Prog. Chem. Furs orher LipA Vol. 15. pp. 5-27. Pergamon Press. 1977.

Printed m Great Brilain

PALM OIL AND PALM KERNEL OIL

J. A. ~RNELIUS
Tropical Products Institute, 56162 Gray’s Inn Road, London WClX 8LlJ. England

CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION

II. 0~ PALM FRUIT

A. Description
B. Harvesting
C. Processing
1. Small scale processing
2. Large scale processing

III. PALM KERNELS 8

A. Handling and storage 8
B. Composition 9
C. Oil extraction 10
10
1. Primitive
2. Expellers 10
11
3. Solvent

IV. PALM OIL I1

A. Description 11
B. Composition 11
1. Fatty acids 11
2. Glycerides 12
3. Unsaponiliable matter 13
C. Handling and storage 14
D. Refining 15
E. Fractionation 16
F. Interesterilication 17
G. Hydrogenation 17
H. Quality assessment 17
1. Introduction 17
2. Bleachability I8
3. Oxidation 19
4. Stability 19
I. Uses 19
J. Future developments 20

V. PALM KERNEL On 20
A. Description 20
B. Composition 21
1. Fatty acids 21
2. Glycerides 21
3. Unsaponifiable matter 23
C. Refining 23
D. Fractionation 23
E. Hydrogenation 23
24
F. Uses
24
VI. THE On PALM INDUSTRY 24
A. General 24
B. Peninsular Malaysia 25
C. Nigeria 25
D. Zaire 25
E. Indonesia
F. Ivory Coast 26
G. Other areas 26

27
REFERENCES
5
6 J. A. Cornelius

I. INTRODUCTION

The palm oil and palm kernel oil of commerce are both derived from the West
African oil palm, Hueis guineensis Jacq. The palm is believed to have originated in
the swamps of West Africa, where even today the greater part of the industry is depen-
dent upon the exploitation of semi-wild groves. The increasing importance of the oil
palm as a source of fat is indicated by the fact that in 1971 the total commercial
production of oil palm products amounted to 1,220,OOOtons (- 1,240,000 t) of palm
oil and 899,000 tons (-913,000 t) of palm kernels, equivalent to about 422,000
(-429,000 t) tons palm kernel oil. Of the total estimated world supply of oils and fats
for the same year, palm oil constitutes about 3.1 vl0 and palm kernel oil about 1.l”,,.’ ’
This importance of the oil palm arises partly from the fact that it yields by far the
greatest amount of oil per acre, when grown under suitable conditions, of any vegetable
oil crop. Two tons of palm oil per acre (- 5 t/ha) are commonly realized on plantations
in the Far East: 3 tons (- 7.5 t/ha) have been recorded in Sabah, and it has been
suggested that yields as high as 4 tons of oil per acre (- 10 t/ha) are potentially possible.
The main agency for the spread of the oil palm in Africa is thought to be man.
The extensive areas of oil palm groves start from the 10-11 ‘N parallel on the west
coast, southward and around the coast through the southern latitudes of Sierra Leone,
Liberia, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togoland, Dahomey, Nigeria, Cameroun and into
the equatorial regions of the two Congos (Brazzaville and Zaire), down to about l&l 1 S.
Isolated areas north and south of the main belt, and also in East Africa, are limited
to places where the rainfall is sufficient.24 A considerable proportion of the oil palms
in Zaire are grown on plantations and in places where the oil palm has been introduced
into the Far East, the industry is entirely plantation-based. The oil palm was first intro-
duced into Java in 1849, but commercial development did not start until 1911 in Suma-
tra, and 1917 in Peninsular Malaysia.40 In Peninsular Malaysia in recent years, expan-
sion has been at such a rate that there was a commercial production of 542,000 tons
of palm oil there in 1971. Peninsular Malaysia is now the world’s major producer,
and it has been estimated that by 1975, production will run at around three quarters
of a million tons. In South America, oil palms are being grown in several states, including
Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia, and, on a smaller scale, several other areas are growing
palm, including India, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Sri Lanka.

11. OIL PALM FRUIT

A. Description
The fruit of the oil palm grows in bunches which weigh from 4 to 20 kg and contain
20&2000 individual fruits. Each is a sessile drupe, which varies in shape from nearly
spherical to ovoid or elongated and bulging somewhat at the distal end, and from
3 g to over 30 g in weight. The fibrous mesocarp yields some 50” ,~ by weight of palm
oil and the kernel, usually enclosed in a hard woody shell, is the source of palm kernel
oil which differs greatly from palm oil in appearance, characteristics and composition.
Grown under plantation conditions, oil palm varieties are selected for high mesocarp
content and palm oil is the major product, but under semi-wild conditions in West
Africa, the mesocarp is frequently thin and yields relatively little oil. Palm kernels then
become the major product.
Study of internal fruit characters reveals that oil palms can be classified into three
main fruit forms:25
(1) dura, in which the fruits have a thick shell between the mesocarp and the kernel;
(2) tenera, in which the fruits have a thinner shell than durn and contain in the
mesocarp a characteristic ring of fibers encircling the nut which may be clearly
seen in cross-section ; and
(3) pisijzra, in which the fruits contain no shell.
 Palm oil and palm kernel oil I

Crosses between the three forms have revealed that while dura x dura and pisifera
x pis$m crosses produce 100% duru and pisiferu progeny, respectively, teneru x teneru
crosses produce 25”; duru, 507; teneru and 25% pisiferu and duru x pisiferu produce
100’,~ teneru types. These observations are the basis for breeding modem teneru varieties
which yield a high proportion of mesocarp and a thin shell, having made it possible
to greatly increase the oil yield per acre in recent years. Previously a variety of the
duru form with a high proportion of mesocarp produced in the Deli district of Sumatra
contributed to the high standard of oil palm plantations in South East Asia. A good
Deli duru fruit may comprise 60-70% mesocarp and around 25% shell whereas a typical
African duru may have only 46567; mesocarp and around 35% shell. The modem
teneru fruit grown commercially in Malaysia is derived from high yielding Deli duru
and pisifiru palms of Sumatran and African origins. Good commercial teneru fruit now
has 75-80% mesocarp and about 17% shell. The fresh fruit bunches of such palms
will contain some 2@-30% of oil and 1.34.1% of palm kernels. The yield per unit
area, of course, is also very largely affected by climate. In contrast to the yields of
over 7.4 t/ha (3 ton/acre) of palm oil experienced in certain parts of Sabah, under West
African plantation conditions, yields are more often of the order of 1.2 t/ha (0.5 ton/acre)
and, under peasant conditions, where the semi-wild trees are grown in groves, the yields
are difficult to estimate but may be something like 300 kg/ha (300 lb/acre) of oil. Regular
well-distributed rainfall as well as the generally higher amount of sunshine in the Far
East compared with West Africa are major factors accounting for the higher yields.
Other factors include breeding, soil and husbandry.

B. Harvesting
The harvesting of the bunches is carried out on young trees quite easily but, as
the palms get older and taller, they either have to be climbed or a curved knife on
the end of a long pole is used. Most of the fat formation in the mesocarp takes place
during the last 2 weeks of fruit ripening18 and it is therefore important not to harvest
under-ripe fruit if the maximum oil yield is to be obtained. Furthermore, the mesocarp
contains lipases and lipoxidases and the harvesting of over-ripe fruit will result in poor
quality oil and the employment of harvesters trained to assess when the bunches are
at the right stages of ripeness is essential. This is usually assessed by the number of
loose fruit on a bunch in comparison with its estimated weight. Bruising of the bunches
and fungal infection, combined with delays between harvesting and processing, are like-
wise factors detrimental to oil quality as a result of enzyme action.‘.13*15’44

C. Processing

1. SnmIl-scale Processing
In West Africa, under primitive conditions and in cases where an oil of low free
fatty acid (FFA) is not required, the fruit may be loosened from the bunch by allowing
the heaped up fruit to ferment. Where a low FFA is desired, the lipase in the fruit
must be inactivated, and this is carried out by boiling in water the fruit which has
been stripped from the bunch, or better, by boiling the fruit on the bunches. The hot
stripped fruit is then digested by pounding with a pole or pestle in some kind of mortar
which may be a hollowed-out tree trunk or a hole in the ground, but is preferably
a mortar made of concrete. The palm oil is expressed from the digested fruit, which
still contains the whole nut, either by very primitive means such as stamping with
the foot, squeezing in the hand, boiling in water and skimming off the oil or, more
effectively, by using small presses. Many hand-operated screw presses are used in West
Africa which, under ideal conditions, can yield up to about 70% of the total oi1,3g
and a small hand-operated hydraulic press which may yield over 90% of the total
1s J. A. Cornelius

oil in the mesocarp is also used. 24 In the small mechanically-driven Pioneer Oil Mills
established some year5 ago in West Africa, oil is extracted from peasant-harvested,
mechanically digested fruit by means of basket centrifuges which yield up to 85”, of
the oi1.31

2. Large-scale Processing

Under plantation conditions. fruit is sterilized on the bunch, using high pressure
(about 2.8 kg/cm2 or 40 psi) steam, and the oil is extracted from the mechanically-
stripped and digested fruit, either by means of hydraulic presses or, more recently.
by means of continuous screw presses.
The residue contains the nuts which must be separated from the mesocarp fiber.
The latter is used as a fuel for the mill boilers and the former are dried. cracked
and the kernels (relative density about 1.07) separated from the shells (relative density.
1.3-1.4) either by flotation in a clay bath or by means of hydrocyclones.‘4 Under the
small-scale processing conditions described under II.C.1.. the nuts may be cracked
mechanically but they are more frequently cracked individually by hand.

