POMEs) from the oil mill to produce 26,000 tonnes of enrichedorganic fertilizer per year (MPOB, 2005).

Because composting is a microbial process, compost stabilityand maturity depend on the results of microbial activity. Microor-ganisms convert or break the constituents inside the substrates. Alot of filamentous fungi species are described in the literature to beuseful for transforming organic wastes into compost (Molla et al.,2001; Kalogeris et al., 2003; Brand et al., 2000; Fakhru’l-Razi et al.,2002; Guest and Smith, 2002; Alam et al., 2003a,b; Lacina et al.,2003; Mannan et al., 2005; Fleury, 2007, etc.).

The objectives of this literature review are (1) to discuss the roleof filamentous fungi used for composting in agro-industrial wastes,

(2) to introduce oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFBs) and palm oilmill effluent (POME) as the potential raw materials for compostingand (3) to review the composting process of these materials withmicrobial systems (especially fungi) and process controls.

2. Composting of agro-industrial waste by the filamentousfungi

The ability of fungi to degrade lignocellulosic materials is dueto their highly efficient enzymatic system. Fungi have two typesof extracellular enzymatic systems: the hydrolytic system, whichproduces hydrolases that are responsible for polysaccharide degra-dation and a unique oxidative and extracellular ligninolytic system,which degrades lignin and opens phenyl rings (Sánchez, 2009). Lig-nocellulosic residues from wood, grass, agricultural and forestrywastes and municipal solid wastes are particularly abundant innature and are a valuable potential for bioconversion.

Fungi, especially thermophilic species, have often been reportedfrom composts (Cooney and Emerson, 1964). Waksman et al. (1939)were the first to demonstrate the importance of a thermophilicfungus in the decomposition of stable manure. Eastwood (1952)failed to isolate any thermophilic fungi from the composts of bar-ley straw and grass cuttings but as suggested in the study (Changand Hudson, 1967) this may have been due to their using unsuitableincubation temperatures. Henssen (1957), on the other hand, suc-cessfully isolated five thermophilic fungi from stable manure, anddemonstrated the ability of Humicola insolents to decompose cel-lulose and Sporotrichum thermophile to decompose hemicelluloseand pectin. Gregory et al. (1963) carried out an extensive investiga-tion on the microbial and biochemical changes in mouldy timothyand fescue grass hay. They concerned themselves with the changesin microbial population as well as changes in the volatile nitrogen,sugar content, lipids and ash in the hay.

Chang (1967) carried out ecological and biochemical studies onthe fungi of wheat straw composts, with special emphasis on thechanges in the major carbohydrate constituents of the compostingmaterial. An attempt was made to elucidate the roles fungi playedin bringing about changes in the composts and the properties thatenabled them to inhabit this special ecological function. Rhizopusmicrosporus, Mucor pusillus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger,Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus fiaous, Penicillium sp., Trichodermalongibrachiatum and an agaric., nine species of fungi were isolatedfrom the fungal succession on bagasse by Sandhu and Sidhu (1980).Pectin was utilized by all nine bagasse fungi, while cellulose wasutilized by all except R. microsporus and M. pusillus. Xylan was uti-lized by all except R. microsporus, while aconidendrin was utilizedonly by A. niger.

A survey of data on composition, properties, and possibilities ofdisposal or treatment of fruit distillery wastes was presented byPerdih et al. (1991). Comparing different ways of treating distillerywastes, a bioconversion process using filamentous fungi seemedto be promising. Brand et al. (2000) studied the detoxification of


N. Mohammad et al. / Resources, Conservation and Recycling 58 (2012) 69– 78 71

Fig. 2. World palm oil production in 2008 (MPOB, 2008).

coffee husk in solid state fermentation using three different strainsof Rhizopus, Phanerochaete, and Aspergillus sp. Using Rhizopusarrizus LPB-79, the best results on the degradation of caffeine andtannins during a 6-day period were obtained with pH 6.0 and 60%moisture. When Phanerochaete chrysosporium BK was used, max-imum degradation of caffeine and tannins within 14 days wereobtained with 70.8 and 45%, respectively, with the coffee husk hav-ing 65% moisture and pH 5.5. The Aspergillus strain, isolated fromthe coffee husk, showed best biomass formation on coffee huskextract-agar medium.

Raw citrus waste was predominantly colonized by mesophilicyeasts (Heerden et al., 2002). It also contained low numbers of ther-mophilous bacteria and filamentous fungi, e.g. Bacillus licheniformis,Bacillus stearothermophilus, A. fumigatus and Talaromyces ther-mophilus, as well as a few mesophilic actinomycetes. Mesophilicyeast populations remained constant at a depth of 30 cm on day 3,but mesophilic bacteria consistently outnumbered mesophylic fila-mentous fungi during composting. Kalogeris et al. (2003) producedextracellular cellulolytic enzymes under solid state cultivation bythe thermophilic fungus Thermoascus aurantiacus and character-ized them. Elevated levels of endoglucanase and �-glucosidaseactivities were produced simultaneously by optimization of growthfactors.

Molla et al. (2004) conducted a study to evaluate the feasibility ofthe solid-state bioconversion (SSB) processes in the biodegradationof wastewater sludge using two mixed fungal cultures, Trichodermaharzianum with P. chrysosporium 2094 (T/P) and T. harzianum withMucor hiemalis (T/M) and two bulking materials, sawdust (SD) andrice straw (RS). The significant growth and multiplication of boththe mixed fungal cultures were reflected in soluble protein, glu-cosamine and color intensity measurement of the water extract. Acomposting process was developed by Kabbashi et al. (2006) usingSSF for utilization of agro-industrial wastes. This study was con-cerned with a simple composting process using selected substrates,POME and EFB plus wheat flour as a co-substrate. The strains of P.chrysosporium, T. harzianum, A. niger (A 106, S 101), and Penicil-lium isolated from POME were used for an effective compostingprocess.

