Food

Chemistry
Food Chemistry 86 (2004) 245250
www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem

Crystallization properties of palm oil by dry fractionation

O. Zaliha a, C.L. Chong
a

a,*

, C.S. Cheow b, A.R. Norizzah b, M.J. Kellens

Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), No. 6 Persiaran Instituti, Bandar Baru Bangi, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
b
Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
c
Extraction De Smet Engineering, Prins Boudewijlaan 265-B-2650 Edegem,Belgium
Received 25 April 2003; received in revised form 1 September 2003; accepted 1 September 2003

Abstract
The crystallization, thermal, physical, chemical and morphological properties of palm oil were investigated using dierential
scanning calorimetry, polarized microscopy, pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gas chromatography (GC). The palm
oil was fractionated into various stearin and olein (with iodine values IV > 63) fractions by means of a dry fractionation process.
During the cooling sequence, samples were taken at regular intervals from the crystallizer and analyzed for their iodine values,
chemical compositions and physical behaviour. The physical properties of olein and stearin fractions, such as cloud point, slip
melting point and solid fat content, were dependent on the crystallization temperatures. The iodine values of the olein and stearin
fractions increased as the crystallization temperature decreased and both fractions started to cloud at lower temperatures. The
palmitic acid content of stearin and olein fractions was also aected by the crystallization temperatures.
2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Palm oil; Stearin fractions; Olein fractions; Crystallization and fractionation

1. Introduction
Palm oil contains a mixture of high and low melting
triglycerides. At ambient temperatures, higher melting
triglycerides will crystallize into a solid fraction called
stearin, while the lower melting triglycerides will remain
in a liquid form called olein. By a simple dry fractionation process under various controlled conditions, palm
oil can be resolved into a liquid and various grades of
palm stearin.
The dry fractionation process is based on dierences
in melting points of the component triglycerides and
partial glycerides (Ng, 1989; Siew & Ng, 1995; Siew &
Ng, 1996) and is a thermomechanical separation process
where the high and low melting triglycerides are separated by partial crystallization, followed by ltration
(Kellens, 1993).
The crystallization process of fats can be divided into
three basic steps: super cooling of the melt, formation of
*

Corresponding author. Tel.: +603-89259155x2432; fax: +60389221742.

E-mail address: chong@mpob.gov.my (C.L. Chong).
0308-8146/$ - see front matter 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2003.09.032

crystal nuclei and crystal growth. The crystal shape and

size distribution are determined by the way the melted
oil is cooled and agitated (Taylor, 1976; Russell, 1986,
Chap. 10).
In this work, palm oil was fractionated by a single
stage fractionation process to obtain an olein fraction
with IV > 63 and palm mid-fractions of various IV
values at dierent crystallization temperatures. The
physical and chemical properties of the olein and stearin
fractions were then analyzed.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Materials
Commercial rened, bleached and deodorized palm
oil (RBD palm oil), of iodine value (IV) 52.0, was
purchased from Lam Soon Oils and Fats, Petaling
Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia and used as such without
further treatment to simulate actual plant fractionation conditions. All other materials were of analytical
grade.

