Competitiveness of Palm Oil Products in International Trade: An Analysis between Indonesia and Malaysia

The supply of palm oil products is still a central issue in international trade. Indonesia and Malaysia are major suppliers, contributing around 85% of world palm oil. Hence, both countries have an important role, as well as competing with each other in international trade. The palm oil products usually in high demand worldwide include Crude Palm Oil (CPO), which is the main and its derivative products such as Refined Bleached Deodorized (RBD) palm olein and Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD). Therefore, the research aims at assessing the competitiveness of palm oil products between Indonesia and Malaysia in international trade. The Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and products mapping methods were used in this assessment. The results show that, the value of RCA of Indonesian CPO showed a negative trend, although, still higher than Malaysia, though with positive trend. However, Indonesian RBD palm olein and PFAD have a positive trend compared with Malaysia. Upon using the method of products mapping, it was found that, the palm oil products of both countries were in group A. This is an indication that the products have comparative advantage and export specialization. Therefore, there is need for strategic policies, in both countries, for supporting oil palm activities at the downstream. This will enhance the production of derivative products with the capacity of also meeting demands in the international trade.

PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF RECYCLED REFINED, BLEACHED AND DEODORIZED (RBDPO) PALM OLEIN: WHICH CYCLE SHOULD THE OLEIN CONSIDERED SPOILAGE?

Palm olein is widely used for domestic and commercial frying but its usage beyond recommended cycle might lead to spoilage. Therefore, this study focuses on the comprehensive analysis of chemical and physical properties of recycled palm olein. It was prepared by frying potato strips up to 5 cycles with potato (g)-to-oil (ml) ratio of 3/20 prior to physico-chemical analysis. The temperature profile of RBD palm olein throughout frying also been investigated. It was done by taking the palm olein temperature during the frying of potato strips within 15 minutes for each cycle. There were physico-chemical analyses included colour measurement, viscosity, iodine value, peroxide value, moisture content, contact angle and density. However, according to the present result, peroxide value and contact angle was quite unsuitable or weak for the oil spoilage analysis for the first 5 cycles. Whereas moisture content, colour measurement, density, viscosity and iodine value were insignificant (p>0.05) for all cycles. Thus, those results could not be considered as definite indicators for spoilage assessment. This might be due to the starch composition within the potato strips that shows no changes despite 5 frying cycles. For that reason, further analysis (greater than 5 cycles) is needed to confirm at which oil cycle of that oil should become spoiled.

Tribological Evaluation on Various Formulation of Modified RBD Palm Olein as Sustainable Metalworking Fluids for Machining Process

Sustainable manufacturing has become popular among manufacturers and industrialists due to the increase in environmental issues, health impacts and stringent law enforcement. The use of vegetable oils as metalworking fluids is one way to implement manufacturing sustainability. Palm oils are commonly used as cooking oils. Further, palm oil is also the main oil sources in Southeast Asia besides petroleum. Therefore, the potential use of palm oil as functional lubricant for future replacement of petroleum-based oil is indeed important. In this study, the refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm olein has been formulated into various properties of modified RBD palm oil (MRPO) by transesterification process at different molar ratio of RBD methyl ester (FAME) with trimethylolpropane (TMP). Next, the MRPOs are compared with synthetic ester on lubrication and tribology tests according to standard based on American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The results observed that MRPO have outstanding performance in lubrication and tribological behavior. MRPO2 recorded the highest viscosity index and the lowest coefficient of friction which are 496 and 0.06, respectively. MRPO2 showed to be an alternative biodegradable cutting fluid in promoting sustainable manufacturing activities by reducing the bad impact on environment and health.