DRY HEATING OF PALM FRUITS: EFFECT ON SELECTED PARAMETERS

This study reports on the effects of dry heating of oil palm fruits for the purpose of sterilization and solvent extraction with various oil parameters. Steam sterilization of oil palm fresh fruit bunches was required as a pre-treatment to deactivate enzymes that give rise to Free Fatty Acids (FFA) before the oil could be extracted. While the use of high-pressure steam was effective, large amount of water used ends up as palm oil mill effluent, which requires appropriate treatment. Dry heating of oil palm fruits was carried out in an oven for 1-4 and 5 min time duration. The heated fruits were extracted for its oil by solvent means. Oil yield, Deterioration Of Bleachability Index (DOBI), oxidative stability and FFA content were investigated. The FFA content in the oil extracted from dry heated oil palm fruits ranged from 1.02-2.19%, DOBI from 4.19-6.72 and oxidative stability from 14.3-19.1 h. Dry heated oil palm fruits yield crude oil with comparable quality to that of commercial crude palm oil, which is steam sterilized.