Rhamnolipid biosurfactant was added to a rice straw hydroly-sis system to enhance the production of reducing sugars (Zhanget al., 2009). Differing from the traditional method, on-siteproduction of rhamnolipid made the rice straw decomposingfungus Trichoderma reesei ZM4-F3 and rhamnolipid produc-ing bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa BSZ-07 work together. T.harzianum NBRI-1055 was used as the fungal candidate toenhance the antioxidant activities of soybean matrix by mod-ulating polyphenolic substances during solid-state fermentation(Harikesh et al., 2010). Trichoderma fermented soybean andunfermented soybean products were extracted with water andmethanol.

Table 1Fibrous compositions of major constituents in EFB (%).a

Components Sreekala et al. (1997) Khalil et al. (2007)

Lignin 25–35 21.2Cellulose 45–50 49.6Hemicellulose 25–35 18Ash – 2

a Results are shown as dry matter basis.

3. Major oil palm wastes

3.1. Oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFBs)

3.1.1. Constitutes of EFBAn average oil palm mill can handle about 100 metric tonnes

(mt) of fresh fruit bunches daily (Singh et al., 2010). At the millswhere oil extraction takes place, solid residues and liquid wastesare generated. As shown in Fig. 3, the solid residues, mainly EFB, aremore than 20% of the fresh fruit weight (Ma et al., 1993; Kamarudinet al., 1997; Lorestani, 2006). The EFBs are either incinerated orapplied to fields. These practices create environmental pollutionproblems as incineration and boilers emit gases with particulatessuch as tar and soot droplets of 20–100 microns and a dust load ofabout 3000–4000 mg/nm (Igwe and Onyegbado, 2007) and indis-criminate dumping of EFB causes additional methane emissioninto the atmosphere (Amal et al., 2008). To minimize pollution, anew usage for these wastes ought to be looked into. As shown inTable 1, these biomasses from palm oil mills contain 45–50% cel-lulose, 25–35% hemicelluloses and 25–35% lignin (Sreekala et al.,1997; Khalil et al., 2007). They are composed of a bundle of fibreswith an average size of about 1 mm long, 25 �m wide and 3 �mthick (Deraman, 1993).

However, the nutrient contents are variable, as can be seen fromthe findings of different researchers, shown in Table 2.

3.1.2. EFB as a fertilizerThe EFB is a suitable raw material for recycling because it is

produced in large quantities in localized areas. In the past, it wasoften used as fuel to generate steam at the mills (Ma et al., 1993).Researchers are now trying to utilize this cheap raw material in dif-ferent applications. Composting of EFB is being extended to farmersby the Department of Agriculture of Malaysia (Damanhuri, 1998).

Currently most of the EFB are used as mulch in plantations,almost wholly replacing incineration, which is now confined to onlya few mills. The usual application rate of EFB is 40–70 tonnes perhectare. The trials are carried out in one of the Sabah Land Develop-ment Boar (SLDB) trials with EFB to evaluate the nutrient contentin one tonne of EFB (see Table 3).



Table 2Approximate compositions of major constituents in EFB (%).a

Nutrients Amal et al. (2008) Suhaimi and Ong (2001) Hajar (2006) Rozainee et al. (2001)

C 48.8 43.7 42.0–43.0 50.09N 0.2 0.52 0.65–0.94 2.05C/N – 45–64 –P – 0.05 – –H 6.3 – – 7.16O 36.7 – – 40.16K – 1.34 – –S 0.2 0.07 – 0.06B – 4 9–11 –Ca – 0.19 – –Cu – 13 – –Mn – – – –Mg – 20 – –Zn – 21 – –Fe – 649 – –Ash 7.3 – 4.8–8.7 5.74Oil – – 8.1–9.4 –P2O2 – – 0.18–0.27 –K2O – – 2.0–3.9 –MgO – – 0.25–0.40 –CaO – – 0.15–0.48 –

a Results are shown as dry matter basis.

Table 3Fertilizer content of one tone EFB.

Fertilizer Amount (kg) December 2002 price (RMa) December 2002 price (RM/kg) Actual price as fertilizer (RM)

Urea 3.8 540–580 0.54 2.05Rock phosphate 3.9 550 0.55 2.15Muriate of potash 18.0 230–250 0.23 4.14Kieserite 9.2 340–400 0.34 3.13Total price as fertilizer 11.47

a Ringgit Malaysia (RM).

Fresh Fruit Bunch (100 %)

Empty Fruit Bunch (20 %)

Evaporation (10 %)

Bunch Ash (0.5 %) Crude Oil

(43 %) Nuts (13 %)

Fruits (70 %)

Pericarp (14 %)

Water Evaporation

(20 %)

Pure Oil (21 %)

Moisture (1 %)

Shell (6 %)

Kernel (6 %)

Dry Fibre Fuel

(12 %)

Solids (Animal feed/fertilizer)

(2 % )

Water Evaporation

(2 %)

Fig. 3. Products from oil mill process (Lorestani, 2006).



3.2. Palm oil mill effluent (POME)

3.2.1. Constituents of POMEEffluent water discharged from the oil palm industry is known

as POME, which contains many soluble chemical materials thatare detrimental to the environment. Fig. 4 summarizes the stepsinvolved in the processing of oil palm for crude palm oil production(Mumtaz et al., 2010). It includes various liquids, soiled materi-als, residual oil and suspended solids which are shown in Table 4.Specifically, palm oil mill effluent (POME) is a general phrase refer-ring to the effluent from the final stages of palm oil production inthe mill (Igwe and Onyegbado, 2007). POME in its untreated form isa very high-strength waste, depending on the operation of the pro-cess that can involve informal, semi-formal and formal processes.POME is actually the sum total of liquid waste which cannot beeasily or immediately reprocessed for extraction of useful products.

3.2.2. POME as a fertilizerThe application of raw or digested POME as fertilizer on land was

initially considered unreasonable because of the effluent wouldkill vegetation and lead to the jamming of percolation and water-logging, thus resulting in anaerobic conditions. Later, Wood et al.(1979) reported that raw POME would readily cause clogging andwater logging of the soil, but that these problems could be over-come by the controlled application of small quantities of POMEat a time. Ground water was tested after 6–12 months of trialapplications of raw POME as fertilizer and showed no substan-tial percolation of oxygen-demanding or other polluting elementswithout excessive run-off over the surface during wet weather(Wood et al., 1979). It was thus recognized that the water quality inthe applied areas was unaffected (Dolmat et al., 1987). Moreover,Oviasogie and Aghimien (2003) reconfirmed that a proper use ofPOME in the land environment would directly improve soil fertil-ity. Their results showed an enrichment of the soils with regardto phosphorus, nitrogen, calcium, magnesium after the applicationof POME. Although zinc was particularly present in its exchange-able form, copper, iron and lead were predominant in their organicforms.