III. PALM KERNELS

The observed rise in FFA for palm kernels stored in Nigeria is much higher than
can be accounted for merely as a result of chemical action alone and lipolysis catalyzed
by fat-splitting enzymes is probably the main cause of increased acidity.“,16 As in
the case of palm oil, the enzymes naturally present in the kernel are probably completely
destroyed when the whole fruit is sterilized, but the lipases can be subsequently intro-
duced as a result of attack by yeasts, fungi and insects. Carsten rr ~71.” examined com-
mercial West African kernels and found that the proportion of FFA in the testa fat
was about three times that of the fat in the enclosed kernels or endosperm. They con-
cluded that the higher proportion of FFA in the testa fat is probably due to its greater
accessibility to lipolytic enzymes introduced by fungi at the outer surface of the kernel.
Out of nine species of fungi isolated from Nigerian palm kernels, seven were found
to be lipolytic. l6 A further species of highly lipolytic fungus, Rhizopus cohii, has been
reported by Loncin and Jacobsberg3”; in some commercial kernels from Zaire. These
authors also isolated a lipolytic yeast, Pernsospor~a hxla~wsis. and they demonstrated
that enzymes from both yeasts and fungi can retain their activity in kernels dried to
about 3”;, moisture, even after heating at IOO’C for several hours. Various insect pests
have been shown to increase greatly the speed of lipolysis of groundnuts” and this
may also occur to a lesser extent with palm kernels. Certain insects may be attracted
by the presence of some storage fungi which can be a source of food for them, and
insects themselves can act as internal and external carriers of fungi. Apart from disinteg-
ration by insects, purely mechanical breakage of kernels can cause increases in lipolysis,
probably by permitting greater accessibility to fungal and insect attack.
Whereas hand-cracked nuts usually contain a low percentage of broken kernels, this
is not always the case where cracking machines are used. Mechanical shelling is usually
carried out in a centrifugal nutcracker consisting of a high-speed rotor provided with
a number of radial channels or slots across the face. The nuts to be cracked are fed
to the center of the rotor at a uniform rate and run to the radial slots. From these
they are hurled with great force against the surrounding cracker ring so that the shells
are broken. If the speed of the rotor is too slow, all the nuts are not cracked. If,
on the other hand, it is too high, an appreciable proportion of kernels will also be
broken. Kernel breakage is a particular problem where nuts of different sizes or different
varieties are to be cracked. This problem is also likely to arise if a factory changes
from processing drra nuts to processing the thinner-shelled tenern nuts.
 Palm oil and palm kernel oil 9

The most important practical factor influencing the rise in acidity is the amount
of moisture present in the kernels. Not only is the presence of moisture necessary for
lipolysis to proceed, it is also necessary for fungal growth, and it is still more necessary
for the growth of yeasts. Rapid reduction of moisture in palm kernels is important
since fresh unsterilized kernels have a moisture content of about 220/,.20 However, what-
ever moisture content sterilized kernels have initially on storage, they will eventually
come to equilibrium with the prevailing relative humidity unless humidity control is
available, for example, under silo storage. It has been suggested that ,the maximum
permissible figure for safe storage of oilseeds generally is 141; of moisture calculated
on the nonoleaginous portion of the seed.s’ With palm kernels of oil content 52%
on a dry basis, this would amount to 7.259; of moisture on the whole seed or somewhat
lower than the mean equilibrium moisture content experienced for 4 months of the
year in the palm kernel area of Nigeria. It is possible that an even lower moisture
content is desirable for preventing fungal growth. According to Galloway,22 the mini-
mum relative humidity permitting fungal growth varies from 75 to 95% according to
the species of fungus and the safe limit is the moisture content obtained when the
material is in equilibrium with an atmosphere of 70’,; relative humidity. This would
correspond to a moisture content for the kernels of about 5.5;<, but, at such a low
level, oil tends to exude with consequent loss of quantity and quality.
The incidence of fungal growth in palm kernels results not only in deterioration
of the quality of the oil, but also of the quality of the meal, through utilization of
the proteins and carbohydrates present. The production of fungal metabolites which
may be toxic needs also to be borne in mind. In this connection, the presence of up
to 2 ppm of aflatoxin B, (a toxic metabolite of certain strains of Asprrgillus &uus)
has been demonstrated in certain samples exhibiting fungal growth.
Discoloration of the palm kernel endosperm is another defect which tends to occur
with increasing frequency with the introduction of mechanization. Although fungal
growth may be responsible for some of the discoloration, it has been known for some
time that the primary cause of browning of the endosperm is over-heating. This can
occur through the use of too high a temperature in the sterilization of the fruit, or
too long a sterilization time, though spontaneous heating will occur, for instance, when
large heaps of untracked nuts are allowed to accumulate in oil mills, and also when
the kernels are stored under high humidity conditions. Kernels stored for 2 weeks at
60°C show signs of discoloration. while kernels kept at 130°C show slight discoloration
after only 2 hr. The effect does not so readily occur if the kernels are allowed to dry
out. This discoloration is due to the Maillard reaction of the free amino groups of
the proteins present with aldehydes, largely in the form of aldoses, for example mannose,
but also occasionally alpha-beta-unsaturated aldehydes resulting from the oxidative
splitting of the unsaturated fatty acids of the lipid fraction.” Thus, the practical steps
to minimize kernel discoloration include the avoidance of prolonged “sterilization” at
unnecessarily high temperatures and not allowing untracked palm nuts to accumulate
in large heaps which are liable to biological heating. Drying the shelled kernels ade-
quately before storage will prevent fungal growth and biological heating after cracking.

Mature palm kernels contain about 46-57% oil on a moisture-free basis” and Table
1 gives a typical composition. Development of the oil in the kernel precedes that of
the mesocarp in the ripening fruit and, although all the major fatty acid components
are present even in the youngest stage studied by Crombie” when the total fat content
in a nut at 10 weeks after pollination may amount to only 2.5 mg, the proportions
of the fatty acids are very different from those for the mature kernel. These have a
much higher proportion of unsaturated acids (oleic and linoleic) and lauric acid forms
only a minor proportion of the total fatty acids. Although rapid changes in component
fatty acids percentage composition occur during the early stages of maturing, from
10 J. A. Cornelius

TABLE 1. Palm Kernels-Proximate Composition”

Dry matter 97.0

Crude protein (N x 6.25) 8.5
Oil (ether extract) 49.0
Crude fibre 5.8
Carbohydrate (nitrogen-free extractives) 26.9
Ash 1.8

about 14 weeks after pollination to maturity at 20 weeks there is little change in the
percentage composition although the total fat in the kernel increases by about 400’.&
Palm kernels vary greatly in shape, some being almost spherical but most are some-
what flattened and irregular and occasionally some are pointed at one end. The endo-
sperm, when fresh, is white and translucent. It is enclosed by a brown testa which
is fairly light in color when the kernels are taken from unsterilized fruit but on steriliza-
tion the testa usually becomes dark brown, almost black, and its surface is then often
shiny due to the presence of oil. Kernels from ferrera nuts are usually smaller than
from dura nuts but the latter vary greatly in size, the weight of 100 kernels varying
from 75 to 15Og.

Like copra and other oilseeds, palm kernels can be extracted by primitive methods
but this is carried out only on a very small scale for local use. The bulk of palm
kernels are extracted in conventional oilseed mills either by expelling at high pressure
or by expelling at low pressure followed by solvent extraction.

