Influence of empty fruit bunch oil on crude palm oil quality and refining characteristics

This study examined the composition of oil extracted from empty fruit bunches (EFB) and its effects on the refining, fractionation, and occurrence of process-developed contaminants in palm oil. The oil, referred to as empty fruit bunch oil (EFBO), was extracted from EFB liquor, which consisted of 85 % water, 10 % sludge, and 5 % oil. The EFBO was then blended with crude palm oil (CPO) at varying concentrations (0.1 %, 0.5 %, 1.0 %, 2.5 %, 5.0 %, and 10 %) and subjected to physical refining and dry fractionation. Quality analyses revealed that increasing EFBO concentrations led to higher free fatty acid (FFA) levels above 0.4 % and more intense colour above 2.4R in the refined oils. The EFBO also contributed to the formation of process-developed contaminants, particularly 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol esters (3-MCPDE), from 1.14 mg kg−1 in control oil to 2.72 mg kg−1 in refined oil with 10 % EFBO added, while the formation of glycidyl esters (GE) was less influenced by the addition of EFBO. During dry fractionation, both 3-MCPDE and GE were found to be more concentrated in the liquid olein fraction than in the solid stearin fraction, governed by inherent physicochemical properties rather than the blended oil composition. The study concluded that blending EFBO with CPO could degrade the quality and safety of CPO, mainly due to the increased formation of undesirable contaminants such as 3-MCPDE.