title: A Gate-to-gate Case Study of the Life Cycle Assessment of an Oil Palm Seedling.
abstract: The palm oil industry has played an important role in the economic development of Malaysia and has enhanced the economic welfare of its people. To determine the environmental impact of the oil palm seedling at the nursery stage, information on inputs and outputs need to be assessed. The oil palm nursery is the first link in the palm oil supply chain. A gate-to-gate study was carried out whereby the system boundary was set to only include the process of the oil palm seedling. The starting point was a germinated seed in a small polyethylene bag (6 in × 9 in) in which it remained until the seedling was approximately 3 to 4 months old. The seedling was then transferred into a larger polyethylene bag (12 in × 15 in), where it remained until it was 10-12 months old, when it was planted in the field (plantation). The functional unit for this life cycle inventory (LCI) is based on the production of one seedling. Generally, within the system boundary, the production of an oil palm seedling has only two major environmental impact points, the polybags used to grow the seedling and the fungicide (dithiocarbamate) used to control pathogenic fungi, as both the polybags and the dithiocarbamate are derived from fossil fuel.
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Halimah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Muhamad
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Ismail Bin
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Sahid
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Salmijah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Surif
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Tan Yew
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Ai
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Choo Yuen
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: May
keywords: Environmental Input; Life Cycle Impact Assessment; Life Cycle Inventory; Nursery; Seedling