The use of POME as a cheap organic fertilizer may offer an alter-native to the excessive application of chemical fertilizers, especiallyphosphorus, for which cost is a severe economic limitation (Ta et al.,2009). According to Wood et al. (1979), an application of POME at4.5 × 106 mt per hectare (ha) was anticipated to represent a fer-tilizer application of around 30 kg ammonium sulphate, 7 kg rockphosphate, 52 kg potash and 18 kg kieserite per palm per year. Thenutrient composition of the fertilizers is shown in Table 5.

4. EFB and POME for composting

Composting of EFB is a possible way to convert the bulkybunches into a valuable, manageable product for use in theplantation or as a market product. Investigation of the rotting char-acteristic of empty fruit bunches (EFBs) during composting hasbeen conducted during the last decade (Lim, 1989; Darnoko et al.,1993; Theo and Chia, 1993; Thambirajah et al., 1995; Goenadi et al.,1998; Franke, 1998; Schuchardt et al., 1998, 1999, 2000).

Other materials are often added, particularly chicken manureand POME. However, POME has a high nutrient content (Zakariaet al., 1994), and large oil palm plantations prefer to use it directlyas a fertilizer. The POME is first treated to reduce the organic load(Ma et al., 1993). The sediments left after treatment, which havea higher nutrient value than the slurry (Zakaria et al., 1994), areeither recycled to the fields or sold to the public.

The effects of composting palm press fibre alone, palm pressfibre supplemented with poultry layer deep-litter and urea, and

palm press fibre supplemented with poultry broiler floor-litterand urea were studied by Thambirajah and Kuthubutheen (1989).After 8 weeks of composting the C/N ratios of the mixtures werereduced significantly. The temperature in the heaps rose in thefirst 3 weeks of composting but stabilized after 8 weeks. The ratioof thermophilic to mesophilic fungi increased during composting,and even after the compost had cooled the thermophilic fungalcounts remained high. The mesophilic bacteria were not influencedby temperature fluctuation in the heaps, and bacterial numbersremained high even during the peak heating phase.

The composting of oil palm empty-fruit-bunches in supplemen-tation with either goat dung, cow dung or chicken manure wasstudied with varying different C/N ratios (Thambirajah et al., 1995).The rate of utilization of cellulosic material showed a positive cor-relation with the increase in the nitrogen (NH4) content of thecompost. Hamdan et al. (1998) studied the decomposition of EFBin oil palm plantations where EFB was spread in the field as mulchon top of nylon net, at a rate of 30, 60 and 90 mt/ha/year. At eachEFB application rate, spots were selected for nitrogen supplemen-tation to meet a C/N ratio of 15, 30 and 60. The EFB was found to becompletely decomposed after 10 months of application. Anotherstudy by Suhaimi and Ong (2001) examined the composting of EFBin open and closed composting systems. Mixtures of EFB, fermen-tation liquid waste (in form of POME) and chicken manure (open)and EFB, POME and chicken manure (closed) were the ingredientsfor composting. This resulted in irregular biological activity. Thecomposting process developed at a reasonable rate, being fasterfor the open than the closed system. A C/N ratio of about 16 wasachieved in about 50 days (open) and 85 days (closed). Compostingof EFB from oil palms with the addition of POME was carried outunder a wet tropical climate at Medan in Indonesia (Schuchardtet al., 2002). During the composting process the fresh POME wasadded (based on the evaporation rate) to balance the high waterevaporation. During the rotting process of 12 weeks the mass ofthe dry matter and the carbon decreased >60%, the volume and themass at about 50%, and the C/N ratio from 50 at the beginning wasreduced to 15.

Kabbashi et al. (2006) studied the composting process usingselected substrates, POME and EFB plus wheat flour as a co-substrate in a tray bio-reactor. The strains of P. chrysosporium, T.harzianum, A. niger (A 106, S 101), and Penicillium isolated fromPOME were used for an effective composting process. The com-posting time required to complete the process was two months.The C/N ratio and germination index (GI) achieved were 17 and95%, respectively. Yasmeen et al. (2008) investigated the efficiencyof rice straw and EFB of oil palm compost extracts, either fortified orunfortified with T. harzianum, on morpho-physiological growth andoccurrence of Choanephora wet rot of okra. Treatments tested werewater (control), rice straw (RST) compost extract, Trichoderma-enriched RST compost extract, EFB of oil palm compost extract,Trichoderma-enriched EFB compost extract, aqueous suspensionof Trichoderma, and a fungicide Dithane M-451. The experimentalresults were significantly higher in Trichoderma-enriched RST com-post extracts, followed by Dithane M-451, Trichoderma-enrichedEFB extracts, RST, EFB and aqueous suspension of T. harzianum inboth Choanephora inoculated and uninoculated (control) plots.

Microbial communities and cellulolytic enzymes activities wereanalyzed during the co-composting of EFB and partially treatedPOME on a pilot scale (Baharuddin et al., 2009). The diversityof the bacterial community was investigated using polymerasechain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. The results(Table 6) indicated that the composting process of EFB with par-tially treated POME was dominated by uncultured bacteria species.Formation of compost from EFB and decanter cake slurry by theaddition of POME, with a regular turning operation, was investi-gated by Yahya et al. (2010). The addition of decanter cake slurry



Table 4Approximate chemical constituents of POME (ppm).