246

O. Zaliha et al. / Food Chemistry 86 (2004) 245250

2.2. Fractional crystallization

The oil was melted and kept homogenized at 70 C to
destroy all crystal memory. The melted oil was charged
into a 5 kg water-jacketed crystallizer, then agitated with
stirring rate of 25 rpm, and cooled in a controlled
manner by circulating chilled water to the crystallizer for
120 min for each crystallization temperature. The crystallization temperatures of 18, 15, 11 and 9 C were
investigated. The olein and stearin fractions were abbreviated as Ol and St, respectively. During the cooling
process, supercooling of the oil occurred, resulting in
nucleation and crystal growth.
After stabilization, the crystal and oil phases appeared as thick semi-solid slurries. The slurry was then
separated into olein and stearin by a vacuum ltration.
During the cooling sequence, samples were taken at
regular intervals from the crystallizer for their chemical
composition and physical behaviour analyses.
2.3. Analytical methods
2.3.1. Cloud point (CP)
Cloud point is a test to determine the temperature at
which the oil begins to cloud, resulting from crystallization under controlled cooling. The AOCS ocial
method Cc6-25 (AOCS, 1990) was used to as certain the
cloud point. Triplicate measurements were carried out
for each sample.
2.3.2. Iodine value by Wijs method (IV)
The iodine value was determined according to the
AOCS ocial method Cd-25 (1990). The observation
was based on the three measurements.
2.3.3. Fatty acid composition (FAC)
Fatty acid compositions were determined as fatty
acid methyl esters (FAME) according to PORIMs test
method (PORIM, 1995). Analysis was conducted using
a SGE, PBX 70 fused silica capillary column (60 m

0.25 mm i.d.) with a split ratio of 1:00 ow rate of
0.85 ml N2 /min, and oven temperature was set isothermally at 230 C on a HewlettPackard 5890 gas
chromatography.
2.3.4. Determination of solid fat content (% SFC)
The solid fat content of oil was measured using
pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry (Bruker minispec P20:20 Mhz, Karlsruhe, Germany). The PORIM parallel test method was used. Solid
fat content of the sample before (slurry), and after ltration (olein and stearin) fractions were measured at
each separation temperature. The sample in the NMR
tube was rst melted at 70 C for 30 min, followed
by chilling at 0 C for 90 min prior to measurement

(PORIM, 1995). Melting, chilling and holding of samples were carried out in pre-equilibrated thermostatted
water bath. The values of % SFC were based on three
measurements.
2.3.5. Thermal behaviour by dierential scanning calorimetry
The thermal properties of the samples were measured
using a dierential scanning calorimeter Model DSC-7
(PerkinElmer, Norwalk, Connecticut, USA). The instrument was attached to a data processing unit (PerkinElmer Thermal Data Station). The instrument was
calibrated by using indium for the higher temperature
range and n-decane for sub-ambient temperatures. The
sample was hermetically sealed in aluminium sample
pan. The sample weight used was from 3 to 5 mg with an
empty aluminium sample pan acting as the reference.
The sample was heated up to 70 C and held at this
temperature for 10 min to ensure that the fat was totally
melted and all the nuclei was destroyed. The sample was
then cooled to )40 C at a cooling rate of 5 C/min. The
cooling thermogram was recorded. The sample was then
held at )40 C for 10 min before being heated to 70 C
at a heating rate of 5 C/min. The melting thermogram
was also recorded.
2.3.6. Crystal morphology
Crystal morphology was observed using a polarised
light microscope (Olympus) equipped with a temperature-controlled stage. The crystals, at each crystallization
temperature, were photomicrographed at magnication
of 200 times.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Cloud point and iodine value
The cloud point is related to the unsaturation of the
samples; the more unsaturated the samples, the lower
will be the cloud point. Fig. 1(a) shows that, after RBD
palm oil, with an iodine value of 52 and a cloud point of
21.4 C, was fractionated at 9 C, the IV of the olein
obtained (Ol9 C) was 63.1 with a cloud point of 1.6 C
and the oil was in liquid form at room temperature. The
lower the crystallization temperatures, the higher the
iodine value of the olein and stearin fractions, as shown
in Figs. 1(a) and (b). Similarly, Figs. 2(a) and (b) shows
that, lower the crystallization temperatures, the lower
are the cloud points of the fractions.
A clear correlation between IV and CP of the fractions at dierent crystallization temperatures, is also
shown in Figs. 3(a) and (b). The olein fractions with
high IV had low cloud points, while the low IV fractions
had high CP.

