​Palm oil is derived from the oil palm tree, which is native to West Africa and grows best in tropical climates with abundant water. It was imported into SE Asia in the mid 19th century.
Oil palm flourishes in the humid tropics and produces a high yield when grown 10 degrees north and south of the equator. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
Palm Sludge Oil (PSO) is the floating residual oil that separated during the initial stage of POME discharge to the pond. The PSO is currently being categorised under sludge oil as it exhibits high Free Fatty Acids (FFA) and very low Deterioration of Bleachability Index (DOBI) values.
Due to the inferior quality of PSO, this residual oil cannot be used directly as a food source but normally being used for low-grade
laundry soap formulation to substitute palm fatty acids distillate.
Conventionally, Volatile short-chain fatty Acid (VSCFA) has been widely used as raw material in the fragrant industry for the production of perfume via the esterification process. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
If refined, the PSO can be applied directly as boiler fuel, raw material for biodiesel production. Hence, statement 3 is correct.