Palm Kernel Oil
35 De Smet plants are processing Palm Kernel Oil.
Origin
Palm kernel oil is extracted from the palm kernels.
Composition
It contains mainly approx.:
- 16% of oleic acid
- 6% of palmitic acid
- 50% of lauric acid
- 3% of capric acid
- 3% of caprilic acid
- melting point : 24-26°C
- unsaponifiables : 0.2 to 1%
- iodine value : 12-22
- saponification value : 242-255
- titer : 20-26°C
It is a non-siccative type of oil.
Process
Three different methods are possible for oil extraction :
- by full pressing in 1 or 2 steps, after cracking, cooking and flaking. The residual oil content (ROC) in the cakes is around 4 to 6%.
- by prepressing followed by solvent extraction. The meal after extraction has a ROC of 0.7 to 1%.
- by direct solvent extraction after cracking and flaking. The meal has a ROC below 1%. Today it is the preferred solution.
Crude palm kernel oil has a colour usually white but sometimes reddish or yellowish, has an agreeable taste and an acidity of 3 to 5%; it can be refined like copra oil to which it is very similar in properties and composition.
Fractionation of palm kernel oil is primarly done to make part of the oil suitable as a cocoa butter replacement fat.
In order to reply to a demand from specialty fat producers for fully automated dry fractionation plants with low manual operation, the De Smet multifunctional dry fractionation process for specialty fat production has been further extended with a new Statoliser® technology(patented) which allows to obtain results similar to panning & pressing or solvent fractionation, but with a fully automated operation, requiring minimal manpower and very low operating costs.
The availibility of more detailed technical information is subject to the signature of a secrecy agreement.
Industrial data of PKO fractionation with Statoliser®
|
Palm Kernel oil
|
|
PK olein
|
PK stear
|
|
RBD
|
|
|
|
|
IV
|
19.0
|
25.4
|
6.7
|
| Yield (%) |
|
66
|
34
|
| SFC 30°C (%) |
0
|
0
|
34
|
| CMP (°C) |
29
|
|
33
|
|
|
|
|
| Crude PKO 1 |
|
|
|
| FFA (%) |
2.8
|
|
|
| IV |
18.0
|
24.7
|
6.6
|
| Yield (%) |
|
63
|
37
|
| SFC 30°C (%) |
0
|
0
|
35
|
| CMP (°C) |
28
|
|
33
|
|
|
|
|
| Crude PKO 2 |
|
|
|
| FFA (%) |
2.5
|
|
|
| IV |
18.0
|
23.5
|
5.5
|
| Yield (%) |
|
69
|
31
|
| SFC 30°C (%) |
0
|
0
|
45
|
| CMP (°C) |
28
|
|
35
|
End uses
Palm kernel oil is used in margarine and soap.
The stearins are used in cocoa butter replacement fat.
The extracted meal is appreciated as animal feed even with its low protein content (20%).