O. Zaliha et al. / Food Chemistry 86 (2004) 245250

64
63
Cloud point C

IV value

62
61
60

y = -0.5934x + 68.193
2
R = 0.9714

59
58
57
5

11

13

15

17

19

5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

y = -0.5423x + 35.712
R2 = 0.9765

57

Temperature C
45
44
43
42
41
40
39
38
37

58

59

(a)

60

61

62

63

64

iodine value
35
30

Cloud point C

IV value

(a)

247

y = -0.793x + 51.668
2
R = 0.8969
5

11

13

15

17

25
20
15

y = -0.8369x + 62.882
R2 = 0.9776

10

19

(b)

Fig. 1. (a) Iodine values (IV) of olein fractions at dierent crystallization temperatures. (b) Iodine values (IV) of stearin fractions at different crystallization temperatures.

36

38

40

42

44

46

(b)
Fig. 3. (a) Iodine values (IV) and cloud points (CP) of olein fractions.
(b) Iodine values (IV) and cloud points (CP) of stearin fractions.

3.2. Fatty acid composition

4.5

Cloud point C

4
3.5
3
2.5
2

y = 0.3283x - 1.3533
R2 = 0.9871

1.5
1
0.5
0
5

(a)

11

13

15

17

19

Temperature C

Cloud point C

35
30
25
20
15

y = 0.6824x + 19.393
R2 = 0.9267

10

During either double or single-step fractionation, the

chemical compositions of the liquid and solid phases
change. As crystallization proceeds, the more saturated
triglycerides are gradually concentrated in the solid
phase (stearin), leaving behind a more unsaturated liquid phase (olein). Table 1 shows the fatty acid compositions of the stearin and olein fractions. Originally,
the RBD palm oil contains 44.2% of the saturated acid
C16:0 and 40.4% of the unsaturated acid C18:1.
As the crystallization temperature is reduced to 9 C,
the olein fractions show a decrease of C16:0, from 44.2%
to 34.4%, and an increase in C18:1, from 40.4% to
46.1%. The stearin fractions show a decrease of C16:0,
from 51.0% to 48.9% and an increase of C18:0, from
30.8% to 36.0%. This shows that the olein fractions have
become less saturated with reductions of C16:0 and
C18:0 contents.
3.3. Solid fat content (% SFC)

5
5

(b)

11

13

15

17

19

Temperature C

Fig. 2. (a) Cloud points (CP) of olein fractions at dierent crystallization temperatures. (b) Cloud points (CP) of stearin fractions at
dierent crystallization temperatures.

The % SFC of each fraction was measured as a

function of temperature. Fig. 4(a) show the solid fat
content of RBD palm oil and stearin fractions obtained
at various temperatures. The SFCs of stearin fractions
are all higher than the SFC of RBD palm oil and are

248

O. Zaliha et al. / Food Chemistry 86 (2004) 245250

Table 1
Fatty acid composition of RBD palm oil, and olein and stearin fractions at dierent crystallization temperatures
Sample

Fatty acid composition (%)

RBDPO
St18 (C)
St15 (C)
St13 (C)
St11 (C)
St9 (C)
Ol18 (C)
Ol15 (C)
Ol13 (C)
Ol11 (C)
Ol9 (C)

12:0

14:0

16:0

16:1

18:0

18:1

18:2

18:3

20:0

0.3
0.5
0.2
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.4

1.1
1.4
1.2
1.3
1.1
1.1
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.1
1.1

44.2
51.0
54.3
54.4
50.0
48.9
37.9
37.0
36.5
34.4
34.4

0.1
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1

4.0
30.8
32.0
32.3
35.3
36.0
3.7
3.6
3.4
3.3
3.2

40.4
3.7
4.5
3.7
4.5
4.6
44.0
44.5
45.4
45.3
46.1

9.8
7.4
7.6
7.5
7.9
8.2
11.1
11.4
12.3
12.2
12.9

0.3
0.3
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.4
0.3
0.4
0.3
0.1
0.7