1. Primitive
Palm kernel oil is extracted in West Africa for domestic use to a limited extent
using primitive methods. One method used in the eastern part of Nigeria in order
to obtain oil for semi-medicinal purposes, such as for anointing the body. is to steep
the whole kernels in water for l-3 days and then to roast gently in an iron pot until
the oil exudesi
Another method used in the same area, which can produce oil for edible purposes,
involves drying the kernels either in the sun or over a fire, breaking them up with
a pestle and mortar, boiling the broken kernel mass with water and skimming off the
oi14’ The oil from these processes is obtained in poor yield and is dark in color.
It is unlikely that more than 1000 tons (1016 t) of palm kernels per annum are extracted
in such ways in the eastern states of Nigeria.

2. Expellers
On an industrial scale, palm kernels are almost invariably extracted using continuous
screw presses or expellers, either at high pressure for the total extraction process or
at low pressure as a preliminary to solvent extraction. The principle of the expeller
is that the material is continuously moved under increasing pressure by a screw or
“worm” in a horizontal cage or barrel, the expressed oil runs out through slots in
the barrel and the cake is ejected at the end of the screw. Before extraction, some
pre-treatment is required, mainly cleaning, breaking, preferably in breaking rolls, and
cooking. Using high pressure expelling with an efficient expeller, the cake has a residual
oil content of about 5.5%
 Palm oil and palm kernel oil II

3. Solvent
Since solvent extraction enables a greater proportion of oil to be extracted, this tends
to be carried out increasingly in the larger mills although the residual meal, which
may contain less than 19; oil, is of somewhat less value than expeller cake for incorpor-
ation into animal feeds. Before solvent extraction, the palm kernels are first expelled
in low pressure expellers down to about 15 or 20”/, oil in the cake. The cake is then
passed through breaking and flaking rolls before extraction to allow the solvent (usually
a hexane fraction or cycle-hexane) to reach the oil in the cells. Although batch solvent
extraction processes are in use where solvent is pumped through the extractor, percolates
the material and dissolves the oil, the most efficient extraction is obtained only in
continuous countercurrent systems in which the solvent and the flakes make contact
with each other in streams moving continuously in opposite directions.

IV. PALM OIL

A. Description
The crude oil. extracted from the fruit mesocarp by pressure, as well as containing
a considerable proportion of water, also contains soil, fiber and cell debris which may
be removed by screening, by continuous settling tanks or by high speed centrifugal
separators, according to the scale of operation. The moisture content of the oil is usually
reduced to below 0.1’; at estate mills in order to keep hydrolysis, during subsequent
handling and storage prior to refining, down to a minimum. Crude palm oil is character-
istically deep orange in color and is semi-solid in the prevailing ambient temperatures
of its production areas although the solid content depends upon both the proportion
of FFA present and the precise conditions of cooling or heating, and, hence, the plasticity
can vary widely. For edible purposes, many local West African tribes prefer the taste
of high FFA or “hard” oil produced from fermented but unsterilized fruit and having
a more solid consistency than the “soft” oil of comparatively low FFA from sterilized
fruit. Crude palm oil has a characteristic odor which has been variously described as
“sweetish and somewhat sickly” or “nutty”. Some samples have been said to possess
an odor resembling that of violets. The odors are doubtless partly due to the presence
of products of the beta-ionone type from the oxidation of the carotenoid pigments
which are responsible for the color.
Table 2 gives some indication of the variation likely to be encountered in the physical
and chemical characteristics of peasant-produced and plantation palm oils.

B. Composition

It will be seen from Table 3 that the major component acids of the mesocarp oil
are palmitic and oleic followed by linoleic, stearic and myristic acids, and only trace
amounts of C8-C,z acids which may originate from the endocarp rather than the meso-
carp. It will be noted from the fourth column in the table that the fatty acid composition
of the mesocarp fat in the immature fruit is very different, although palmitic acid is
the major acid even at 8 weeks after pollination, a large proportion of linoleic acid
and a few percent of linolenic acid are present but only traces of oleic acid. Crombie
and Hardmanr8 observe that, as the tissue matures, oil accumulates rather suddenly
and each acid, except linolenic acid, increases in total weight and hence there is no
evidence of fatty acid interconversions. The main fatty acid build-up occurs at 19-20
weeks after pollination.
12 J. A. Cornelius

TABLE 2. Characteristics of Crude Palm Oils

.
Peasant-produced Plantation
oils oils
Density at SYC, kg/m3 891
Refractive index, nD 40°C 1,453-l ,459 1.4565-1.4585
Melting range, ‘C 27-50 3845
Titer, ‘C 4&46 4347
Acid value. mg KOH/g oil 2-100 2-15
Saponification value. mg KOH/g oil 196209 196202
Peroxide value, meq/kg oil t&0.8* 0.8-13.2
p-Anisidine value 1t&9.5
Iodine value 4660 48-56
Thiocyanogen value 44-48 4546
Reichert-Meissl value 0.1-1.5 0.14.4
Polenske value 0.2-I 0.206
Hydroxyl value 7-24 4-12
Conjugated diene, E:>, at 230 nm 1.420 I t34.5
Conjugated triene. Et& at 269 nm 0.14.8
Unsaponifiable matter, “” 0.3-1.0 0.205
Carotene content. mg,/kg 847-1395 5Oc-700
Tocopherol content. mg/kg 30-560 674-1095
Iron content, mg/kg 6.148.4 2.9-l 1.4
Copper content, m&kg 0.054.4

*Samples collected in producing country.

The closely related South American Oil Palm, Elaeis (Corozo) oleijka (Elks nzelano-
cocca) yields a mesocarp oil with a higher proportion of unsaturated acids and the
experimental hybrids yield an oil of intermediate fatty acid composition.

2. Glycerides
Although the fatty acids comprise some 95”” by weight of the total fat, these are
esterified with glycerol in the mature fresh fruit. They appear as FFA as a result of
enzyme hydrolysis through the lipase naturally present in the unsterilized fruit, or
through that introduced into the fruit or the extracted oil by microbiological action,
and through fatty acid-catalyzed chemical hydrolysis of the extracted oil. In such cases,
Loncin35 has shown that diglycerides, monoglycerides and free glycerol are formed in

TABLE 3. Fatty Acid Composition of Palm Oil (Percent by Weight of Total Fatty
Acids)

Specimen
from
Zaire Malaysian Typical immature
Oil* specimen Range fruitt
Saturated acids
Caprylic acid 0.005 -
Capric acid 0.005 -
Laurie acid 0.12 0.05
Myristic acid 1.02 2.5 0.5-5.9 trace 0.3
Palmitic acid 45.5 40.8 3247 57.5 25.0
Stearic acid 5.90 3.6 2-8 7.0 1.2
Arachidic acid 0.36 trace 0.1
Unsaturated acids
Palmitoleic acid 0.10 1.4
Oleic acid 34.6 45.2 4@52 0.9 68.6
Linoleic acid 11.81 7.9 5-11 29.6 2.1
Linolenic acid 0.29 5.2 0.9

*GLC analysis of six shipping samples in 1969.37

tTwelve weeks from pollination.”
SMesocarp oil of a related palm from South America (Colombia) which can be
crossed with E. guineetisis to give mesocarp oils of intermediate fatty acid composi-
tion.2’
 Palm oil and palm kernel oil 13

FIG. 1. Spontaneous hydrolysis of water saturated palm oil at 70°C.

succession as indicated in Fig. 1. The glyceride composition affects the melting and
plastic properties of the fat and crude palm oils in general show a minimum hardness
for FFA contents of about 746-a phenomenon which persists even after neutralization,
since it is due to eutectic formation between the di- and triglycerides.
Although the proportion of partial glycerides has the most important effect on the
melting range of palm oil, other factors such as the degree of unsaturation of the glycer-
ides and the fatty acid arrangement on the glycerides also affect it. The glyceride compo-
sition (see Table 4) shows that over 850,/Aof the unsaturated fatty acid chains are located
at the central ester bond of the glycerol radical as is usual for most vegetable fats.
Its semi-solid state at temperate room temperatures and melting range permits its use
as a major component in margarine and shortening blends without hydrogenation.

