PALM OIL

FRACTIONATION
FRACTIONATION
• physical method
• crystallization of triglycerides
• separate a mixture into a low melting
liquid (more unsaturated fatty acid)
fraction and a high melting liquid (more
saturated fatty acid) fraction
• due different melting points and solubility
• Controlled cooling of oil inducing partial or
‘fractional’ crystallization
• Suitable for cooking oils or for
margarine/shortening production
 FRACTIONATION
• oldest fat modification process
• to provide new materials more useful than the natural product

• to remove any undesirable component eg. to produce liquid oils

that resist clouding at cool temperatures

• can provide two or more functional products from the same

original product eg. production of cocoa-butter equivalents
(CBE)

• palm oil - a mixture of high and low melting triglycerides

• ambient temperatures, higher melting triglycerides will

crystallize into a solid fraction called stearin, while the lower
melting triglycerides will remain in a liquid form called olein
 FRACTIONATION
• a two-step process: crystallization followed by separation

• palm olein (high in oleic acid) is the premium product & palm
stearin is the discount product, reverse is true for palm kernel oil
fractionated products
 TWO-STAGES FRACTIONATION

Source: Mohd MohdMuslimin Muslimin HashimHashim

TWO-STAGES FRACTIONATION
THREE- STAGES FRACTIONATION
 FRACTIONATION
• crystallization process of fats can be divided into three basic steps:

1. super cooling of the melt

2. formation of crystal nuclei and

3. crystal growth

Source: Dr. Véronique Gibon

• crystal shape and size distribution are determined by the way the melted oil is cooled and
agitated
• good separation, stearin crystal should be firm & uniformly spherical
 FRACTIONATION
• oil is heated to a temp. above its final melting point to fully destroy the crystals in it

• oil is then cooled in a controlled manner to the separation temperature

• during cooling, supercooling occurs, resulting in more saturated fraction solidifies

• after stabilization, crystal & oil phases are separated by filtration or centrifugation

• filtration has a major influence on the quality of the stearin produced

• crystallization of palm oil is closely associated with its chemical and physical properties

• altering the cooling profile during fractionation process, various types of palm mid-fractions,
with varying properties, can be produced
 FRACTIONATION
• different separation equipments available :

Source: John Harris

Vacuum belt filter
Source: Marc Kellens

Source: John Harris

FRACTIONATION

Source: Jan De Kock, Wim De Greyt & Marc Kellens

 FRACTIONATION
• 3 processes for fat fractionation:

1. Dry fractionation

2. Detergent fractionation

3. Solvent fractionation

• choice governed by considerations of quality (value of the secondary product) & cost (direct
processing cost)

• produce palm olein in high yield with low cloud point and high IV, palm stearins with high
melting point and low IV & palm mid-fractions (PMF) with sharp-melting properties
 FRACTIONATION

Source: Marc Kellens

 DRY FRACTIONATION
• simplest method for separating stearin from
olein.
• purely physical process
• batch process, semi-continuous or continuous.
• cheap (most economical) and green technology
(no chemicals involved, no effluent, no solvent,
no losses).
• multistep operations & large range of fractions.
• limitations - intersolubility make separation
difficult as co-crystal are formed
 DRY FRACTIONATION
• oil kept homogenized at 70oC before crystallization – to destroy any crystal & to induce
crystallization in a controlled manner

• crystals formation & growth occur as oil is agitated and cooled

• at 22oC, cooling is stopped
• oil (thick semi-solid – slurry) contains stearin crystals in liquid olein
• slurry is then fed continuously to a filter

• yield: 65-68% olein, 15-35% soft stearin using vacuum suction filter

• 75-78% olein, 22-25% harder stearin using membrane filter press

Palm stearin
 DRY FRACTIONATION

Source: Marc Kellens

DRY FRACTIONATION (ALFA LAVAL)
 DRY FRACTIONATION
• 3-stages gives rise to soft fractions (oleins, superoleins & topoleins) & to harder fraction
(stearins and mid-fraction).
•production of superolein with high IV/low cloud point.