**4.2 Approaches to foster circular economy**

The following have been identified as approaches for nurturing circular economy:


*Palm Oil Clinker as a Waste by-Product: Utilization and Circular Economy Potential DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.97312*


According to literature, there are a variety of business models for adopting the circular economy. They are circular economy and:


Relating circular economy to the oil palm industry, it has been reported by researchers that quantities of various dry palm oil biomass wastes can be obtained for 1 ton of crude palm oil produced from fresh fruit bunches (FFB). They could be: six tons of palm fronds, five tons of empty fruit bunches, one ton each of mesocarp fiber and palm trunks, 250 kg of Palm kernel cake, and 500 kg of palm kernel shell Palm oil mill effluent (POME) (100 tons) [24, 66, 67].

As a commodity, palm oil acting as a feed, energy, and chemical source has proven to be successful in creating a sustainable and healthy circular economy. The development of the new circular economy paradigm pave way for proper utilization of palm oil clinker. In light of the circular economy strategy, the use of POC for many industrial applications earlier discussed in this chapter is gratifying for the environment and community's well-being.

### **5. Conclusion**

This chapter was designed to highlight the generation, disposal problems, properties and composition of POC. The waste to resource potentials of POC were greatly discussed starting with the application of POC in conventional and geopolymer structural elements such as beams, slabs, columns made of either concrete, mortar or paste for coarse aggregates, sand and cement replacement. Aspects such as performance of POC in wastewater treatment processes, fine aggregate and cement replacement in asphaltic and bituminous mixtures during highway construction, a bio-filler in coatings for steel manufacturing processes and a catalyst during energy generation were also discussed. Circular economy potentials, risk assessment and leaching behavior during POC utilization would be evaluated. The chapter also discussed the effectiveness of POC in soil stabilization and the effect of POC pretreatment for performance enhancement. During the study, it was discovered that POC utilization for intumescent coating can contribute to environmental conservation and reduce production cost. 37% of waste materials from palm industry are used in the development of green concrete and with the global significant rise in vegetable oil production, it is projected to grow even further. This is anticipated to rise further with the global increase in vegetable oil demand. Thus, the incorporation of POC as an alternative raw material for concrete work, with or

without pre-treatment, will help to maintain the construction industry's long-term viability. POC has been shown to function in a variety of concretes, including selfcompacting, natural, lightweight, pervious, and supplementary cementitious materials. The present chapter could be used for researchers' foundational awareness that will motivate them to explore the high potential of utilizing POC for greater environmental benefits associated with less cost when compared with conventional materials. Finally, this chapter suggest future researchers to investigate the feasibility of utilizing micro, ultrafine and nano POC powder for various applications that will promote environmental sustainability.