3. Unsaponijable matte1
Palm oil contains from about 0.2 to 1.07; by weight of unsaponifiable matter which
includes between 0.03 and 0.15”; carotenoid pigments, the most conspicuous part of
the unsaponitiable matter since it is responsible for the orange-red color of the crude
oil ; 0.00330.11~0 of tocopherols, 0.0330.10:1; sterols, 0.05~.100/, phosphatides and about
0.08% of total alcohols. Table 5 indicates the average composition of the various com-
ponents of unsaponifiable matter for Zaire palm oi1.37

TABLE 4. Glyceride Composition of Zaire Palm Oil (:.M)

4 or more
0 double bond 1 double bond 2 double bonds 3 double bonds double bonds
Glyc. Amount Glyc. Amount Glyc. Amount Glyc. Amount Glyc. Amount

PMP 0.3 MOP I.2 MOO 0.6 000 2.7 OOL 1.8
MPP 0.2 POP 24.I PO0 18.9 MOL 0.2 OLO 1.4
PPP 4.3 POS 7.0 so0 2.8 POL 4.0 PLL 2.2
PPS 1.1 SOS 0.5 OPO 1.0 SOL 0.6 LPL 0.4
PSP 0.4 PPO 3.6 PPL 0.4 ML0 0.3 SOLe
SPO 0.5 MLP 0.5 PLO 4.5 SLeO 0.7
PLP 7.8 SLO 0.6 OSLe
PLS 2.3 OPL 0.3
Others 0.3 Others 1.2 Others 0.7 Others 0.1 Others 0.5
Percentage by weight of total fraction
6.6 38.1 35.0 13.3 7.0

The composition has been computed by Loncin ef tr1.37 from the data of Jurriens et
cd.”
L = Laurie; M = Myristic: P = Palmitic; S = Stearic: 0 = Oleic; Le = Linoleic.
14 J. A. Cornelius

TABLE 5. Average Composition of the Unsaponifiable

’ Matter in Za’ire Plantation Palm Oil-”
0
0 m&

Carotenoids
a-carotene 36.2
/?-carotene 54.4
y-carotene 3.3 500-700
lycopene 3.8
xanthophylls 2.2
Tocopherols
a-tocopherol 35
y-tocopherol 35
Stocopherol IO 5OC-800
E + q-tocopherol IO
Sterols
cholesterol 4
campesterol
stigmasterol 21 cu. 300
/3-sitosterol 63
21 i
Phosphatides 5oslooo
Total alcohols
triterpenic alcohols
aliphatic alcohols 20 ‘I,. 800
80 >

C. Handling and Storage

In Nigeria, peasant-produced palm oil for the commercial trade (as opposed to sales
for domestic use) is purchased by licensed buying agents. It arrives at the buying stations
in the producing areas in small amounts, for example, in gourds, 4-gal tins and the
like. These are checked for FFA and put into 90-gal drums for transport to the bulk
oil plants at the ports, on land by lorry or on water by boat. The drums may incorporate
an air tank which enables them to be floated down the rivers. The function of the
bulk oil plant is to clean, dry and store the oil in bulk until shipped in ocean-going
tankers to the refineries. In Malaysia, the bulking installations at the ports simply receive
the crude oil which has already been cleaned and dried at the estate mills, and which
has been transported either by road, rail or barge tankers. The quality is checked and
the oil bulked and stored prior to shipment.
Palm oil requires careful ‘handling if quality-deterioration is to be avoided. Such
deterioration results in increased or even prohibitive refining costs in order to obtain
a product suitable for edible use which is of the required bleached color and taste.
In this connection, it is especially important to keep oxidation as low as possible. The
tocopherols are efficient natural antioxidants, but these may be partially destroyed
through poor processing and handling techniques including over-heating the oil, con-
tamination by pro-oxidant metals such as iron or copper, and by direct contact between
over-heated oil and the atmosphere. Iron from processing machinery and storage tanks
may be dissolved in the palm oil by the FFA but the iron concentration is usually
low when the FFA is low. A soluble iron content of 5 mg/kg or less is usually satisfac-
tory. Copper is more active than iron by a factor of about ten. Some of the peasant-pro-
duced West African oils have high quantities of iron, often of the order of 30 or
50mg/kg; this is probably caused by the use of drums for internal transport. Crude
oil is semi-solid at tropical temperatures and, in order to empty the drums into the
bulking troughs at the bulk oil plant, it is necessary to heat the contents and this
is normally carried out by passing steam into the drums. These are then sent up-country
in the wet state to be refilled, with consequent internal corrosion. The majority of
the drums have been in use for more than 15 years, and it can be imagined that,
after many return trips, a large proportion of iron soaps can build up in the residual
oil. Oily residues from four out of seven empty drums cut open at the Nigerian Institute
for Oil Palm Research in 1967 were found to contain from 2200 to 8400 mg/kg insoluble
 Palm oil and palm kernel oil IS

iron, and from 2200 to 8800 mg/kg soluble iron. This almost certainly accounts for
the high iron contents often encountered for West African oil.’ Various alternative
methods of transport within Nigeria have been considered, including the introduction
of road tankers where the volume of palm oil and the road conditions permit, the
use of epoxy-resin-lined drums, plastic barrels or drums with removable lids to facilitate
inspection and cleaning. However, with the decline in commercial production in the
major oil palm region due to the recent civil war and the increasing consumption
of crude oil in Nigeria, there is now very little oil available for export, and little progress
has been made with regard to internal handling facilities.
Provision must be made for heating the oil in the bulk storage tanks on land, and
also in the ships’ tanks so that it remains liquid. This is usually carried out by steam
immersion coils, although certain more recently constructed land tanks in the Far East
and ships carrying oil from West Africa have been fitted with external heat exchangers.
The latter, in particular, are of high capacity, and the oil may suffer from over-heating
during shipment since some drop in total carotene content normally takes place. In
five out of six cases of shipments from West Africa to Europe for ships fitted with
external heat exchangers, the loss of carotene was considerably higher than for four
shipments from Nigeria with conventional steam immersion coils (150-226 mg/kg com-
pared with 14-92 mg/kg, respectively). There are specific heating instructions to shippers
for the bulk shipment of oils and fats including palm oil, for example those recommended
by the International Association of Seed Crushers,” with regard to maximum tempera-
tures at loading (55”C), during the voyage (32-35°C) and at the time of discharge
(49-55°C). When the oil must be heated prior to discharge, it is recommended that
the temperature rise should not be allowed to exceed 5°C in 24 hr. Failure to follow
instructions may account for cases of high carotene loss during shipment.

D. Rejiining
Large quantities of palm oil are consumed locally in West Africa without any refining
in soups, for frying and in various native dishes. In these cases, the alpha and beta
carotenes present in the carotenoid pigments have some nutritional value, being precur-
sors of vitamin A. In other countries, the oil is almost invariably refined for use for
edible purposes. Refining, as with other crude fatty oils, comprises the basic processes
of neutralization, bleaching and deodorization. Removal of FFA in the neutralization
step is responsible for a direct oil loss to the refiner, which is usually around 1.5 times
the percentage of FFA on alkali refining. Thus, the refining losses will be very much
reduced for oils of low FFA content. Some FFA can be removed by steam stripping,
but it is not possible to reduce the FFA to the desired level of less than 0.1% by
this technique alone and therefore, if carried out, it is followed by the usual stages
of neutralization, bleaching and deodorization. However, palm oil offers no special prob-
lems as far as neutralization and deodorization are concerned. It may be refined in
the same way as any other edible oil or fat, Bleaching presents an aspect peculiar
to palm oil which is dark orange in color, due to the presence of the thermolabile
carotenoid pigments. Modem practice tends to be oriented towards the heat-bleach
method, where the pigments are broken down by heating the oil to over 180°C under
vacuum, preceded or followed by a mild treatment with a small amount of bleaching
earth or other degumming agent. Bleaching is most important when palm oil is to
be used in applications where a nearly colorless fat is required, but is less important
when it is to be used for other purposes, such as margarine manufacture. Bleaching
problems, when they occur, are usually caused by the oil becoming oxidized before
it reaches the refiner. The various ways in which this oxidation can occur and methods
of minimizing the trouble have already been indicated. The presence of naturally-occur-
ring tocopherols, which are effective antioxidants, has already been referred to, and
they may be partially removed, as previously discussed, by poor processing and handling
techniques, and also during deodorization.
;6 J. A. Cornelius

It has already been mentioned that heat bleaching is the more popular method for
palm oil. Heating the oil at temperatures above 180°C in the absence of oxygen causes
thermal destruction of the carotenes into almost colorless products. If the oils are of
good quality, they will have residual colors of between 1 and 3 red Lovibond units
in a 5$ in (13.34cm) cell after bleaching. However, greenish or greyish colors, due
to the presence of oxidation products, are difficult to eliminate by this method and
any chlorophyll present, giving a slight green tint, must be removed with bleaching
earth. The possibility of heat polymer formation from the unsaturated fatty acid radicals
is a disadvantage where prolonged high temperature bleaching is used. Both polymeriza-
tion and cis-nuns-isomerization of the unsaturated acids have been shown to take place,
and the reaction rate increases with temperature more quickly than that of carotene
destruction. Therefore, intensive heat treatment is not advisable and a compromise in
time and temperature must be made. On a commercial scale, temperatures of about
250°C are used with a contact time of l-3 min at the peak temperature. Oil losses
in this process are negligible, the main disadvantage in using a poor crude oil being
the reluctance of the oil to respond to treatment, and the prospect of heat damage
through polymer formation if the heating has to be continued for a relatively long
period. It is also found in practice that the FFA of the oil rises by about 0.5”/, during
the heat treatment which must therefore be followed by a neutralization3’
Earth-bleaching is the basic bleaching process used in the edible oil industry and
essentially consists in the addition of an activated earth to the oil which is then agitated
at given temperatures for a period of time followed by separation of the earth by filt-
ration. Earth-bleaching is usually accomplished at relatively low temperatures of 1oO’“C
or less with up to about 3% by weight of earth. Where the oil is difficult to bleach,
temperatures of 15&18O”C may be necessary, although at these temperatures the earth
has a catalytic effect on polymer formation and there is also a rise in FFA of about
1% which necessitates a further neutralization step. The oil absorbed on bleaching earth
amounts to about 30% by weight of the filter cake after the earth has been filtered
off through a plate and frame press, and although the oil can be extracted by means
of a petroleum solvent, the recovered material is of lower quality than the original
filtrate.

