This paper is the first of its kind using a non-linear approach based on cross-correlation function (CCF) to investigate the information arrival hypothesis in crude palm oil (CPO) futures market. Based on daily data from 1986 to 2010, our empirical results reveal that: First, the volume of volatility is not a proxy of information flow. Second, dependence causality running from current return to future volume in conditional variance exhibit an asymmetric pattern of time span with different signs of correlation between price and volume series. This finding indicates the presence of noise traders’ hypothesis of price-volume interaction in CPO futures market. Both findings suggest that this futures market is weak-form inefficiency. In terms of investors’ behavior, they tend to change their expectations on current return based on errors made in previous trade in generating abnormal volume in the subsequent period. As implied, it is advisable for the investors devise their future trading strategies according to time span and changes of return.

Due to a world trend on renewable energy, biomass that is one of renewable energy resources has to be applied at thermochemical process, actively. However, in commercial plant, one of many problems is an agglomeration production at biomass thermochemical process, because it leads to disturb continuous operation on thermochemical process. Thus, in this study, the EFB (empty fruit bunch), one of palm oil industry by-products was used as a biomass fuel, and washed by water and nitric acid solution (0.1wt.%) with different total washing times for resolving this problem at biomass thermochemical process. After washing, ash content was decreased from 5.9wt.% to 1.53wt.% using all of the washing treatments, and the Alkali & Alkaline Earth Metallic (AAEM) was removed over 80wt.% of total AAEM, such as potassium, magnesium, calcium and sodium. Additionally, SEM with XRD was analyzed to confirm the characteristics of produced agglomeration, and the agglomeration production ratio was measured: it revealed that the ratio was resulted in decrease over half, in the case of using all of washed EFBs.