A few years ago, people would not have believed if you had told them that palm kernel shells (PKS) would one day become a promising green energy resource and trade commodity. Indeed, merchants have been trading in palm oil since at least 3000 BCE, with most regarding PKS as a completely unimportant by-product. But as time marches on, and as technology advances, mankind is finding innovative uses for PKS – and discovering that the unique properties of this once-humble shell could help shape a greener, cleaner future.
Nature has bestowed palm kernels with two levels of protection: an outer, fleshy pericarp and – rather like a coconut – a solid, almost wood-like endocarp. This solid part is the shell, or the PKS. Naturally biodegradable, PKS were traditionally treated in the same way as wood chippings or dead branches: simply burned or left to decompose on forest or farm floors.
For these reasons and more, PKS as a fuel and commodity is on the rise in many parts of the world. Japan, which sets the pace for PKS imports, is stepping up its biomass game in earnest, while in palm-producing countries like Malaysia, PKS traders are also beginning to supply the country’s own growing biomass energy sector.
