Recovery and enrichment of squalene from palm fatty acid distillate using a pilot-scale multistage separation process

• Pilot-scale squalene extraction from PFAD achieved 90.95% recovery. • Serial extractions increased squalene concentration by approximately 60-fold. • High-purity squalene (up to 98%) was recovered, matching the squalene standard. • Valorization of PFAD supports biomass circularity and SDG contribution. Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD), a by-product of palm oil refining, contains valuable bioactive components. Upon extraction of vitamin E from the PFAD, the remaining liquid residue contained approximately 20,000 ppm squalene. The residue is usually discarded as scheduled waste and incurs disposal costs to the industries. The study explored the feasibility of the squalene extraction from the by-product of PFAD processing on a pilot plant scale through the integration of molecular distillation, followed by adsorption chromatography and polishing using activated carbon. Distillation temperatures between 120°C and 140°C were optimal for squalene-rich fraction production, increasing the squalene content by 18-fold. Selective desorption from the silica-packed column using 100% n-hexane at 0.1 L/min could produce squalene with 98% purity (max). The yield from the pilot-scale extraction was 16.80 kg/tone liquid residue with 90.95% recovery and an overall enrichment of nearly 60-fold. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analyses confirmed the existence of squalene functional group and structural assignment, respectively. The novelty of this study is the first demonstration of a scalable, integrated process for high-purity squalene recovery from a secondary by-product. The recovery of valuable phytonutrients from the by-product will promote a circular economy to the industries.