Comparative study on the effect of different bleaching methods on the physicochemical properties of palm oil

The present work is a comparative study of the effect of two different bleaching methods on the physicochemical properties of palm oil. The palm oil sample was bleached separately using activated carbon and heating temperature at 2100C. Physicochemical analysis was carried on the samples using standard methods. The parameters analysed are; saponification value, acid value, iodine value, peroxide value, free fatty acid (FFA), moisture content, specific gravity, viscosity, %colour reduction and % FFA removal. The iodine value, moisture content, acid value, free fatty acid, specific gravity, and viscosity decreases as the oil is carbon-bleached to temperature-bleached. The saponification value increases as the oil is carbon-bleached to temperature-bleached. The free fatty acid was removed by 8% as the oil is carbon-bleached while the temperature-bleached removed the free fatty acid by 19%. This work was able to ascertain the effect of carbon-bleaching and temperature-bleaching methods on the physicochemical properties of palm oil.