4.7
6.5

7.5
0.4
0.7
0.7
0.4
1.0
0.3

All the readings were based on means of three measurements (RBDPO, rened bleached and deodorized palm oil; St, stearin fraction; Ol, olein
fraction).

melted at temperatures above 45 C. This is due to the

fact that the stearin fractions contain higher amounts of
saturated fat with higher melting points and are crystallized out at higher temperatures during the fractionation process

60
SFC (%)

50

3.4. Thermal behaviour by dierential scanning calorimetry (DSC)

40
30
20
10
0
5

10

15

20

25

30

35

(a)

40

45

Temperature C
RBDPO
Ol13C

Ol18C
Ol11C

Ol15C

90
80
70
60
SFC (%)

Figs. 4(a) and (b), show the solid fat contents of RBD
palm oil, stearin and olein fractions at various temperatures. The olein fraction curves show lower solid fat
contents at lower temperatures, and are completely
melted below body temperature whereas, the solid fat of
RBD palm oil still retains 22.2% solid fat. As the crystallization proceeds, the solid fat of the olein fraction
(Ol9 C) is reduced to 8.3% at 0 C only.

50
40
30
20
10
0
5

10

15

20

25

30

35

(b)

40

45

50

Temperature C
RBDPO
St13C

St18C
St9C

St15C

Fig. 4. (a) Solid fat content (% SFC) of RBD palm oil and olein
fractions. (RBDPO, rened bleached and deodorized palm oil; Ol,
olein fraction). (b) Solid fat content (% SFC) of RBD palm oil and
stearin fractions. (RBDPO, rened, bleached and deodorized palm oil;
St, stearin fraction).

3.4.1. Cooling thermograms

The cooling thermograms of RBD palm oil, stearin
and olein fractions are shown in Fig. 5. The thermogram of RBD palm oil shows two exothermic peaks.
Exothermic peaks, at 28.5 C, represent the high melting TAGs while the 12.4 C, with shoulders, at 5.9 and
)16.5 C represents the lower melting TAGs. As the
crystallization temperature was lowered down to 9 C,
the olein fraction showed a single crystallization peak at
)4.9 C with two small shoulders at )9.8 and )30.9 C.
At the same time, DHc (heat of crystallization) of RBD
palm olein is reduced to 47.06 J/g for the 9 C olein
fraction as compared to a value of 69.2 J/g for RBD
palm oil.
Fig. 6 shows the cooling thermograms of soft and
hard stearins. The harder stearin at 18 C (St18 C)
started to crystallize at 29.9 C with a sharp peak at 25.9
C, followed by a broader peak with shoulders at 1.3
and )8.5 C, respectively. The softer stearin at 9 C (St9
C) started to crystallize at a lower temperature of
19.2 C with a sharp peak at 11.4 C and a broader peak
at )2.0 C with a shoulder at )7.6 C. The DHc values
for stearin fractions were observed to be higher than
that of RBD palm oil. The results show that the stearin
fractions have occluded a fair amount of olein within the
crystal matrix during the fractionation process, as indi-

O. Zaliha et al. / Food Chemistry 86 (2004) 245250

Fig. 5. (a) DSC cooling thermograms of RBD palm oil and olein
fractions (abbreviations as indicated in Fig. 4(a)). (b) DSC melting
thermograms of RBD palm oil and olein fractions (abbreviation as
indicated in Fig. 4a).

cated by the two exothermic peaks shown in Fig. 6. The

low and high temperature peaks represent olein and
stearin, respectively.
3.4.2. Melting thermograms
The melting thermograms of RBD palm oil
(Fig. 5(a)) show more endothermic peaks and shoulders,
and an exothermic peak at 27.5 C due to the polymorphic changes during the melting process. The olein
fractions show fewer endothermic peaks and are totally
melted at lower temperatures compared to RBD palm
oil. Heats of fusion DHf are also reduced from 74.93 J/g
for RBD palm oil to 65.41 J/g for the olein Ol9 C.
Fig. 6(a) shows the more complicated melting thermograms of stearin fractions, with an extra peak, at a

