Oil palm industries produce an enormous quantity of lignocellulosic biomass;
in the form of large leaves of palm tree, pruned fronds (OPF) and oil palm trunks (OPT) at
the plantations site. Besides this, the processing of fresh fruit bunches in the oil mills
generates empty fruit bunches (EFB), shells, kernel cake and mesocarp fibers. The proper
management of this burgeoning waste and its disposal is an ardent task and creates
environmental hazards. In order to deal with the biomass residues, the urgent need is that it
should be transformed into resources with industrial utility. As the economic development
has resulted in the significant increased demand for paper, the industry is looking for
eccentric sources to fulfill the requirement. The pulp and paper industry preferred use of
coniferous and deciduous trees for papermaking because their cellulose fibers in the pulp
make durable paper. With improvements in pulp processing technology, fibers of almost
any non-wood of plants species like bamboo, cereal straw, sugarcane, flax, hemp and jute
can be used for paper pulp. Substituting this lignocellulosic material can reduce the burden
on forest while supporting the natural biodiversity. The present review deals with the
possibilities of using oil palm biomass as a raw material for pulp and papermaking, as this
would ameliorate its waste management problem. The potential of oil palm biomass and
the challenges regarding its use in papermaking are discussed. The use of oil palm biomass
will apparently prove that the oil palm industry is ecofriendly in every aspect of its
activities and aid in sustainability of forest ecosystem.