Waste: Turning oil palm waste into paper and tissue
- The Edge Malaysia
- Oct 6
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 16
Datuk Lim Thiam Huat, managing director of Nextgreen Global Bhd (KL:NGGB), began his research to convert agriculture waste into pulp two decades ago in 2002. Waste-to-wealth was his interest. At the time, he was recovering waste from construction sites, and he started a solvent-based waste recovery company, which was sold a couple of years ago.
He wanted to turn empty fruit bunches (EFBs) from oil palm plantations into something useful. Malaysia is the second-biggest producer of oil palm in the world, which means there is an abundance of biomass waste like EFBs in plantations.
“Usually, they burn [EFBs] for energy, or they do mulching and convert them into fertiliser to be reused in the oil palm plantations. I think we can get a bit more detailed. Understanding the characteristics of EFB fibre, we are able to use the waste to create something of higher value along the line,” says Lim.
The good fibre from EFBs can be extracted and used for pulp making, which is then turned into products like paper, packaging and tissue paper. The leftover fibre, which is tougher, can be combined with palm kernel shell (PKS) and burned in the boiler to generate steam for the pulp-making process.
Nextgreen was originally BHS Industries Bhd, established in 1982 as a printer of magazines and books. In 2014, Lim became its new managing director, and the name of the company was changed in 2017.
Since then, the company has signed joint venture (JV) agreements with Crown Package Co Ltd to manufacture packaging made from EFBs that is exported to Japan. More recently, it struck up a JV with China’s Xiamen C&D Paper & Pulp Group Co Ltd (Xiamen C&D) to build a paper pulp plant in Pekan, Pahang. The latter is done via Nextgreen IOI Sdn Bhd, a JV with oil palm giant IOI Corp Bhd (KL:IOICORP). Xiamen C&D is the 100% offtaker of products from the plant.
Clearly, there is demand for paper and pulp made from agriculture waste like EFBs. Japan, for instance, is willing to pay a premium for this kind of sustainable products, observes Lim. China, meanwhile, has a limited wood pulp industry, and is thus diversifying its raw materials.
“China is trying to make full use of all the non-wood materials. Non-wood pulp has around 15% of the market share, [but it might increase] because it is more sustainable.”
Four tonnes of EFBs can be converted into one tonne of pulp, according to Lim.
The manufacturing process is done in Nextgreen’s Green Technology Park (GTP) in Pekan. The location was chosen because Pahang has 70 palm oil mills, says Lim, which can provide the company with a consistent supply of EFBs.
Currently, Nextgreen is producing 10,000 tonnes of pulp from EFBs that is sold to Japan, China and local buyers.
The JV with Xiamen C&D will unlock another 150,000 tonnes of pulp output. The expansion of the manufacturing facilities in the GTP will be completed by 2027, and the offtake agreement with Xiamen C&D is for 10 years.
Addressing technology, feedstock and pricing challenges
It seems like a straightforward proposition to turn EFBs, which are rich in fibre, into pulp and paper. But the bottleneck is the technology, says Lim, which he addressed with the PRC-RBMP (preconditioning refiner chemical-recycle bleached mechanised pulp) technology that he patented.
Lim says this technology is suitable for EFB fibres, which are stronger than paddy straw, and it is able to extract lignin during the pulping process to maintain high fibre quality.
“This was produced by learning and exploring [solutions over the years]. We go back to nature and try not to damage the fibre as much as possible by using bio treatments.”
The company also makes sure that the waste is fully utilised. Other than waste used to generate energy, short fibres and leftover residue are turned into organic fertilisers, which Nextgreen is selling to farmers.
Another challenge that many face when trying to convert agricultural waste into useful materials is gathering sufficient and consistent feedstock from plantations, which are often in remote locations. They also need to compete with other buyers of the waste, especially those who use it to generate energy.
This is not too much of a problem for Nextgreen, thanks to its relationships with partners. For one, its JV with IOI means it has access to the plantation giant’s EFBs. Additionally, one of Nextgreen’s shareholders is the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), and it has collaborations with a few farmers’ cooperatives to establish oil palm waste collection centres.
“We have an agreement with Pertubuhan Kami Anak Felda, which is one of our suppliers … it benefits from both sides because when the raw material is delivered to us, we produce pulp and organic fertiliser, and supply it back to its plantations,” he says.
Right now, Nextgreen is only collecting waste from Pahang, but Lim is planning to set up collection processing plants in Kelantan and Johor. He is also partnering with local universities for research and development into other agricultural waste.
On the other hand, there is a belief that green products are more expensive, and to replace a product used daily — such as tissue paper — with a more sustainable version is not financially viable. In response, Lim says the difference in prices is not that significant.
The cost of producing wood pulp from the chopping of trees is also high, he says, adding that the margin difference in production cost is similar.
Currently, Lim’s focus for the company is on running the 410-acre GTP, which integrates zero waste concepts and renewable energy solutions.
“One of our collaborations with Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2022 ... was on the sustainable production of EFB-based food packaging that incorporates nanocellulose, which can significantly enhance food packaging with effective mechanical, water and oil barrier properties,” says Lim.
Read the original article at The Edge
