Oil palm is one of the major economic crops in many countries. Malaysia alone produces about 47%
of the world’s palm oil supply and can be considered as the world’s largest producer and exporter of
palm oil. Malaysia also generates huge quantity of oil palm biomass including oil palm trunks, oil palm
fronds, empty fruit bunches (EFB), shells and fibers as waste from palm oil fruit harvest and oil extraction
processing. At present there is a continuously increasing interest in the utilization of oil palm biomass as
a source of clean energy. One of the major interests is hydrogen from oil palm biomass. Hydrogen from
biomass is a clean and efficient energy source and is expected to take a significant role in future energy
demand due to the raw material availability.
This paper presents a review which focuses on different types of thermo-chemical processes for conversion
of oil palm biomass to hydrogen rich gas. This paper offers a concise and up-to-date scenario of
the present status of oil palm industry in contributing towards sustainable and renewable energy.