Materials Palaniappan (1993) Ma et al. (1996) Sivapalan and Ripin (1997)

pH 4–7 4.7 4.89N 380–227 750 47P 180 –K 990–1542 2270 3365Ca 330–256 439 71Cu – 0.89 –Mg 242–247 615 442Mn – 2 –Zn – 2.3 –Fe – 46.5 –B – 7.6 –NO3 – 35 92SO4 – – 322Water – – –Oil – 4000 10,500SS 18,000 20,650TS 34,260–12,408 40,000 41,200TVS 34,000 –BOD 20,790–2240 25,000 35,100COD 50,000 6100

Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of oil extraction from oil palm and POME generation (dashed line represents byproduct/waste stream) (Mumtaz et al., 2010).



Table 5Expected fertilizer values from POME (Ta et al., 2009).

Fertilizers Tonnes (×103) Price, December 2002 (RM/tonne) Price (RM in millions)

Ammonium sulphate 75.5 580.00 43.79Rock phosphate (CIRP) 19.5 545.00 10.63Muriate of potash 68.6 250.00 17.15Kieserite 59.6 400.00 23.84Total 95.41

Table 6Characterization of feedstock materials and composts after different durations of composting process (Baharuddin et al., 2009).

Sample Color Temperature (◦C) pH Moisture content (%) C/N ratio

EFB Brown 32.2 6.5 25 56.5POME Blackish 41.3 7.6 95 13.6Compost (30 days) Dark brown 57.4 8.3 65 24.6Compost (60 days) Blackish 35.3 7.8 60 12.8

had speeded up the composting process of the EFB. The C/N ratioafter 51 days for the mature compost with the decanter cake slurrywas 18.65, while that of the matured compost without the decantercake slurry remained high at 28.96.

Table 7 shows a summary of the results available in the literatureconcerned with composting of EFB and POME in different microbialsystems with controlling parameters.

5. Compost and plant pathogenicity

Composting using a biologically based technique is recognizedas an environmentally sound method of waste management (Ishaket al., 1999; Liao et al., 1993). Simultaneously, the end product ofcomposting has tremendous impact on nutritional values for plantgrowth by conserving proper soil health (Georgacakis et al., 1996;Zang et al., 1998). However, assessing the phytotoxicity of com-posts is one of the most important criteria being used to avoidenvironmental risks as well as plant growth before these compostscan be applied to agricultural land. Otherwise, they may cause ofsevere economic loss in crop production and contamination of theenvironment by disseminating several diseases.

The process of composting is ecologically complex as it isinfluenced by a wide range of environmental variables. Moistureavailability appears to be a significant factor in composting systemssince water affects gaseous exchange. As water content increases,the rate of gas transfer decreases, and the rate of oxygen trans-fer becomes insufficient to meet the metabolic demands of themicroorganisms. The composting system will become restricted inactivity and eventually anaerobic (Miller, 1991). Frassinetti et al.(1990) studied the changes in patterns of phytotoxicity of sewagesludge compost as affected by the pattern of oxygenation (aerobicand anaerobic conditions). The experimental results showed thatsludge processed under anaerobic conditions had increased toxic-ity. In aerobic conditions, the microflora develops and is capable oftransforming organic matter and eliminating biological toxicity.

Plant seed germination and root elongation tests have been usedas simple and sensitive techniques for detection of the toxicityof various environmental pollutants such as heavy metals (Wongand Bradshaw, 1982), phenolic compounds (Wong, 1985), refusecompost (Wong, 1985), industrial effluents from heavy machin-ery, agricultural product utilization and special chemical industries(Wang and Keturi, 1990). Many plant species, including cabbage,lettuce, carrot, cucumber, tomato and oats, have been recom-mended for seed germination and root elongation tests (FDA, 1987;USEPA, 1982).

The phytotoxicity of spent pig-manure sawdust litter (spent lit-ter) was evaluated during composting (Tiquia et al., 1996). Aqueousextracts of the spent litter were prepared by shaking the sample

with water and the toxicity of these extracts was determined onrelative seed germination, relative root elongation and germina-tion index. Phytotoxicity of the spent litter was only evident duringthe earlier stage of composting (first 14 days) and seed germina-tion and root elongation reached 100% (the same as the control)towards the end of the composting. Multiple regression analysis,Relative root elongation and GI were more sensitive indicators ofphytotoxicity than seed germination.

Tam and Tiquia (1994) determined seed germination and rootelongation of four plant species to evaluate the toxicity of the spentlitter. Compared with seed germination, root elongation was moresensitive to the toxicity of the spent litter. The study was under-taken to characterize the fungi on non-phytopathogenicity for cropproduction as well as the potential ability for bioconversion ofdomestic wastewater sludge by Molla et al. (2002b). Ten filamen-tous fungi adapted to domestic wastewater sludge (DWS) werestudied to assess their potentiality in terms of adaptation to highersludge-supplemented growing media and phytopathogenicity tothree germinating crops (Corn: Zea mays, Mung bean: Phaseolusaureus and Mustard: Brassica napus) seeds. The performances ofthe fungi in seed germination were evaluated based on the percentgermination index (GI) and infected/spotted seeds on the directfungal biomass (FBM) and the fungal metabolite (FM).

It has been reported that low concentrations of some trace met-als retard root elongation and delay seed germination for a largenumber of plants (Wong and Bradshaw, 1982; Wong and Lau,1983). Ammonia produced upon decay of animal manure can alsoinhibit seed germination and seedling growth of Brassica parachi-nensis (Ellis et al., 1991; Wong and Lau, 1983). Phytotoxicity ofimmature compost was much higher than of mature compost (Bacaet al., 1990; Garcia et al., 1992a; Zucconi et al., 1981a,b) because ofthe presence of toxins during decomposing organic material, NH3,high C/N ratio and the availability of heavy metals (Inbar et al.,1990). The phytotoxicity of organic wastes was also due to highelectrical conductivity, an excess of ammonia, phenolic substances,organic acids of low molecular weight and other phytotoxic organicmetabolites (Garcia et al., 1992b).

6. Environmental and economic impacts of composting

Composting, one of the most suitable technologies for treatingwastes can reduce the mass, destroy the weed seeds, provide a suf-ficient sanitization effect and produce valuable end products (Jianget al., 2001). In terms of its inexpensive costs and rather simplyetechnique, composting was used widely, especially in develop-ing countries. For example, in China more than 17 million tonnesorganic fertilizer was produced from composting each year; andin the municipal solid waste and sewage sludge treatment field,



Table 7Characterization of composting process with EFB and POME used for investigations in reviewed literature.

