A New Technological Breakthrough for Increasing Oil Extraction Rate (OER):How Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) Treatment is Transforming Palm Oil Extraction

In an industry where margins are tight, labour shortages persist, and quality demands continue to rise, the quest to improve Oil Extraction Rate (OER) has never been more critical. Today, a revolutionary technology - Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) treatment is emerging as one of the most promising solutions for palm oil mills aiming to boost yield, enhance oil quality, and overcome the pressing challenges faced by the industry.

By collaboration of ELEA’s expertise in PEF, with Alfa Laval’s established expertise in industrial crude palm oil (CPO) processing, the aim was to bring the technology of PEF to the CPO Industry, with aims to improve its yield and product quality.

By extensive lab-scale and industrial trials, PEF is making major strides in palm oil extraction, with results showing significant improvements in oil release, fruit detachment, quality indicators such as Degree of Bleachability Index (DOBI), and overall sustainability.

Understanding the Power of PEF Technology

Pulsed Electric Field treatment is based on a simple yet powerful mechanism: electroporation. By applying short, high-voltage pulses across plant or microbial cells, PEF creates microscopic openings in the cell membranes. This structural change softens plant tissues, enhances mass transfer, and allows for easier release of intracellular components such as oil.

The technology has a long scientific foundation, tracing back to electroporation discoveries in the 1960s and early industrial prototypes developed in the 1980s. The food industry has since embraced PEF for its ability to reduce energy consumption, improve product consistency, and increase extraction yields.

PEF technology has already demonstrated outstanding performance across several industries. In French fries processing, it has been proven to reduce cutting force by as much as 50%, significantly easing the workload on slicing equipment.

This reduced strain contributes to up to 60% longer knife life, lowering maintenance costs and downtime. Additionally, by replacing traditional thermal preheaters, PEF systems deliver substantial water and energy savings, making the process more efficient and environmentally friendly. In the olive oil sector, mills have reported higher extraction yields and improved oil quality after implementing PEF.

With more than 250 industrial systems now in operation worldwide, the technology has moved far beyond the experimental stage and is firmly established as a reliable, scalable, and energy-efficient solution.

The Challenges Facing Today’s CPO Industry

The palm oil industry, however, continues to face mounting pressures. Climate change has led to greater variability and even mutation in fruit characteristics, while persistent labour shortages particularly in harvesting contribute to irregular fruit handling and delayed processing. The inconsistency in fruit ripeness further complicates separation and oil release, affecting overall extraction efficiency.

At the same time, stricter regulations related to quality and sustainability place increasing demands on mill operations, all while rising operating costs and heightened market competition push producers to extract as much value as possible from each bunch of fruit. These conditions underscore the urgent need for technologies that can reliably increase OER while ensuring stable, high-quality crude palm oil production. PEF treatment stands out as a solution capable of addressing these challenges with clear, measurable benefits.

Lab-Scale Trials: Breakthrough Improvements in Oil Release and Fruit Separation

Extensive lab-scale experiments have been conducted to assess PEF’s impact on palm fruits, using up to 500 kilograms of both fresh and sterilized fruits at Elea Technology’s facility in Germany. These tests were designed to mirror real mill processes—covering sterilisation, digestion, fruit separation, pressing, and centrifugation—while integrating PEF treatment to evaluate performance improvements.

The results showed that PEF significantly enhances oil release by increasing cellular permeabilization. Microscopic observations confirmed that the treated fruits had softer, more easily broken mesocarp structures, allowing oimicroscopicracted more efficiently during pressing and recovered more completely during clarification and centrifugation.

Fruit detachment also improved markedly. Even with reduced sterilisation times, PEF-treated bunches separated more quickly and cleanly, leaving fewer unstripped fruits and reducing mechanical resistance during threshing. This advantage is particularly useful for mills that regularly receive fruits of mixed maturity or face harvesting inconsistencies due to labour constraints.

Moreover, PEF enables mills to shorten sterilisation time without compromising process performance, resulting in lower steam usage, reduced energy costs, and the potential to increase throughput. Perhaps most impressively, extraction trials demonstrated that PEF treatment can increase oil yield by up to four percent. In a sector where even a minor increase in OER can generate substantial value, this improvement represents a significant economic opportunity.

First Industrial-scale Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) for palm oil fresh fruits bunches

Industrial Scaling: From Pilot to Mill-Level Reality

By collaboration between Alfa Laval and Elea, a full industrial scale initiative is now underway. Supported by a multi-year roadmap, the project includes the installation of production-scale equipment, generator upgrades, and continuous performance monitoring. Industrial PEF systems currently offer a throughput of around 75 metric tons of fresh fruit bunches per hour with peak voltages of approximately 64 kV.

Power consumption averages about 150 kW, while water use is typically between two to three metric tons per hour. These specifications make PEF systems well-suited for integration into modern, high-capacity palm oil mills, delivering strong performance without requiring excessive space or resources.

Real Industrial Results: Higher Yield, Better Quality, Lower Losses

Initial industrial results have reinforced the promising findings from the lab. PEF treatment has been shown to reduce oil losses in pressed mesocarp, allowing mills to recover more oil and minimize waste. Quality improvements have also been evident: DOBI values increased, reflecting better oxidation stability, while Free Fatty Acid (FFA) levels in undiluted crude oil were reduced.

These benefits were observed even when processing fruits of varying maturity, demonstrating PEF’s ability to stabilise output despite supply chain inconsistencies. The softer fruit tissue resulting from electroporation also reduces the strain on digesters and presses, lowering wear and tear and extending the lifespan of downstream equipment. This contributes to longer maintenance intervals and improves operational uptime.

In terms of sustainability, PEF helps mills meet increasingly stringent environmental requirements by reducing energy consumption, lowering steam usage, and cutting overall water demand. The technology also contributes to less process waste and supports more efficient use of natural resources, aligning with industry commitments toward greener operations.

The PEF system installed in a Malaysian palm oil mill

A Technology Poised to Transform the Future of Palm Oil

Overall, PEF treatment represents a transformative opportunity for the palm oil industry. Alfa Laval and Elea, is confident with its ability to increase oil yield, improve product quality, stabilise processing performance, and enhance sustainability gives mills a powerful tool to navigate the complex challenges of

today’s operating environment. As industrial trials continue to demonstrate its value, PEF is rapidly positioning itself not just as an innovative alternative, but as a new benchmark for future ready palm oil processing.