Free Fatty Acid Formation Points in Palm Oil Processing and the Impact on Oil Quality

Bee Aik Tan (), Anusha Nair, Mohd Ibnur Syawal Zakaria, Jaime Yoke Sum Low, Shwu Fun Kua, Ka Loo Koo, Yick Ching Wong, Bee Keat Neoh, Chin Ming Lim and David Ross Appleton
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Bee Aik Tan: Sime Darby Plantation Technology Centre Sdn Bhd, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Anusha Nair: Sime Darby Plantation Technology Centre Sdn Bhd, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Mohd Ibnur Syawal Zakaria: Sime Darby Plantation Technology Centre Sdn Bhd, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Jaime Yoke Sum Low: Sime Darby Plantation Technology Centre Sdn Bhd, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Shwu Fun Kua: Sime Darby Plantation Technology Centre Sdn Bhd, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Ka Loo Koo: Sime Darby Plantation Technology Centre Sdn Bhd, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Yick Ching Wong: Sime Darby Plantation Technology Centre Sdn Bhd, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Bee Keat Neoh: Sime Darby Plantation Technology Centre Sdn Bhd, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Chin Ming Lim: Sime Darby Plantation Technology Centre Sdn Bhd, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
David Ross Appleton: Sime Darby Plantation Technology Centre Sdn Bhd, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: Background: The level of free fatty acids (FFAs) is an important oil quality index that is consistently measured at mills and refineries to ensure that palm oil is within specification limits. FFAs can accumulate at any point throughout the process, for example, during fresh fruit bunch (FFB) harvesting or during the mill process before sterilisation. Another key contributor to FFA build-up is loose fruit (LF), which is collected following FFB harvesting and is commonly processed together with FFB into crude palm oil (CPO) at the mill. The aim of this study was to identify pivotal points of FFA formation during the process of crude palm oil production. Results: The present study shows that the highest FFA accumulation occurred during the conveying process at the mill before sterilisation due to significant fruit damage. The rapid formation of FFA occurred during the first 15 min of oil palm fruit bruising. A minimum temperature of 60 °C for one hour was needed to deactivate the lipase activity, which is responsible for FFA formation. Blending high-FFA CPO with standard CPO affected indices of palm oil quality, such as the deteriorated peroxide value (PV) and anisidine value (AV), and particularly worsened the bleachability index (DOBI). Conclusions: This study suggests that the conveyor system in the mill could be the prime area to focus on in terms of FFA reduction, along with minimising bruising events. In addition, loose fruits (LF) with high FFA content should be processed separately from FFB, and high-FFA CPO derived from LF should not be mixed with standard CPO.

Keywords: crude palm oil; free fatty acids; loose fruits; lipase activity; deterioration of bleachability index; peroxide value; anisidine value (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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