**4. Results and discussion**

#### **4.1 Palm oil production processes in Ghana**

The production processes used in the study area generally reflect what is employed in other parts of Ghana. The processing of fresh palm fruits into crude palm oil involves receipt of fresh fruit bunches, splitting, storage, stripping, fermentation, boiling, digestion/pressing and clarification. The only mechanized operations are digestion and/or pressing of boiled fruits as noted by other authors [15, 18]. However, fermentation of fresh or boiled fruits is an optional activity which is used depending on the expected grade (food or soap) of the crude palm oil produced. **Table 2** describes the production processes employed by the small-scale processing mills in the Central Region of Ghana. The corresponding process flow diagram is shown in **Figure 5**.

#### **4.2 Environmental regulations for palm oil processing mills in Ghana**

#### *4.2.1 Environmental permitting*

Palm oil processing mills (small-, medium- and large-scale) are required under Regulation 1 of the Ghana Environmental Assessment Regulations, 1999 (LI 1652) to register with and obtain environmental permit from the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prior to the commencement of the undertaking. In addition, existing undertakings, where EPA considers to have or is likely to have adverse effect on the environment or public health, are required to register with and obtain environmental permit in respect of the undertaking. Similarly, the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1994 (Act 490) authorizes the EPA "to issue environmental permits and pollution abatement notices for controlling the volume, types, constituents and effects of waste discharges, emissions, deposits or any other source of pollutants and of substances which are hazardous or potentially dangerous to the quality of the environment or a segment of the environment."

The Ghana EPA is therefore legally mandated to regulate and enforce all environmental laws and regulations. But, the small-scale processing mills belong to the informal sector where compliance to legal requirements has been noted to be relatively weak [22, 23]. The economic activities (in law and practice) of small-scale mills are not or insufficiently covered by formal arrangements including registration and regulation [23]. This is confirmed by Gyamfi [24] that 70% of respondents from small-scale mills in Ashanti, Eastern, Central and Western regions of Ghana were


#### **Table 2.**

*Description of small-scale palm oil production processes in Ghana.*

*Small-Scale Palm Oil Production in Ghana: Practices, Environmental Problems and Potential… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106174*

#### **Figure 5.**

*Process flow diagram for palm oil processing at small-scale level. Source: Authors.*

either not aware of or did not know how to comply with national environmental laws and regulations.

#### *4.2.2 Effluent standards for palm oil mill industry in Ghana*

Wastewater produced by the palm oil processing mills are required to be treated to meet the Ghana Environmental Protection – Requirements for Effluent Discharge (GS 1212:2019) Standard [25] promulgated by the Ghana Standards Authority. The Standard specifies the requirements for sector specific effluent quality and gives guidelines for discharge of effluents into the environment. **Table 3** shows the effluent discharge standard for oil and fat processing which includes the palm oil industry.
