Palm Oil Process

5120 Words21 Pages
Quality Assurance Measures in Plantation and Milling: Availability of good- quality crude palm oil is a prerequisite for the production of good-quality refined palm oil products. The criteria for good-quality crude palm oil are: Low free fatty acid content Low in oxidation characteristics Good bleachability Low in trace metals and insoluble impurities Moisture content of about 0.15–0.20% High in deterioration of bleachability index (DOBI) In the palm oil industry, it is often said that ‘‘good quality is made in the field, not in the mill.’’ This statement clearly emphasizes the importance of maintaining good harvesting practices of fruit bunches in the plantation. A good harvesting practice is one that gives the best compromise between oil yield, oil quality, and harvesting cost. Field factors that determine quality of the palm oil include the degree of ripeness of the fruit bunches, the severity of bruising of the harvested crop, delays between harvesting and sterilization, and contamination of FFB by sand, dirt, or stones. Precautionary measures taken by mills to minimize hydrolysis, oxidation, and contamination of the crude palm oil are summarized below: FFB handling: minimize bruising and sterilize as soon as possible ( 24 hr) Sterilization: optimize conditions, avoid overheating, do not mix boiler condensate with crude palm oil Clarification: eliminate water and impurities; use hermetic system Drying: reduce moisture to 0.17–0.2% before storage Processing of Crude Palm Oil: The ultimate aim of the processing of crude palm oil is to obtain various products such as RBD palm oil, RBD palm olein, or RBD palm stearin that meet the requirement of the end users. An effective and efficient quality assurance program in a processing plant is essential and should consist of the following
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