PRODUCTION OF PALM OIL AND EFFECT OF HEAT ON IT

PRODUCTION OF PALM OIL AND EFFECT OF HEAT ON IT

ABSTRACT

This project involves the use of heat to bleach palm oil (activated charcoal).

The charcoal used in this piece was carbonized from pieces of animal bone. It was then activated in two separate samples. To begin, the basic sample was activated with anaphoric acid (H2 s04), while the other sample was activated simply by heating as a control for the experiment; both at a constant temperature of 5000c and an approximate time of 2 hours.

They were both size reduced into fines and sieved into particle 3ye of 150um of crude palm oil before being degummed and neutralized for bleaching. Each bleaching interval with both the acid activated and ordinary activated charcoal was 8 minutes at a temperature of 1500c over a hot plate.

and subsequent filtration of the solution.

The absorbance of the oils (crude and bleached) was measured using a spectrophotometer at a selected wave length of 480Um. This was converted into the percentage degree of color reduction.

The results showed that the optimum amount of charcoal for bleaching is 5% by weight of the oil, giving a percentage color reduction of 97.14% for the acid activated sample and 93.57% for the calcinated sample.

Furthermore, characterization of both the original oil and the bleaching oil revealed that the latter has discernible properties. As a result, color reduction was visible with the naked eye.

CHAPITRE ONE

INTRODUCTION

PREAMBLE 1.1

Palm oil is one of several types of vegetable oils that fall into the category of liquids.

of its fatty acids content.

The majority of fats contain some coloring matter, either as a natural constituent or as a result of processing discoloration. Natural pigments found in vegetable oils are primarily carotenoid, which gives yellow and red colors, and chlorophyll, which gives green colors. Color deterioration can also occur during the extraction process, particularly in the local method of extraction used in most parts of Nigeria’s Eastern region.

Removal or reduction of colors and other components, also known as “Bleaching,” is required not only because a pale-colored fat has a ‘purity’ appeal, but also because the colors of the fat can influence the appearance of prepared food and, more importantly, the pigment present may affect the flavor.

and the stability of fats and foods made from them.

Chemical treatment, heat treatment, and adsorption methods could all be used to achieve decolorization (bleaching). The latter is the most effective and widely used. Thus, in this research project, bleaching by adsorption is carried out using “Activated charcoal” (an adsorbent), a type of active carbon, to replace the use of expensive local clays and imported “Fuller’s Earth” in Palm Oil bleaching.

Charcoal can be made from a variety of materials, including coal, wood, bone, coconut shell, and so on. It would be determined the most appropriate form and type of charcoal for effective bleaching, as well as the most favorable conditions under which the “activated charcoal” could be used, which affects the bleaching.

ability’ of palm oil itself.

1.2 OBJECTIVE

The goal of this research project is to test the efficacy of ‘Activated charcoal’ in the bleaching of palm oil. It will also reveal the advancement in the use of a local raw material (charcoal) in a chemical process (bleaching), in lieu of the more expensive imported fuller’s Earth or other adsorbents.

1.3 STUDY OBJECTIVES

Essentially, this study focuses on the color reduction of Palm oil using activated charcoal as an adsorbent (bleaching agent). The major raw materials, palm oil and charcoal, were obtained locally, and information about the process was obtained from literary and other useful materials (texts) that treat ‘Adsorption’ as a chemical process.