E. Fractionation
Because of its glyceride composition, palm oil can be readily fractionated by controlled
cooling into stearin and olein, the latter serving as a replacement of higher-priced liquid
vegetable oils. The four main commercial processes for fractionating palm oil comprise:
(1) crystallization of the crude oil by cooling and separating the fractions; (2) dry frac-
tionation of the neutralized and bleached oil; (3) solvent fractionation and (4) crystalliza-
tion followed by separation in aqueous detergent. Process 1 can be carried out by
simply allowing the crude oil to cool until separation takes place. The slower the rate
of cooling, the better the separation and the yield and quality of the products. The
method may be improved and speeded up by the use of filter presses or centrifuges
but the process generally tends to give a low yield of olein and a soft stearin and
to be only suitable where time and labor are available and demand for olein is smal15’
Process 2, with neutralized and bleached oil, gives much faster separation which can
be achieved in a matter of hours rather than days or weeks in the case of crude oil.
Process 3 usually gives better separations than the foregoing processes. There are
several varieties of this process. For example, in the Bemardini process,’ the crude
oil dissolved in hexane is continuously winterized to produce a liquid oil with a cloud
point of 16-18°C at a yield of 85x, the solid fraction having a melting point of 45-50°C
in 15% yield. On passing the filtrate through a second cooling and crystallization process,
the final products are a liquid oil with a cloud point of 7-8°C in 909/;, yield, and a
solid with a melting point of 3540°C in loo/, yield. Koslowsky33 has described a frac-
tional crystallization process using iso-propanol as solvent which eliminates the use
 Palm oil and palm kernel oil 17

of filters or centrifuges since the solids float on top of the solvent, and the liquid forms
a lower layer. When carried out in two stages, the method is claimed to provide a
liquid fraction in SSl):,yield for single stage and in 749/g,yield for double stage fractional
crystallization, the oil having a cloud point of 5-7°C. Solid fractions have melting points
of about 46°C for the first and 34-C for the second stage and 42’C when the two
hard fats are combined.
In process 4, degummed and lightly bleached crude palm oil is cooled from just
over 60°C to just below 3O’C with stirring over a period of 34 hr. At the end of this
time, aqueous detergent is added and the stearin crystals, which are wetted by the
detergent, remain in the aqueous phase. After settling, the supernatant olein is skimmed
off. The aqueous phase is then heated until the stearin melts and floats on the top.
The olein can then be recrystallized at a lower temperature (about 3o’C) and again
treated with detergent solution. Although relatively simple, the method is expensive
owing to the need for stainless steel equipment to resist corrosion5’
Increasing interest is being shown in carrying out fractionation processes in the pro-
ducing countries, although at the present time virtually all palm oil is exported in
the crude stage, and any modifications are carried out in the importing countries.

F. Intrrester.ification
In natural fats including palm oil, the fatty acids are not distributed on the glycerol
molecules in a completely random manner, but follow a pattern. When interesterification
of palm oil is carried to equilibrium, the fat has higher proportions of fully saturated
and fully unsaturated glycerides than are found in natural palm oil. If, however, the
interesterilication is performed at about 38°C the higher melting saturated triglycerides
crystallize out and if the reaction is allowed‘to continue at the same temperature, the
continued withdrawal of the least soluble portion of the reaction mixture by crystalliza-
tion upsets the equilibrium and makes possible the production of a glyceride mixture
having a composition differing greatly from that obtained at equilibrium. Under such
conditions of directed interesterification, after about 24 hr at this temperature. the fully
saturated triglycerides in palm oil can be increased from about 6”; to about 287; of
the weight of the whole fat, a quantity more than twice as great as that produced
without the influence of simultaneous crystallization and interesteritication.‘O

The high melting point of palm oil permits its utilization in margarine formulations
without hydrogenation, and the above-mentioned fractionation and interesterification
processes enable the preparation of fat of still higher melting points from part of the
oil. However, hydrogenation processes are still of interest for palm oil and have the
advantage of also destroying the carotenoid pigments. Selective hydrogenation can be
carried out which allows the saturation firstly of the carotenoid pigments, and of the
polyunsaturated fatty acids rather than the oleic acid. 38 This should take place under
conditions which minimize formation of iso-oleic acids, for example by the use of tem-
peratures below 120°C and highly active sulphur-free catalysts. By combining selective
hydrogenation with fractionation, it is possible to produce a fraction which can replace
substantially all of the cocoa-butter normally present in chocolate in about 25?/, overall
yield. Such a fraction should have a dilatation at 20C of at least 1750 and at 35°C
a dilatation not greater than 200.j2

1. lntroductioil
For the successful marketing of palm oil, it is essential that its quality be considered
satisfactory by the consumer. Measurements of FFA, moisture, volatile matter and dirt
18 J. A. Cornelius

contents are standard practice for crude oil entering the trade for edible purposes. These
tests relate to the strictly economic aspects of palm oil quality, namely the yield of
refined oil. The introduction in Nigeria in 1950 of Special Grade Palm Oil with an
FFA limit specification of 4.5% at the ports, and which carried an attractive premium,
was directly responsible for a rapid increase in the proportion of edible, as opposed
to technical oil being exported over the following decade. The other aspects of quality
of importance to users in the edible field concern flavor, taste, appearance etc. of the
finished product and these characteristics differ from the former mainly because they
are subjective in character and related to organoleptic acceptance and oxidative stability.

2. Bleachability
Laboratory tests which will give a realistic indication of what will happen in the
refining plant have been of interest for many years. More than 10 years ago, bleaching
tests for the crude oil were developed by the Tropical Products Institute in collaboration
with the Fullers’ Earth Union and with various UK refiners with particular reference
to Nigerian palm oil. These tests were based on the two principal bleaching methods
used industrially. These are physical absorption of the carotenoid pigments onto a
bleaching earth and chemical breakdown of the carotenoids by heat. In the final form
of the earth bleaching test, the oil is stirred with 5% by weight of activated Fullers’
Earth for 1 hr at 105°C and the color of the bleached and filtered oil measured on
a Lovibond Tintometer. For the heat bleaching test, the oil is heated in an inert atmos-
phere at 230°C for 30min. A combined heat and earth bleaching test was developed
in which, after heating the oil in an inert atmosphere at 230°C for 30 min, 13; by
weight of Fullers’ Earth is added, followed by a further 15 min heating at 230°C with
swirling of the flasks. The cooled oil is then filtered before the color is assessed. All
three of these laboratory tests have proved useful in the examination of factors respon-
sible for the deterioration of bleachability in the different stages of palm oil processing,
and the earth bleaching tests have proved particularly useful in producing countries.
However, unlike the tests for FFA, none of these are field tests which can be readily
performed away from a laboratory, and such a test would be particularly valuable
under conditions such as occur in Nigeria. Following some initial experiments carried
out at the Tropical Products Institute, The Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research
evolved a simple procedure involving shaking a palm oil/chloroform mixture with
Fullers’ Earth, filtering through a Whatman 54 filter paper and reading the color in
a tintometer. The results indicate that the method has promise, since statistical analysis
indicated a fairly good correlation with the earth bleaching test at 105°C. In all the
above tests, the bleached colors are assessed in terms of the Lovibond red and yellow
units, or, particularly in the case of a field test, comparison with standard color slides
can be used to place the oils into bleachability grades. Although good quality oils
which show good bleachability by the earth bleaching test may also show good heat
bleachability, this is by no means always the case, since the two methods are entirely
different in principle. On the whole, the earth bleaching test is more sensitive, particularly
when oils have been oxidized, since such oils usually show greater bleachability deterio-
ration by earth than by heat bleaching. However, very highly oxidized oils may show
anomalous results, in the earth bleaching test.
While the producer, who may be concerned with checking many samples per day,
will require a relatively rapid and simple procedure for bleachability, the user will prob-
ably be checking fewer samples, and will need to have some assurance that the results
of the laboratory tests will compare with the behavior of the sample on the plant
scale in his particular refining process. This is not easy since the methods of refiners
vary. Various rather more elaborate tests have been devised including one from the
United Kingdom in which the sample is first neutralized by sodium hydroxide and
then clarified by a 1Ornin treatment with 1% by weight of Fullers’ Earth at 90°C.
The filtered soapfree oil is subsequently heated under vacuum at 250°C for 15 min,
 Palm oil and palm kernel oil 19

allowing not more than 5 min to attain the above temperature, and not more than
10 min to cool to about 70°C before breaking the vacuum. This test seems to be suitable
for use in the entire range of edible palm oil grades, but in Belgium a test has been
developed particularly for SPB oils from Zaire, with a maximum FFA of 2.5%. This
involves heat bleaching of the crude oil for 1 hr at 240°C in an inert gas, cooling
to 60°C for color assessment, followed by stirring with 1% by weight of Tonsil Standard
FF bleaching earth at 110°C for 20min under an inert atmosphere. In Germany a
heat-bleaching test at 300°C in an inert atmosphere for 45 min has been found useful
for oils of up to about 5% FFA.

