Palm carotene was successfully concentrated from crude palm oil (CPO) by a batch adsorption process using a synthetic (polymer) adsorbent followed by solvent extraction.Carotene was concentrated to about 20,000 ppm, or about 33.3 times the original concentration in CPO. Carotene recovery varied from 16 to 74% depending on the process conditions. Adsorption times, isopropanol (IPA) extraction times, temperatures of adsorption and solvent extraction process, effect of agitation during IPA extraction process, and adsorbent lifespan were evaluated to determine their effects on the percentage of carotene extracted and carotene concentration. The minimum adsorption time required was 0.5 h. However, an adsorption time of 1.5 h gave a significantly higher carotene concentration than adsorption times of 0.5, 1.0, and 0.2 h. The IPA extraction time was determined based on the final carotene concentration desired. The suitable temperature for adsorption and solvent extraction process was 40°C. There was no significant difference in the percentage of carotene extracted and carotene concentration between the IPA extraction process with and without agitation.

Palm carotene was successfully concentrated from crude palm oil (CPO) by an adsorption process using a synthetic adsorbent followed by solvent extraction. Evaluation of feed CPO and CPO which underwent the carotene extraction process was conducted. The quality of CPO after the extraction process was slightly deteriorated in terms of free fatty acid, moisture content, impurities, peroxide value, anisidine value, discriminant function, and deterioration of bleachability index. However, the CPO still can be refined to produce refined, bleached, deodorized palm oil that meets the Palm Oil Refiners Association of Malaysia specifications. No extra cost was incurred by refining this CPO as the dosage of bleaching earth used was very similar to the refining of standard CPO. The triglyceride carbon number and fatty acid composition of CPO after going through the carotene extraction process were almost the same as CPO data. The major components of the carotene fraction were similar to CPO, which contains mainly α-and β-carotene. The carotene could be stored for at least 3 mon.Paper no. J9654 in JAOCS 78, 851-855 (August 2001).Crude palm oil (CPO) is the world's richest source of natural plant carotenoids in terms of retinol (pro-vitamin A) equivalent (1). It contains about 15 to 300 times more retinol equivalent than carrots, green leafy vegetables, and tomatoes, all of which are considered to have significant pro-vitamin A activity (2). Methods to recover carotenoid from palm oil include saponification (3,4), adsorption (5), selective solvent extraction (6), transesterification followed by distillation, and others (7-10). Only transesterification followed by distillation has been further developed into a commercial-scale process. However, in the latter process, CPO has to be converted to methyl esters, which are not edible. A process to separate carotene from CPO that did not require converting CPO to methyl esters was successfully developed (11-13); it was based on adsorption with a synthetic polymer adsorbent. The objectives of this study were to evaluate CPO quality after the carotene extraction process, to determine the triglyceride (TG) carbon number and fatty acid composition (FAC) of the CPO, and to determine the carotene composition and its stability during storage.

Fractionation which separates the olein (liquid) and stearin (solid) fractions of oil is used to modify the physicochemical properties of fats in order to extend its applications. Studies showed that the properties of fractionated end products can be affected by fractionation processing conditions. In the present study, dry fractionation of palm-based diacylglycerol (PDAG) was performed at different: cooling rates (0.05, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0°C/min), end-crystallisation temperatures (30, 35, 40, 45 and 50°C) and agitation speeds (30, 50, 70, 90 and 110 rpm) to determine the effect of these parameters on the properties and yield of the solid and liquid portions. To determine the physicochemical properties of olein and stearin fraction: Iodine value (IV), fatty acid composition (FAC), acylglycerol composition, slip melting point (SMP), solid fat content (SFC), thermal behaviour tests were carried out. Fractionation of PDAG fat changes the chemical composition of liquid and solid fractions. In terms of FAC, the major fatty acid in olein and stearin fractions were oleic (C18:1) and palmitic (C16:0) respectively. Acylglycerol composition showed that olein and stearin fractions is concentrated with TAG and DAG respectively. Crystallization temperature, cooling rate and agitation speed does not affect the IV, SFC, melting and cooling properties of the stearin fraction. The stearin fraction was only affected by cooling rate which changes its SMP. On the other hand, olein fraction was affected by crystallization temperature and cooling rate but not agitation speed which caused changes in IV, SMP, SFC, melting and crystallization behavior. Increase in both the crystallization temperature and cooling rate caused a reduction of IV, increment of the SFC, SMP, melting and crystallization behaviour of olein fraction and vice versa. The fractionated stearin part melted above 65°C while the olein melted at 40°C. SMP in olein fraction also reduced to a range of 26 to 44°C while SMP of stearin fractions increased to (60–62°C) compared to PDAG.

Palm carotene was successfully concentrated from crude palm oil (CPO) by an adsorption process using synthetic adsorbents followed by solvent extraction. This process was a modified process for separation of palm carotene from CPO by adsorption chromatography with a synthetic polymer adsorbent.Carotene was concentrated to about 15,000 ppm, which is about 25 times the original concentration in CPO. Carotene recovery varied from 30 to 62% depending on the process conditions. Different types of adsorbents, combinations of adsorbents, and adsorbent/CPO ratios were evaluated to determine the effect on the percentage of carotene extracted. Commercial synthetic adsorbents HP 20 (styrene-divinyl copolymer); synthetic aromatic porous resin SP 850, SP 825; and synthetic adsorbents Relite Exa 32 and Relite Exa 50 were capable of adsorbing substantial amounts of carotene from CPO. Combinations of adsorbents types HP 20 and SP 850 slightly increased the percentage of carotene extracted. An adsorbent/CPO ratio of 4 was most suitable for this process for optimal recovery and concentration of carotene.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of palm olein (PO) addition on the quality characteristics of sunflower oil (SFO) during frying of potato pieces. The blends were prepared in the volume ratios of 20:80 (PO:SFO, PSF1) and 40:60 (PO:SFO, PSF2). Refractive index, free fatty acid content, peroxide value, p-anisidine value, TOTOX, viscosity, specific extinction, polar compounds, food oil sensor value, colour, and polymer content of the oils all increased, whereas iodine value and C 18:2 /C 16:0 ratio decreased as frying progressed. The percentage of linoleic and linolenic acids tended to decrease, whereas the percentages of palmitic and oleic acids increased. Based on the most oxidative stability criteria investigated, PO addition led to a slower deterioration of SFO at frying temperature. Blend PSF2 showed better frying performance compared to PSF1. However, higher amounts of free fatty acids and higher colour units were both detected in the blends compared to pure SFO at the end of frying. It appears that proper blending of highly unsaturated SFO with PO can result in oil blends that could meet nutritional needs with improved stability for domestic cooking and deep-frying.