Substrates Microbial systems Controlling parameters References

Palm press fibre, poultry layerdeep-litter and broilerfloor-litter and urea

Inoculated by Bacteria andfungi

Temperature, moisture, C/N, etc. Thambirajah and Kuthubutheen (1989)

EFB, goat dung, cow dung andchicken manure

Inoculated by bacteria, fungal Temperature (70 ◦C), C/N (35:1), pH(5.4), etc.

Thambirajah et al. (1995)

EFB Natural degradationa C/N (30) Hamdan et al. (1998)EFB, fermentation liquid waste and

chicken manure and palm oilmill effluent

Natural degradation Moisture (56%), C/N (41, open; 56,closed), etc.

Suhaimi and Ong (2001)

EFB and POME Natural degradation Evaporation rate (3.5 m3/t), C/N (50),rainfall (2000 mm/a), etc.

Schuchardt et al. (2002)

EFB, POME and wheat flour Inoculated by P. chrysosporium,T. harzianum, A. niger andPenicillium

pH (5–7), moisture content (60–70%),temperature (30 ± 2 ◦C), etc.

Kabbashi et al. (2006)

Rice straw and EFB Inoculated by Trichodermaharzianum

Fortified or unfortified Yasmeen et al. (2008)

EFB and POME Inoculated by bacteria species Temperature (>50 ◦C), moisturecontent (65–70%), etc.

Baharuddin et al. (2009)

EFB and POME Natural degradation With/without decanter cake slurry Yahya et al. (2010)

a Natural degradation indicates no inoculation of microbes.

the proportion of composting increased rapidly (Li et al., 2003).Compost from organic wastes is much cheaper than the fertilizerproduced in the industry. Compost also improves the soil water-holding capacity and provides better tilts. The use of compost is nolonger limited to its use as a soil amendment. Compost technolo-gies are emerging rapidly valuable tools in pollution preventionand control. Compost is now being used in erosion control onhighways, the clean up of contaminants in storm water runoffand in the remediation of soils contaminated with heavy metalsor toxic organic compounds. With regard to the concerns aboutglobal warming, composting is playing a major role. The organicdecomposition of wastes in anaerobic landfills and open lagoonshas methane as the major product, while the same process formsCO2 in anaerobic composting. Since methane has 22 times the unfa-vorable impact on global warming, composting materials abatesthis problem (Ndegwa, 1999).

7. Conclusions

Composting is commonly defined as a natural aerobic biochem-ical process in which microorganisms transform organic materialsinto a stable soil-like product. The process is well established andhas been comprehensively documented in literature. Although thisis an old technique, its application in palm oil wastes is very limited.Among them, EFB as well as POME are not environmentally friendlywhen they are disposed of after the extraction of oil palm fruits. EFBtakes a long time to degrade, while the POME contaminates theground and reduces the soil fertility with excessive organic loads.However, they may be a potential resource and value-added prod-uct if they are treated and managed properly. Numerous studieshave already regarded these issues. Current practices described inthe literature are time consuming: at least two months are neededto convert them; and they do not guarantee pathogen-free endproducts (composts). Moreover, most researchers are using naturaldegradation without proper microbial systems. Their systems arenot fully efficient because fungi were not deployed making full useof their enzymatic properties. Furthermore, application of mixedculture fungi in the composting system, especially in EFB and POMEcomposting is limited. Proper microbial systems can be developedand used for the composting process to establish an efficient andeffective composting process. Microbes would be selected basedon their enzymatic properties i.e. lignin, cellulose and hemicellu-lose degrading fungi that would be useful for the raw materials of

lignocellulolytic based composting process. Mixed culture fungalsystems can accelerate the process and shorten the time.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Research Management Center(RMC) and the Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Interna-tional Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) for their financial support.

References

Alam MZ, Fakhru’l-Razi A, Molla AH. Biosolids accumulation and biodegrada-tion of domestic wastewater treatment plant sludge by developed liquidstate bioconversion process using batch fermentation. Water Research2003a;37(15):3569–78.

Alam MZ, Fakhru’l-Razi A, Molla AH. Optimization of liquid state bioconversionprocess for microbial treatment of domestic wastewater sludge. Journal of Envi-ronmental Engineering and Science 2003b;2:299–306.

Alam MZ, Muyibi SA, Mansor MF, Radziah W. Activated carbons derived from oilpalm empty-fruit bunches: application to environmental problems. Journal ofEnvironmental Sciences 2007;19(January (1)):103–8.

Alam MZ, Mamun AA, Qudsieh IY, Muyib SA, Salleha HM, Omara NM. Solid statebioconversion of oil palm empty fruit bunches for cellulase enzyme productionusing a rotary drum bioreactor. Biochemical Engineering Journal 2009;46:61–4.

Amal NMT, Fathie AZ, Wan NFMF, Noorhalieza A, Onn H. The usage of Empty FruitBunch (EFB) and Palm Pressed Fibre (PPF) as substrates for the cultivation ofPleurotus ostreatus. Jurnal Teknologi 2008;49 (F) Dis:189–96.

Arif S, Tengku TA, Ariff M. The case study on the Malaysian palm oil, Paper preparedfor the UNCTAD/ESCAP regional workshop on commodity export diversificationand poverty reduction in South and South-East Asia, Bangkok, 3–5 April, 2001.

Baca MT, Delgado IC, Sanchez-Raya J, Gallardo-Lara F. Comparative use of cressseed germination and physiological parameters of Helianthus annuus L. to assesscompost maturation. Biological wastes 1990;33:251–61.

Baharuddin AS, Kazunori N, Abd-Aziz S, Tabatabaei M, Abdul Rahman NA, Has-san MA, et al. Characteristics and microbial succession in co-composting of oilpalm empty fruit bunch and partially treated palm oil mill effluent. The OpenBiotechnology Journal 2009;3:92–100.

Bazrafshan E, Zazouli MA, Bazrafshan J, Bandpei AM. Evaluation of microbi-ological and chemical parameters during wastewater sludge and sawdustco-composting. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management2006;10(June (2)):115–9.

