EcoOils to sell palm oil ash to Sabah cement maker
KOTA KINABALU: Waste recycling in the palm oil industry has gone on a new dimension with the signing of an agreement on pozzolan produced in Lahad Datu.
EcoOils Sdn Bhd, an investor at the Lahad Datu palm oil industrial cluster (POIC Lahad Datu) signed a deal to sell to Cement Industries (Sabah) Sdn Bhd pozzolan, a byproduct of its industrial-grade palm oil recovery plant.
Singapore-based EcoOils uses spent bleaching earth, a waste product from palm oil refineries, to extract industrial grade palm oil with which it produces a range of downstream products. One of the by-products of the zero-waste plant is pozzolan, a sort of ash.
CIS is a state-owned company producing cement at its main plant at Sepanggar and a subsidiary plant in Lahad Datu. It is the major cement maker in Sabah.
“We are very happy for EcoOils who have found a buyer for the ash to be used in cement blend,” said Dr Pang Teck Wai, chief executive officer of POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd, the developer of POIC Lahad Datu.
“With so much pressure on our palm oil industry on the issue of sustainability and waste management, the pozzolan agreement is significant.”
Witnessing the agreement signing, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Raymond Tan Shu Kiah said the contract would facilitate the infrastructure industry to maintain a healthy level of development to improve its efficiency for further growth and to minimize negative impact on the environment as a whole, in line with the current intense demand for infrastructure development in Sabah, with the likes of Pan Borneo Highway.
He said that the rise in demand would require construction players and the workforce to continually raise its capabilities.
“However, it is also critical for the industry to maintain a healthy level of development to improve its efficiency for further growth and to minimize negative impact on the environment as a whole,” he said.
“This eco-processed Pozzolan sales and purchase signing marks a step up for Malaysia and Sabah in achieving towards that goal, as this new age building material not only improves strength, workability and durability but is also a sustainable product with a low carbon footprint,” he said.
Chief Executive Officer of Cement Industries (Sabah) Sdn Bhd, Bahrul Razha Chuprat said that EcoOils will be supplying 10,000 tons per year of the waste product.
He said that the waste product from the palm oil industry will be used to create blended cement.
“We actually need 100,000 tons per year,” he said.
Representing EcoOils at the event was Datuk John Maluda, its independent director.
Also present was Cement Industries (Sabah) Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Samsudin Yahya.
Pozzolan has been described as a ‘new age’ building material. It is renewable and has various advantages – acts a great binding, filling and adsorbent agent which is very useful in construction industry.
According to research, the benefits of pozzolan use in cement and concrete are threefold – economic gain (up to 40%), lower environment cost and durability.
There are more than a dozen palm oil refineries in Sabah. Ecooils is also importing spent bleaching earth from Sarawak refineries.
POIC Lahad Datu is a state government initiative to deepen the palm oil industry through value-adding. The project, now in the third phase, will eventually cover about 4,000 acres.
Aside from palm oil and biomassbased industries, it is set to become a major logistics hub by virtue of its geographical location and its integrated port infrastructure. Among the facilities is a Federal government-funded container terminal set to go into operations this year.