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The objective of the current study was to separate saturated fatty acids (SFAs) from high free fatty acid crude palm oil fatty acid mixture using the methanol crystallisation method. The development of methanol crystallisation method procedure was based on various parameters. The fatty acid composition was determined by using gas chromatography-flame ionisation detector (GC-FID) as Fatty Acid Methyl Esters. The highest percentage of SFAs was more than 89% with the percentage yield of 48.9% under the optimal conditions of the fatty acids-to-methanol ratio of 1:15 (w/v), the crystallisation temperature of −15 °C, and the crystallisation time of 24 hours, respectively. After a double crystallisation, the composition of separated SFAs contains 90% of palmitic acid (C16:0) as a major component and 5.8% of stearic acid (C18:0), respectively. Moreover, almost 4.2% of oleic acid (C18:1) was observed in the saturated solid product. Based on the results, the use of methanol as a crystallisation solvent is recommended because of its high efficiency, low cost, stability, obtainability, and comparative ease of recovery.

The physicochemical properties of different grades of Malaysian crude palm oil (high free fatty acid crude palm oil (HFFA-CPO) and low free fatty acid crude palm oil (LFFA-CPO)) were analyzed in this study to determine their applicability as edible oils. The percentages of free fatty acids (FFAs%), iodine value, hydroxyl value, unsaponifiable value, moisture content for HFFA-CPO and LFFA-CPO were 8.7 ± 0.3 and 3.8 ± 0.1%; 53.1 ± 0.4 and 56 ± 0.3 g I2/100 g; 32.5 ± 0.6 and 18.5 ± 0.9 mg KOH/g oil; 0.31 ± 0.01 and 0.46 ± 0.02%; 0.31 ± 0.01 and 0.33 ± 0.01%, respectively. The fatty acid compositions were determined using a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The results showed that the dominant fatty acids are palmitic acid (43.2%–44.4%) and oleic acid (39.8%–41.4%). The major triacylglycerols (TAGs) of HFFA-CPO and LFFA-CPO estimated using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), were POP (30.8%–33.6%) and POO (24.9%–29.7%). In general, the physicochemical properties of HFFA-CPO and LFFA-CPO are consistent with the standard Malaysian crude palm oil, with the exception of FFAs%, hydroxyl value, moisture contents.

In this study, the electrochemical oxidation of C. I. Reactive Orange 4 (RO4) on a silver-carbon composite (AgC-PVC) electrode was studied using the cyclic voltammetry, potential liner V, and electrolysis methods. The AgC-PVC electrode was used as the working electrode in the electrochemical measurement of RO4 in the presence of NaCl as a supporting electrolyte. The UV-Vis spectra of RO4 after the electrochemical oxidation showed the complete decolorization of the solution. The electrolysis products were characterized using FTIR and GC-MS. The results showed that in the presence of OCl- as an active oxidant, RO4 molecules are broken down into several lower-molecular-weight molecules by the electrochemical technique. The electrode used was also able to reduce the COD, BOD5 and surfactant contents in the textile effluents using a pilot scale reactor. This proved that the prepared AgC-PVC electrode was beneficial for removing both the color and other pollutants from textile effluents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]