Chemical and physical characteristics of palm, palm kernel and groundnut oils as affected by degumming

Three reagents (NaOH, Na2CO3 and H3PO4) were evaluated for their effectiveness in degumming three crude vegetable oils [palm oil (PO), palm kernel oil (PKO) and groundnut oil (GNO)]. All chemical reagents were prepared at strengths of 0.5, 1, 2 and 5% (wv) and used in turn for degumming. Degumming effected a remarkable improvement in quality characteristics of the oil samples. Free fatty acids (FFA) were within standard specifications, (0.003–0.04%) and the peroxide values (PV) were very low, (0–1.0 meq/kg). The greatest yield-after-filtration (YAF), 88%, was obtained from 5% NaOH-degummed PKO. Sodium hydroxide was found to be the best degumming reagent from the standpoint of oil samples with least FFA, PV, dynamic viscosity (DV) and greatest YAF. In terms of % colour reduction (CR), H3PO4 was most effective in PKO only. Statistical analyses of the three-factor (oil type, degummer type and degummer strength) interactions (P = 0.05) indicated that the parameters can be graded in order of significance thus: Smoke point > DV > PV > FFA > CR > YAF.