249

Fig. 6. (a) DSC cooling thermograms of RBD palm oil and stearin
fractions (abbreviations as indicated in Fig. 4(b)). (b) DSC melting
thermograms of RBD palm oil and stearin fractions (Abbreviation as
indicated in Fig. 4(b)).

higher temperature, observed at 51.9, 50.8 and 46.3 C

for the St18, St15 and St 9 C samples, respectively. This
extra peak could be due to the presence of polysaturated
TAGs (SSS) in the stearin fractions and higher DHf is
required for its complete melting.
3.5. Crystal morphological observation
Fig. 7 shows the photomicrographs of crystals of
RBD palm oil during the cooling process. At the crystallization temperature of 18 C, small crystals were
observed to appear in the liquid oil, as shown in photograph A. At 15 C, the crystals started to agglomerate
to form large crystals (photograph B) and, at 9 C, the

250

O. Zaliha et al. / Food Chemistry 86 (2004) 245250

its physical and chemical characteristics, the oil can be

separated into a liquid and solid fractions. The production of an olein with IV of more than 63 with good
cold stability, i.e., low cloud point would require a
proper cooling prole and good separation (ltration).
For good separation, the crystals formed must be rm,
sandy and uniformly spherical in size. By altering the
cooling prole during fractionation process, various
types of palm mid-fractions, with varying properties,
can be produced.
With a proper understanding of the crystallization
process occurring in palm oil, the fractionation process
conditions can be optimally controlled to produce required special fractions for specic applications.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Director General
of MPOB and De Smet Engineering Belgium for permission to present this paper. Especial thanks are due to
Prof. Reynears of K.U. Leuven, Belgium and all De
Smet laboratory sta, especially Peggy Dijckmans and
Cik Zukarinah from MPOB for their kind cooperation.

References

Fig. 7. Photomicrographs of RBD palm oil slurry at dierent crystallization temperatures during fractionation process at 200 magnication. (A) Crystals at 18 C. (B) Crystals at 15 C. (C) Crystals at
9 C.

crystals became more rounded and spherical as shown in

photograph C. The round and spherical-shaped crystals
may help to reduce the liquid fraction (olein) from being
trapped between crystals during ltration.

4. Conclusion
The crystallization of palm oil is closely associated
with its chemical and physical properties. By exploiting

AOCS, 1990. Ocial and tentative methods of American Oil Chemists

Society (15th ed.). Champaign: American Oil Chemists Society
Press.
Kellens, M. J. (1993). New developments in the fractionation of palm
oil. In Proceedings of the PORIM international palm oil congress
(pp. 128140).
Ng, W. L. (1989). Nucleation from palm oil melt. In Proceeding of the
PORIM international palm oil development conference (pp. 6064),
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
PORIM (1995). Determination of fatty acid methyl esters by gas
liquid chromatography. In PORIM Test Methods (pp. 92101),
Ministry of Primary Industries Malaysia.
PORIM (1995). Determination of solid fat content by nuclear
magnetic resonance. In PORIM Test Methods (pp. 127131).
Ministry of Primary Industries Malaysia.
Russell, D. M. (1986). Glycerides in handbook of lipid research. In D.
J. Hanahan (Ed.), The physical chemistry of lipids (Vol. 4). New
York: Plenum Press.
Siew, W. L, & Ng, W. L. (1995). Diglycerides content and composition
as indicators of palm oil quality. Journal of the Science of Food and
Agriculture, 69, 7379.
Siew, W. L, & Ng, W. L. (1996). Eect of diglycerides on the
crystallization of palm oleins. Journal of the Science and Agriculture, 71, 496500.
Taylor, A. M. (1976). The crystallization and dry fractionation of
Malaysian palm oil. Oleagineux, 3, 7379.