Brand D, Pandey A, Roussos S, Soccol CR. Biological detoxification of coffee husk byfilamentous fungi using a solid state fermentation system. Enzyme and MicrobialTechnology 2000;27(July (1–2)):127–33.

Chang Y, Hudson HJ. The fungi of wheat straw compost. I. Ecological studies. Trans-actions of the British Mycological Society 1967;50:649–66.

Chang Y. The fungi of wheat straw compost. II. Biochemical and physiological studies.Transactions of the British Mycological Society 1967;50:667–77.

Cooney DG, Emerson R. Thermophilicfungi, eumycota. San Francisco: W.H. FreemanPubl. Co; 1964.

Damanhuri MA. Hands-on experience in the production of empty fruit bunches (EFB)compost. In: CETDEM Malaysian organic farming seminar; 1998.

Darnoko D, Poeloengan Z, Anas I. Pembuatan pupuk organic dari tandan kosongkelapa sawit. Buletin Pusa Penelitian Kelaps Sawit 1993;1:89–99.



Deraman M. Carbon pellets from fibre of palm empty fruit bunches: a quantita-tive X-ray diffraction analysis. Palm Oil Research Institute Malaysia Bulletin1993;26:13–8.

Dolmat MT, Lim KH, Zakaria ZZ, Hassan H. Recent studies on the effects of landapplication of palm oil mill effluent on oil palm and the environment. In: Pro-ceedings of the 1987 international oil palm/palm oil conference—agriculture;1987. p. 596–604.

Eastwood DJ. The fungus flora of composts. Transactions of the British MycologicalSociety 1952;35:215–20.

Ellis JE, McSay E, Workman SM. Toxic effects of manure, alfalfa, and ammonia onemergence and growth of cucumber seedlings. HortScience 1991;26:380–3.

Fakhru’l-Razi A, Alam MZ, Idris A, Abd-Aziz S, Molla AH. Domestic wastewater accu-mulation by liquid state bioconversion process for rapid composting. Journal ofEnvironmental Science and Health 2002;38(8):1533–43.

FDA (Food and Drug Administration). Seed germination and root elongation. Envi-ronmental Assessment Technical Assistance Document 4.06. Washington, DC:Center of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and the Center for VeterinaryMedicine, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1987.

Fermor TR. Applied aspects of composting and bioconversion of lignocellulosicmaterials—an overview. International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation1993;31:87–106.

Fleury S. Method for treatment of sewage plant sludge by a fungal process. UnitedStates Patent, US007270751B2, 2007.

Franke M. Kompostierung von Ernteabfällen in den Tropen am Beispiel von Ölpalmeund Zuckerrohr. Stuttgart: Verlag Ulrich Grauer; 1998, ISBN 3-86786-207-7.

Frassinetti S, Citterio S, Nappi P. Chemical changes in sludge stabilisation. BioCycle1990;31:50–2.

Garcia C, Hernandez T, Costa F, Ayuso M. Evaluation of the maturity of munici-pal waste compost using simple chemical parameters. Communications in SoilScience and Plant Analysis 1992a;23:1501–12.

Garcia C, Hernandez T, Costa F, Pascual JA. Phytotoxicity due to the agricultural useof urban wastes. Germination experiments. Journal of the Science of Food andAgriculture 1992b;59:313–9.

Georgacakis D, Tsavdaris A, Bakouli J, Symeonidis S. Composting solid swine manureand lignite mixtures with selected plant residues. Bioresource Technology1996;56:195–200.

Goenadi DH, Away Y, Sukin Y, Yusuf HH, Aritonan P. Teknologi produksi kom-pos bioaktif tandan kosong kelapa sawit. In: Pertemuan teknis bioteknologiperkebunan untuk praktek. Bogor, Indonesia: Unit Penilitian BioteknologiPerkebu-nan; 1998.

Gregory PH, Lacey ME, Festenstein GN, Skinner FA. Microbial and biochemicalchanges during the moulding of hydrogen. Microbiology 1963;33:147–74.

Guest RK, Smith DW. A potential new role for fungi in a wastewater MBR biologicalnitrogen reduction system. Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science2002;1:433–7.

Hajar HHZ. Bioethanol production from Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) of oilpalm. Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and NaturalResources Engineering, University College of Engineering Malaysia; November2006.

Hamdan AB, Tarmizi AM, Tayeb MD. Empty fruit bunch mulching and nitro-gen fertilizer amendment: the resultant effect on oil palm performanceand soil properties. PORIM Bulletin Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia1998;37:105–11.

Harikesh BS, Brahma NS, Satyendra PS, Chandra SN. Solid-state cultivation of Tri-choderma harzianum NBRI-1055 for modulating natural antioxidants in soybeanseed matrix. Bioresource Technology 2010;101(August (16)):6444–53.

Heerden IV, Cronjé C, Swart SH, Kotzé JM. Microbial, chemical and physical aspectsof citrus waste composting. Bioresource Technology 2002;81(January (1)):71–6.

Henssen A. Uber die Bedeutung der thermophilen Mikroorganismen fur die Zeset-zung des Stallmistes. Archiv fur Mikrobiologie 1957;27:63–81.

Igwe JC, Onyegbado CC. A review of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) water treatment.Global Journal of Environmental Research 2007;1(2):54–62.

Inbar Y, Chen Y, Hadar Y, Hoitink HAJ. New approaches to compost maturity. BioCycle1990;31:64–9.

Ishak CF, Bakar RA, Saud HM, Abdullah TL. Application of sewage sludge from Indahwater treatment plants. Agro-Search 1999;6(1):14–9.

Jiang T, Schuchardt F, Li GX, Guo R, Zhao YQ. Effect of C/N ratio, aeration rate andmoisture content on ammonia and greenhouse gas emission during the com-posting. Journal of Environmental Sciences 2001;23(10):1754–60.

Kabbashi NA, Alam MZ, Ainuddin M. Bio-composting process development by SSFfor utilization agro-industrial wastes. In: 3rd Kuala Lumpur international con-ference on biomedical engineering 2006 (Biomed 2006), IFMBE proceedings;2006.

