Abstract:
Palm oil (Elaeis Guineensis) is originated from Africa and first planted in
Malaysia as an ornament plant. Today palm oil have been the most cultivated plant in
Malaysia and have become the most favourable crop, due to the capabilities to
produce two type of oils which are palm oil and kernel oil. Both can be extracted from
the fibrous mesocarp and kernel nut. The production of crude palm oil (CPO)
involved series of steps from the collection of fresh fruit bunch (FFB), sterilization,
stripping fruitlets from fruit bunches, extraction of oils, purification and clarification
and crude palm oil (CPO) as product. The crude palm oil (CPO) then undergoes refine
process such as physical refining to be processed as edible or non-edible product for
commercialization. Often production of crude palm oil (CPO) involve producing
waste such empty fruit bunches (EFB). In this study, the empty fruit bunch is being
converted as a adsorbent for the bleaching stage in the refine bleached deodorization
of crude palm oil (CPO). The conversion of empty fruit bunches into adsorbents are
being done by carbonization at temperatures 300C, 500C and 800C. Then the
carbonized empty fruit bunch is being activated with phosphoric acid. The produced
activated carbon is being compared with bleaching clay (earth) in term of capabilities
to remove free fatty acid (FFA), carotene content, moisture content and secondary
oxidation product through the experimental degummed and bleaching stage along
with deodorization stage. The result of this study shown that the activated carbon of
empty fruit bunch exhibit superior capabilities removal of free fatty acid (FFA) and
moisture content in oil but lacking in the removal carotenoid and secondary oxidation
product when compared with bleaching clay (earth)
