Composting Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches: Results and Iimplications

10.30058/SE.200106.0007

M. Suhaimi；H. K. Ong

土壤與環境

4卷2期（2001 / 06 / 01）

139 - 148

英文

A brief survey on the composting and decomposition studies of EFB was undertaken. Some of the salient results are discussed mainly to compare the inherent observations made with those obtained from studies conducted in MARDI. Two methods (open and close) of composting of oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) were studied in MARDI. Mixtures of EFB, fermentation liquid waste and chicken manure (open) and EFB, palm oil mill effluent and chicken manure (close) were the ingredients for composting. Natural and controlled aeration was carried out in the open and close system respectively. The sizes were different, windrow piles 80 and 1.0 tonne for the close and open system respectively. Different methods of size reduction namely hammer milling and cutting of the EFB was adopted for the open and close system respectively. Conventional and readily available mixing technique was found to be inefficient. The distribution of the other inputs was uneven resulting in high initial C/N ratio (41, open; 56, close). Distribution of moisture during composting was uneven in the close system. Dehydrated parts of the composting mass were difficult to rehydrate. Returned moisture that collected at the upper portion of the close pile dripped right through to the floor. It resulted in uneven biological activity. The composting process progressed at a reasonable rate, being faster for the open than the close system. A C/N ratio of about 16 was achieved in about 50 days (open) and 85 days (close). The paper discusses the implications of the results for more manageable big scale EFB composting.