Kalogeris E, Christakopoulos P, Katapodis P, Alexiou A, Vlachou S, Kekos D, et al.Production and characterization of cellulolytic enzymes from the thermophilicfungus Thermoascus aurantiacus under solid state cultivation of agriculturalwastes. Process Biochemistry 2003;38(February (7)):1099–104.

Kamarudin H, Mohamad H, Arifin D, Johri S. An estimated availability of oil palmbiomass in Malaysia. PORIM Occ Paper Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia1997;37.

Khalil HPSA, Hanida S, Kang CW, Fuaad NA. Agro-hybrid composite: the effectson mechanical and physical properties of oil palm fiber (EFB)/glass hybridreinforced polyster composites. Journal of Reinforced Plastic Composites2007;26(2):203–18.

Lacina C, Germain G, Spiros AN. Utilization of fungi for bio-treatment of raw wastewaters. Journal of Biotechnology 2003;2(12):620–30.

Liao PH, Vizcarra AT, Chen A, Lo KV. Composting separated solid swine manure.Journal of Environment Science and Health, Part A Environmental Science1993;28(9):1889–901.

Li GX, Li YM, Li YCH. The treatment and utilization of organic solid wastes asresources in China. In: Li WH, editor. China Ecological Agriculture. Beijing:Chemical Industry Press; 2003. p. 499–520.

Lim KH. Trials on composting EFB of oil palm with and without prior shreddingand liquid extraction. In: Proc. of 1989 PORIM intern. palm oil developmentconference; 1989. p. 217–24.

Liu J. Composting and use of compost as a soil amendment. PhD thesis, Honolulu,Hawaii: Department of Astronomy and soil science, University of Hawai, 2000.

Lorestani AAZ. Biological treatment of palm oilmill effluent (POME) using an up-flowanaerobic sludge fixed film (UASFF) bioreactor. Ph.D. thesis, School of ChemicalEngineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2006.

Ma AN, Tajima Y, Asahi M, Hanif J. A novel treatment process for palm oil mill effluent.PORIM Techno, Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia 1996.

Ma AN, Cheah SA, Chow MC. Current status of palm oil processing waste manage-ment. In: Yeoh BG, et al., editors. Waste management in Malaysia: current statusand prospects for bioremediation; 1993. p. 111–36.

Mannan S, Fakhru’l-Razi A, Alam MZ. Use of fungi to improve bioconversion ofactivated sludge. Water Research 2005;39:2935–43.

Metcalf and Eddy Inc. Wastewater engineering treatment and reuse. Revised byTchobanoglous G, Burton FL, Stensel HD. McGraw-Hill International Edition,2003.

Miller FC. Biodegradation of solid wastes by composting. In: Martin AM, editor. Bio-logical degradation of wastes. London, UK: Elsevier Applied Science; 1991. p.1–25.

Molla AH, Fakhru’l-Razi A, Abd-Aziz S, Hana MM, Alam MZ. In-vitro compat-ibility evaluation of fungal mixed culture for bioconversion of domesticwastewater sludge. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology 2001;17:849–56.

Molla AH, Fakhru’l-Razi A, Abd-Aziz S, Hanafi MM, Roychoudhury PK, Alam MZ.A potential resource for bioconversion of domestic wastewater sludge. Biore-source Technology 2002a;85:263–72.

Molla AH, Fakhru’l-Razi A, Hanafi MM, Abd-Aziz S, Alam MZ. Potential non-phytopathogenic filamentous fungi for bioconversion of domestic wastewatersludge. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A—Toxic/HazardousSubstances and Environmental Engineering 2002b;A37(8):1495–507.

Molla AH, Fakhru’l-Razi A, Alam MZ. Evaluation of solid-state bioconversion ofdomestic wastewater sludge as a promising environmental-friendly disposaltechnique. Water Research 2004;38:4143–52.

Morimoto M, Atsuko M, Atif AAY, Ngan MA, Fakhru’l-Razi A, Iyuke SE. Biological pro-duction of hydrogen from glucose by natural anaerobic microflora. InternationalJournal of Hydrogen Energy 2004;29:709–13.

MPOB Annual Report. http://www.simedarby.com/downloads/pdfs/SDB/AnnualReport/Sime Darby AR2010.pdf, 2005.

MPOB (Malaysian Palm Oil Board). A summary on the performance of theMalaysian oil palm industry. http://econ.mpob.gov.my/economy/Performance-130109.htm, 2008.

Mumtaz T, Yahaya NA, Abd-Aziz S, Abdul Rahman NA, Yee PL, Shirai Y, et al.Turning waste to wealth-biodegradable plastics polyhydroxyalkanoates frompalm oil mill effluent – a Malaysian perspective. Journal of Cleaner Production2010;18(September (14)):1393–402.

Ndegwa PM. Enhancing composting and bioconversion of organic waste. Ph.D. thesis,Athens, Georgia: Biological & Agricultural Engineering, University of Georgia,1999.

Oviasogie PO, Aghimien AE. Macronutrient status and speciation of Cu, Fe, Zn andPb in soil containing palm oil mill effluent. Global Journal of Pure and AppliedSciences 2003;9:71–80.

Palaniappan S. Leaching losses and nutrient build-up in the soil through applicationof raw and digested palm oil mill effluent (POME). Pertanika Journal of TropicalAgricultural Science 1993;16(1):25–9.

Perdih A, Cimerman A, Friedrich J. Fungal bioconversion of fruit distillery wastes.Enzyme and Microbial Technology 1991;13(October (10)):848–52.

Rahman SHA, Choudhury JP, Ahmad AL. Production of xylose from oil palmempty fruit bunch fiber using sulfuric acid. Biochemical Engineering Journal2006;30:97–103.

Rozainee M, Lim SY, Looi S, Ngo SP. In: Initial study on the combustion of palm wastesin a spouted bed 15th symposium of Malaysian chemical engineers SOMChE;2001 [D3-3].

Rupani PF, Singh RP, Ibrahim MH, Esa N. Review of current palm oil mill effluent(POME) treatment methods: vermicomposting as a sustainable practice. WorldApplied Sciences Journal 2010;11(1):70–81.