3. Oxidation

The difficulty of bleaching an oil is related to the amount and type of oxidation
which has taken place by the time the oil has reached the refiner. Primary oxidation
products, namely hydroperoxides, can be assessed as peroxide values and by U.V. spectro-
photometry. However, these compounds are unstable, giving rise to secondary oxidation
products including unsaturated aldehydes. The assessment of these using the p-anisidine
value (the successor to the benzidine value) gives a more complete picture of oxidation
than does the peroxide value alone.

4. Stability

The oxidative stability of an oil is usually more practically significant than the oxi-
dation state it has attained at the time of testing. This may involve dynamic testing
of oxidation states over a time period in which the oil is artificially oxidized by passing
air or oxygen through it under controlled conditions until either a pre-determined oxi-
dation level is reached, or the products of rancidity can be observed.
Measurement of the natural antioxidant or tocopherols present in the oil may provide
useful information although present methods of assessment are either uncertain or
lengthy.
Assessment of metal contents, especially iron and copper, is particularly relevant with
palm oil in connection with oxidative stability since some iron contamination inevitably
occurs during the ordinary processing and handling procedures for the crude oil. Under
the conditions prevailing in some parts of Africa where iron drums have been repeatedly
used for internal transport, the amount of iron present in crude oil may be extremely
high. Copper is even more important than iron since its pro-oxidant activity, at least
under some circumstances, is higher than iron by about ten-fold. In the past, calorimetric
methods for the assessment of copper and iron after subjecting the oil to ashing or
wet extraction have been used, but these are giving place to atomic absorption methods
which are considerably more rapid. The oil can be applied directly to the flame if
the instrument is fitted with a heated sample inlet tube. The oil dissolved in amyl
acetate can be applied directly to the flame without modifying the instrument but since
copper levels are normally rather near to the limit of detection using this technique,
a concentration procedure involving wet ashing, which results in an aqueous solution
with the iron and copper more concentrated than in the original oil, gives greater
sensitivity and enables more accurate assessments to be made.

I. Uses
Large amounts of crude palm oil are consumed in local West African diets and
in some districts of Nigeria the per capita consumption is as high as 45 kg per year.
The crude oil is utilized in soups, in frying operations and for the preparation of palm
oil “chop” when palm oil is usually incorporated with curried chicken and rice. The
crude oil is also commonly used as an illuminant in the producing areas of West Africa.
The major end use for palm oil in the importing countries is for the manufacture
of compound cooking fats and margarine.
20 J. A. Cornelius

Palm oil melts at &ound 30°C and, when suitably blended with other vegetable
oils or hydrogenated marine oils, it produces an easily spreading margarine of stable
taste. In certain formulations for biscuit fats, it can be used without hydrogenation
and, in any case, it requires less hydrogenating than soya bean, sunflower or groundnut
(peanut) oils, which are competitive in margarine manufacture. For the manufacture
of shortening, partially hydrogenated palm oil is mostly used since this gives the product
good plasticity and creaming properties for baking and cooking.’ The liquid fraction
from fractional crystallization of palm oil is used for the manufacture of cooking oils
while the solid fraction is frequently used in the preparation of margarine and shortening
without hydrogenation.
Palm oil with a high FFA content is used in the production of low quality soap,
candles and in tin plating, and fully hydrogenated palm oil stearin is used as a starting
material for the preparation df monoglycerides and similar chemical derivatives.

J. Future Developments
The possibilities of fractionation and directed interesterification have already been
mentioned and undoubtedly producing countries will be taking an increasing interest
in the prospects for modifying the oil before export in order to increase the value
of the product as much as possible before sale. However, the export of fully refined
palm oil would seem undesirable because the carotenoid pigments may, and the toco-
pherols present certainly do, contribute to the stability of the oil. It would seem that
in the future the bulk export of neutralized unbleached, deodorized and dried oil, poss-
ibly with synthetic antioxidants added will be practical and will take place on a large
scale.
With increasing production and competition, it will be all the more desirable to
ensure that the oils are of high quality and the extension of production of oils with
2% or less FFA can be expected. There is already some interest in the Far East in
the carrying out of further processing operations at the estate factories.5
Little attention has so far been paid to the possibilities of changing the characteristics
of palm oil by breeding, though varieties in which the carotene is very low or absent
do occur. Experimental work is in progress in Malaysia and elsewhere in the breeding
of hybrids between the West African palm and the South American oil palm (Elaeis
olei,feru (Kunth) CortCs). The mesocarp yield of the South American parent is much
lower than that of the modem varieties of the West African oil palm, but the composition
of the oil is of interest because it possesses a considerably greater proportion of unsatur-
ated fatty acids and consequently a higher iodine value and lower melting point than
that of mesocarp: oil from E. guineensis. Oils from hybrid palms are intermediate in
their characteristics and fatty acid composition and it could well be that palm oils
modified in their composition by such breeding techniques will produce a more desirable
oil in the future.

V. PALM KERNEL OIL

A. Description
In contrast to palm oil, the characteristics and properties of palm kernel oil resemble
those of coconut oil in a general way, being a colorless to brownish-yellow oil, solidifying
in temperate climates to a white or yellowish fat which, in the crude state, is often
somewhat darker in color. Its FFA content, calculated as lauric acid, may vary from
0.5 to lo”/,, depending upon the quality of the kernels from which it has been extracted.
The solid fat, although having a higher melting point than coconut oil, has a less
brittle consistency and is more greasy. The crude oil has a strong, very characteristic
and tenacious taste and smell. It tends to become rancid very rapidly and is normally
 Palm oil and palm kernel oil 21

TABLE 6. Characteristics of Crude Palm Kernel and Coconut Oils?

Palm Kernel Oils Coconut Oils

Relative density, 40’/25”C 0.9OwJ.913 0.9084.913

Refractive index, nD 40’C 1.4495-1.4515 1.448-1.450
Melting range, ‘C 25-30 2326
Titer, “C 2G28 2&24
Acid value. mg KOH/g oil 3-17 l-10
Saponification value, mg KOH/g oil 244-254 25 l-264
Iodine value 14-20 7-10
Thiocyanogen value 13-18 6.1-7.0
Reichert-Meissl value 5-7 68
Polenske value 9-l 1 12-18
Unsaponihable matter, “, 0.2XI.8 0.1550.6

refined before use. The refined oil keeps well. Usual limits for the physical and chemical
characteristics of palm kernel oil in comparison with coconut oil are shown in Table 6.

B. Compositio,l
1. Fatty Acids
It will be seen from Table 7 that palm kernel oil contains the same fatty acids as
does coconut oil but in different proportions. Palm kernel oil contains a considerably
smaller proportion of acids having a lower molecular weight than lauric acid and this
difference is reflected in lower Reichert-Meissl and Polenske values. Furthermore, palm
kernel oil has a considerably greater proportion of oleic acid and therefore has a higher
iodine value than coconut oil. The lower proportion of acids below lauric probably
accounts for the fact that palm kernel oil has a higher melting point than coconut
oil and yields a greater quantity of stearin when grained and pressed even though
it contains a larger proportion of unsaturated acid. Because of its greater degree of
unsaturation, palm kernel oil undergoes a greater change in properties when hydro-
genated than does coconut oil.
It will be noted from Table 8 that oils extracted from the pared testa have a somewhat
different composition from that of the oil from the endosperm and may be considered
to have a composition intermediate between the endosperm and the mesocarp oils
although they are more akin to the former than the latter.

