Project title: MesOil – Mesocarp oil mobilization and use
Project number: SMP-25028
Requesting country: Colombia
Year: 2025
Budget: € 50,000
Project leader: Wolter Elbersen
Knowledge institute: Wageningen University & Research
Project partners: FeyeCon Group

Summary

Oil palm Mesocarp Fibre (MF) or Palm Press Fibre (PPF) is now almost entirely used as boiler fuel at the palm oil mill. The fibre contains 4 to 8% oil which can be extracted using hexane or other solvents. Extraction of this oil can yield an additional 1 to 2 million tons of palm oil out of 80 million tons globally. This extracted palm oil cannot be processed with crude palm oil for food as it contains high levels of impurities. However, it also contains elevated levels of vitamins and other potentially valuable (feed) ingredients. A consortium of 4 Dutch companies and two trade organizations Wageningen UR and the Colombian palm oil federation and research organization Cenipalma proposes to assess the possibilities to make PPF oil available for other uses including feed and fuel in The Netherlands. Focus will be on extraction methods, oil processing technologies, and a first business case evaluation combined with an understanding of local palm oil mill motives to implement PPF oil extraction.