Sánchez C. Lignocellulosic residues: biodegradation and bioconversion by fungi.Biotechnology Advances 2009;27(March–April (2)):185–94.

Sandhu DK, Sidhu MS. The fungal succession on decomposing sugar cane bagasse.Transactions of the British Mycological Society 1980;75(2):281–6.

Schuchardt F, Susilawati E, Guritno P. Influence of C/N ratio and inoculum uponrotting characteristics of oil palm empty fruit bunch. In: Proc. 1998 internationaloil palm conference; 1998. p. 501–10.

Schuchardt F, Susilawati E, Guritno P. Trials about composting of solid wastes frompalm oil mills, Indonesia. In: Proc. intern. conference ORBIT 99 on biologicaltreatment of waste and the environment; 1999. p. 155–64.

Schuchardt F, Balcke S, Becker F, Guritno P, Herawan TE, Darnoko D. Production ofcompost from EFB. In: Integrated management of palm oil mill solid wastes andeffluents, Medan; 2000. p. 4.1–4.25.



Schuchardt F, Darnoko D, Guritno P. Composting of empty oil palm fruit bunch(EFB) with simultaneous evaporation of oil mill waste water (POME). In: 2002international oil palm conference; 2002.

Singh RP, Ibrahim MH, Esa N, Iliyana MS. Composting of waste from palm oil mill:a sustainable waste management practice. Reviews in Environmental Scienceand Biotechnology 2010;9(4):331–44.

Sivapalan K, Ripin A. Palm oil mill effluent treatment towards zero discharge. In:National science and technology conference 1997; 1997.

Sreekala MS, Kumaran MG, Thomas S. Oil palm fibres: morphology, chemical com-position, surface modification and mechanical properties. Journal of AppliedPolymer Science 1997;66:821–35.

Suhaimi M, Ong HK. Composting empty fruit bunches of oil palm. Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia: Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI);2001.

Ta YW, Mohammad AW, Jahim JM, Anuar N. A holistic approach to managing palmoil mill effluent (POME): biotechnological advances in the sustainable reuse ofPOME. Biotechnology Advances 2009;27:40–52.

Tam NFY, Tiquia S. Assessing toxicity of spent pig litter using a seed germinationtechnique. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 1994;11:261–74.

Thambirajah JJ, Kuthubutheen AJ. Composting of palm press fibre. Biological Wastes1989;27:257–69.

Thambirajah JJ, Zulkali MD, Hashim MA. Microbiological and biochemical changesduring the composting of oil palm empty fruit bunch; effect of nitrogen supple-mentation on the substrate. Bioscience Technology 1995;52:133–44.

Theo CH, Chia CC. Waste or by-product – the recycling aspects of oil palm cultivationand palm oil processing. In: Sukaimi J, et al., editors. Proc. of the 1993 PORIMinternational palm oil congress; 1993. p. 90–114.

Tiquia SM, Tama NFY, Hodgkis IJ. Effects of composting on phytotoxicity of spentpig-manure sawdust litter. Environmental Pollution 1996;93(3):249–56.

Tuomela M, Vikman M, Hatakka A, Itavaara M. Biodegradation of lignin in a compostenvironment: a review. Bioresource Technology 2009;72:169–83.

USEPA. Seed germination/root elongation toxicity test. Washington, DC: EG-12,Office of Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 1982.

Waksman SA, Umbreit WW, Cordon TC. Thermophilic actinomycetes and fungi insoils and in composts. Soil Science 1939;47:37–61.

Wang W, Keturi PH. Comparative seed germination tests using ten plant species fortoxicity assessment of a metal engraving effluent sample. Water, Air, and SoilPollution 1990;52:369–76.

Wong MH, Bradshaw AD. A comparison of the toxicity of heavy metals using rootelongation of ryegrass. Lolium perenne. New Phytologist 1982;91:255I–326I.

Wong MH, Lau WM. Effects of roadside soil extracts on seed germination and rootelongation of edible crops. Environmental Pollution 1983;31:203–15.

Wong MH. Effects of animal manure composts on tree (Acacia confusa) seedlinggrowth. Agricultural Wastes 1985;13:261–72.

Wood BJ, Pillai KR, Rajaratnam JA. Palm oil mill effluent disposal on land. AgriculturalWastes 1979;1:103–27.

Wu TY, Mohammad AW, Jahim M, Anuar N. Investigations on protease productionby a wild-type Aspergillus terreus strain using diluted retentate of pre-filteredpalm oil mill effluent (POME) as substrate. Enzyme and Microbial Technology2006;39:1223–9.

Yahya A, Sye CP, Ishola TA, Suryanto H. Effect of adding palm oil milldecanter cake slurry with regular turning. Bioresource Technology 2010;101:8736–41.

Yasmeen S, Sariah M, Ismail R, Rahmani M, Ali A. Bio-efficiency of compostextracts on the wet rot incidence, morphologica and physiological growth ofokra (Abelmoschus esculentus [(L.) Moench]). Scientia Horticulturae 2008;117:9–14.

Zakaria ZZ, Khalid H, Hamdan AB. Guidelines on land application of palm oilmill effluent (POME). PORIM Bulletin Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia1994;28.

Zang W, Han DY, Dick WA, Davis KR, Hoitink HAJ. Compost and compost waterextract induced systemic acquired resistance in cucumber and Arabidopsis. Phy-topathology 1998;88:450–5.

Zhang Q, He G, Wang J, Cai W, Xu Y. Two-stage co-hydrolysis of rice straw byTrichoderma reesei ZM4-F3 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa BSZ-07. Biomass andBioenergy 2009;33(October (10)):1464–8.

Zucconi F, Pera A, Forte M, de Bertoldi M. Evaluation of toxicity of immature compost.BioCycle 1981a;22(2):54–7.

Zucconi F, Pera A, Forte M, de Bertoldi M. Biological evaluation of compost maturity.BioCycle 1981b;22(4):27–9.

Effective composting of oil palm industrial waste by filamentous fungi: A review

Documents

Transcript of Effective composting of oil palm industrial waste by filamentous fungi: A review