2. Glycerides
The glyceride composition of palm kernel oil has been investigated by Biimer and
Schneider’ and by Dale and Meara” by multiple fractional crystallization of the higher

TABLE 7. Fatty Acid Composition of Palm Kernel and Coconut Oils, Per-
cent by Weight of Total Fatty Acids
Palm Kernel Oil Coconut Oil
Range” Specimen* Rangez6 Specimen*
Saturated acids
Caproic - 0.2 (M.8 0.3
Caprylic 2.44.3 4.0 5.4-9.5 7.0
Capric 3.0- 6.3 3.9 4.5-9.7 5.6
Laurie 44.5-52.0 50.4 44.1-51.3 45.7
Myristic 14.1-18.6 17.3 13.1-18.5 20.5
Palmitic 6.5-10.4 7.9 7.5-10.5 9.7
Stearic 1.3-3.5 2.3 l&3.7 2.7
Arachidic t3-1.9 Gl.5
Unsaturated acids
Hexadecenoic CN.6 O-l.3
Oleic 10.5-18.5 II.8 5.0-8.2 6.4
Linoleic 0.7-2.5 2.1 I .&2.6 1.9
*Litchtield3“ (calculated from mole ‘I0 data).
22 J. A. Cornelius

TABLE 8. Content. Characteristics and Composition of

. Palm Kernel Testa and Endosperm Oils

Testa Endosperm

Oil content. no 3&33 56

Saponification value 229.5-233.3 244
Iodine value 28.0-29.6 12.4
Component acids, 7,
8:0 0.6 4.3
lo:o 4.4 4.8
l2:O 35.7 51.3
l4:O 16.0 16.5
l6:O 10.7 7.6
18:O I.5 I.7
l8:l 26.0 II.3
18:2 5.0 1.3
Hilditch and Williams. p. 340.16

melting point fractions from acetone. These workers failed to find any substantial
amounts of trilaurin and concluded that the major glyceride was dilauromyristin with
smaller amounts of other triglycerides of mixed fatty acids. More recently, Bezard’
fractionated the triglycerides of refined palm kernel oil into thirteen groups based on
their carbon numbers of 3S54. These groups represented 99.9”, of the total glyceride
content. The proportion of triglyceride types in each group was calculated from the
component fatty acids obtained by further gas-liquid chromatography of the butyl esters
of the fatty acids in the glyceride peaks. Eighty-seven different types were found of
which only twenty-four represented more than 10”; of their group. These latter are
found listed in Table 9 where it will be seen that the two major components are trilaurin
(19.87;) and dilauromyristin, (14.1” h). Only eighteen types occurred in an amount greater

TABLE 9. Component Triglycerides Groups and Types in Palm Kernel Oil

Groups* Typest Moles. O0 in groups Moles. ‘I0 in oil

30 6. 12. 12 50 0.6
8, IO, 12 20 0.3
32 6, 12, 14 I1 0.9
8. 12, I2 75 6.4
34 8. I?, I4 37 3.6
IO, 12. I2 48 4.7
36 12, 12, 12 77 19.8
38 12, 12, 14 84 14.1
40 12, 12, I6 37 3.5
12, 14, 14 39 3.6
42 8. 16. I8 I2 0.9
12. 12, I8 42 3.3
12. 14, I6 35 2.7
44 8, 18. I8 I7 I.0
12. 14, 18 60 3.5
12, 16. 16 I4 0.8
46 12, 16, I8 68 2.7
14. 14, I8 I6 0.6
48 12, 18, I8 65 2.9
14, 16, 18 28 I.2
50 14, 18. I8 55 I.2
16, 16, I8 39 0.9
52 16, 18, I8 86 1.9
54 18. 18, I8 70 1.3

*Triglycerides with the same carbon number which appear together in the
same GLC peak.
tTriglycerides defined by the three constituent fatty acids considering only
their chain length. Fatty acid position in the molecule is unknown.
Only those triglycerides types representing more than IO”,, of their group
are given.’
 Palm oil and palm kernel oil 23

than 19, and together represented 80% of the total glycerides. In comparison, this worker
found that coconut oil contains four major components each in the order of 10% namely,
caprylodilaurin, caprylolauromyristin, trilaurin and dilauromyristin. Nevertheless, des-
pite a minor quantitative variation, the glyceride contents of palm kernel oil and coconut
oil showed a close resemblance, as is to be expected from the similarity of their com-
ponent fatty acids. Litchfield34 compared the composition of the fatty acids in the trigly-
cerides of palm kernel and coconut oils with those in the corresponding 2-monoglycer-
ides resulting from lipolysis with pancreatic lipase. He found that, whereas a considerable
enrichment of lauric acid in the 2-position occurred in coconut oil, (from 47.7 to 79.4x),
only a modest enrichment occurred in the case of palm kernel oil (from 53.9 to 58.7%).
However, for oleic acid, the enrichment in the case of palm kernel oil was from 8.9%
up to 15.1”0, whereas in the case of coconut oil, a decrease occurred in the 2-position
(from 4.7 to 3.990).

3. Unsapon$ahle Matter
Crude palm kernel oil usually contains between 0.2 and 0.8% unsaponifiable matter.
Itoh et trl.2s obtained 0.4% of unsaponifiable matter from crude palm kernel oil from
Indonesia which was separated by TLC to yield 4 fractions.
Less polar compounds (hydrocarbons, aliphatic alcohols etc.) totalled 48x, triterpine
alcohols totalled 18”,,, 4-methylsterols totalled 1% and sterols totalled 33%.
Analysis of the sterols by GLC revealed cholesterol as 3%, brassicasterol less than
OS”,,. campesterol, 9P& stigmasterol, 1 l%, /J-sitosterol, 70%, A’-avenasterol, 6%, A’-stig-
masterol, 1”; and A’-avenasterol less than 0.5%.29

C. Refining
Palm kernel oil requires refining (neutralization, bleaching, filtering and deodorization)
but the bleaching step with active earth, sometimes supplemented with activated carbon,
is not so drastic as with palm oil. When the oil originates from kernels which have
become overheated for some reason, it may contain pigments resulting from a reaction
between protein amino groups in the endosperm and a&unsaturated aldehydes resulting
from the oxidative splitting of the unsaturated fatty acids.12 However, palm kernel oil
does not usually present any particular refining problems.

D. Fractionation
Palm kernel oil can be fractionally crystallized in order to obtain stearin fractions
suitable for use as substitutes for cocoa butter. The olein is used in baked goods, in
hydrogenation and in soap manufacture.48

E. Hydrogenation
Since the iodine value of palm kernel oil is higher than that of coconut oil, hydrogena-
tion results in greater changes in properties. For some purposes, hydrogenated palm
kernel oil can be used as a hard butter, but for most applications its melting point
is too high, i.e. it does not possess satisfactory “melt-in-the-mouth” properties. When
this hydrogenated palm kernel oil is subjected to random re-arrangement by conven-
tional interesterification procedures, the melting point is lowered from about 46°C to
about 35-C. The rearranged hydrogenated oil could be used as a low-melting hard
butter, but it is generally too soft for most purposes. However, by blending hydrogenated
palm kernel oil and re-arranged hydrogenated palm kernel oil in suitable proportions,
hard butters of all desired melting points within the 3545°C range can be obtained
with excellent snap, gloss-retention and melt-in-mouth properties.51 Hard butters can
also be produced from palm kernel oil by fractionation of interesterified hardened oil
using anhydrous acetone.“‘j
24 J. A. Cornelius

F. Uses
Owing to the similarity between palm kernel oil and coconut oil in fatty acid composi-
tion, the uses of the two oils are similar. The main use is in soap, particularly in
high quality toilet soaps, because the content of lauric acid and other fatty acids impart
excellent solubility, consistency and quick lathering properties. In detergent manufacture,
palm kernel oil is converted to short-chain fatty alcohols and the lauric acid content
is of prime importance.
Palm kernel oil is used in formulations for margarine, shortenings and cooking oils,
being particularly useful for biscuit fats, confectionery, ice cream and biscuit filling cream
fat where quick melting properties and a hard brittle texture are desirable. Use in
margarine has declined to a low level in recent years but there is a steady use in
compound cooking fat. Use of palm kernel oil in edible products has limitations because
the products of hydrolysis have a soapy taste and hence hydrolytic rancidity is more
readily detectable; and the oil foams badly in admixture with other oils, which limits
its use as a frying fat.“3

VI. THE OIL PALM INDUSTRY

A. General
Five major oil palm areas and their average annual commercial production of palm
oil and palm kernels over 3-year periods from 1961 to 1963 are shown in Table 10.
The total production of palm oil in the African countries is often considerably greater
than indicated since production figures do not include the domestic consumption of
crude oil produced by small processors. Some indication of the total palm oil production
can be deduced from the figures for kernel production provided the low proportion
of mesocarp to kernel normally found in the semi-wild fruit so processed, compared
with plantation fruit, is taken into account.

B. Peninsultrr Mala~aia
The oil palm was first introduced into Peninsular Malaysia in 1870. This was almost
certainly Deli material which entered the country from Sumatra via the Botanic Gardens
in Singapore. However, the first commercial planting did not begin until 1917. This
took place at Tennamaran and Elmina estates in Kuala Selangor.”
During the last decade, Peninsular Malaysia has emerged as the largest single pro-
ducer of oil palm products with the Federal Land Development Authority and State
Government Land Resettlement schemes assuming an increasingly important share in
the industry which has been largely in the hands of the private sector in the past.

TABLE IO. Average Annual Palm Oil and Palm Kernel Production (t x IO’)’

1961-63 1964-66 196749 1970-72 1973t

(a) (b) (a) (b) (a) (b) (a) (b) (a) (b)
Peninsular Malaysia 110 27 152 37 269 61 537 115 740 154
Nigeria 152 407 149 429 20 202 26 296: 14 246
Zaire 226 112 ISO: 89 211: 118 197: 1231 163 102
Indonesia 145 34 164 34 I84 39 245 55 290 64
Ivory Coast I 11 9 I2 I6 II 41 22: 112 39
Others 52 257 74 244 106 248 177 286 208 251
Total 686 848 728 845 807 679 1223 897 1527 856
*Calculated from figures supplied by the Commonwealth Secretariat. London.
tProvisional.
IEstimated.
(a) Palm oil.
(b) Palm kernels.
 Palm oil and palm kernel oil 25

The planned extension in area is from 340,000 ha (850,000 acres) in 1972 to 560,000
ha (1.4 million acres) by 1976 when the estimated palm oil production will be 1.6
million tons.4
As with rubber, the oil palm in Malaysia is a classic example of a crop which yields
best under climatic conditions outside its natural habitat. The more regular rainfall
and sunshine and better soil conditions in Malaysia in contrast to the markedly dry
season, lack of sunshine during the rainy season and poor soil conditions in West
Africa. has permitted the cultivation in Malaysia of D x P varieties yielding as much
as 2 tons of palm oil per acre (- 5 t/ha).

C. Nigeria
In contrast to the estate organization and factory processing of the oil palm industry
in Malaysia, over 90:/i of the total production in Nigeria is based on semi-wild groves,
the fruit being harvested by peasants and processed mainly on a small scale. These
groves are particularly dense in the south-eastern areas. It has been estimated that
the total palm oil production prior to the Civil War of 1967 was just over half a
million tons (508 x lo3 t) per year.
In 1967, the level dropped to about 320,000 tonnes (t), rising again in the following
years to 490,000 t in 1970. 41 However, with rising domestic consumption, exports have
dropped from a peak of 213,000 t in 1954 to only about 19.8 x lo3 t in 1971 and in
that year it was estimated that by 1980 domestic demand will exceed production on
the then existing plans for oil palm planting.

D. Z&e
In Zaire. the groves are to be found mainly in the south of the country. In some
areas, dense groves comparable to those in south-eastern Nigeria exist, but in general
the groves are less uniform and occur in long narrow belts or in patches alternating
with forests or derived Savannah. By the early 1920’s, the Belgians had decided that
plantations were likely to be more profitable than the exploitation of groves and that
renera fruit would be more valuable than Deli palms. By 1958, large plantations covered
147,000 ha (363,000 acres) and oil production on some estates reached 3 t/ha (over 1
ton per acre) and small plantations owned by Congolese covered 98,000 ha (242,000
acres) of which 57,000 ha were bearing. As in Nigeria, until the end of World War
II, the quality of palm oil in Zaire was rather poor and it served mainly for the produc-
tion of soap because of its very high FFA content. As the result of a research programme
initiated in 1952 by Congopalm, an association which included most of the palm oil
producers in Zaire, considerable improvements both in quality and yield were achieved
with the result that the oil is now used almost exclusively for edible purposes. A better
understanding of the biochemical and chemical phenomena taking place in the oil during
its harvesting and processing has led to the production on an industrial scale of palm
oil with low FFA content (l-2.59,;), good bleachability and keepability, and uni-
form plasticity, known as SPB or Special Prime Bleach palm oil. This standard of
quality has been set by palm oil producers in other parts of the world, particularly
in Malaysia.37

E. Indonesia
The earliest record of the introduction of the oil palm into Indonesia is of four
seedlings, two from Bourbon (Reunion) or Mauritius and two from Amsterdam which
were planted in the botanic gardens at Buitenzorg, (now Bogor) in Java in 1848. Seed-
lings from one or more of these palms were established on a plantation in the Deli
district of Sumatra around 1875 but it was not until 1911 that the first large commercial
plantations were planted in Sumatra with palms of Deli origin. Within 3 years, 2600 ha
26 J. A. Cornelius

(6500 acres) had been planted but further rapid development did not take place until
after World War I, there being 31,600 ha (78,123 acres) planted by 1925 and a peak
area of 109,000 ha (271,000 acres) in 1940. After World War II, with the economic
difficulties following independence, the Sumatran industry never fully recovered its place
in world trade. Yields of over a ton of oil per acre (2.5 t/ha) were achieved at the
pre-war peak but in post-war years up to 1966, yields seldom reached three-quarters
of a ton per acre (1.9 t/ha), and this has been partly attributed to incomplete harvesting,
processing difficulties and to the fact that it was not able to take advantage of the
change from Deli &a to tenera material which occurred in Malaysia and elsewhere.24
After having remained stationary between 1966 and 1969, palm oil production showed
a striking rise in 1970 and has continued to grow rapidly. This increase in output
is probably due to the coming into bearing of new plantings made since 1966 which
have resulted in substantially higher yields per acre. It is understood that further in-
creases in plantings are likely in the next few years, financed by the IBRD (International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development) and the Asian Development Bank, so that
by 1980 it is estimated that Indonesian palm oil production will be at least 350.000
tons (356,000 t) and could possibly be as much as 550,000 tons (559,000 t).”

F. luor.~ Coast
Before the 1960’s, the Ivory Coast had no real plantation industry although it is
climatically the most suitable of the smaller African countries. However, following suc-
cessful plantings by the Institut de Recherches pour les Huiles et Oleangineaux (IRHO)
in areas of forest and of derived savannah, a total of 4700 ha (11,600 acres) were planted
between 1962 and 1965 in five selected areas. Since then, larger areas have been planted,
mainly by the SociCtC de Etat pour le Development du Palmier a Huile (SODEPALM)
and by 1975 the total oil palm area will be approx. 100,000 ha (250,000 acres) and
the expansion is expected to result in the annual production of about 280,000 tons
(285,000 t) of palm oil and 75,000 tons (76,000 t) of palm kernel by 1980.3

G. Other Areas
In addition to the five major areas already described, the oil palm is indigenous
in many other areas of West and Central Africa with substantial commercial palm
oil production in Cameroun, Dahomey, Angola, and Togo. Although palm oil is pro-
duced for local use in many more African territories, including Sierra Leone, Liberia,
Guinea, Senegal, Portuguese Guinea, Ghana and Tanzania, some of which export their
kernels or their palm kernel oil, the industry in these latter countries is mostly dependent
upon semi-wild groves, with harvesting and small-scale processing by peasants.
In the Far East, palm oil production more than doubled in Sabah between 1970
and 1973. In the latter year, the production was over 7000 t. Sarawak started producing
palm oil in 1974, 8000 hectares (20,000 acres) having been planted by the end of the
previous year. Papua New Guinea had 4600 hectares (11,400 acres) planted with oil
palm in the Cape Hoskins area of New Britain in 1972, production having commenced
in the previous year. This development is based on a nucleus estate purchasing fruit
mostly from smallholders and early yields have been very promising with projections
of up to 27 t fresh fruit bunches per hectare (11 tons per acre) in the eleventh year
of planting. The oil palm is being established in other parts of the territory also. Limited
plantings have also taken place in Southern Thailand, the Khmer Republic, the Solomon
Islands, Southern India and Sri Lanka.
In South and Central America, oil palms are grown in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Ecuador, and Honduras. All these countries, in contrast to the main producing countries
in the Far East, are concerned with production for domestic use in order to relieve
their edible fat shortage rather than with production for export. Colombia, in 1971,
 Palm oil and palm kernel oil 27

produced 33,000 t of palm oil-by far the largest production to date in the Western
Hemisphere.’ ’

(Received 31 March, 197.5)

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