INTRODUCTION TO CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

CHE121
FACULTY OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
UiTM SARAWAK

Oil palm tree

Palm oil obtained from fruits of oil
palm
Nursery
pollination proc
oil palm
8 height
plantations
(area wt plenty rainfall and good
drainage system)
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Structure of oil palm fruit

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Uses of palm oils and biomass in

food and manufacturing industries

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Extraction of crude palm oil

1.
-

Bunch reception
Bunches transported to mill by road
trucks or lorries or cages running on
specially built railway system
Fruits graded as unripe (10 loose
fruitlets), ripe (10 or > loose fruitlets),
overripe ( excessive loose fruits), rotten
(loose fruits detached)
Fruits carried to loading ramps once
grading report approved
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2.
-

Loading ramp
FFB unloaded into ramp hopper
then fruit cages pushed by
locomotive or skid loader to
sterilizer yard
Old fruits taken out for processing
to avoid accumulation of old fruits
that rot and creating high FFA
problem (< 5%)

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3.
-

Sterilization
Fruits charged into steriliser usg saturated
steam 40 psig
5 functions of sterilising:
a. prevention of further rise of FFA
b. facilitation of mechanical stripping
c. preparation of fruit pericarp
d. preconditioning of nuts to minimise kernel
breakage
e. coagulation of protein material & hydrolysis of
mucilaginous material
Inefficient sterilising causes:
a. fruits not loosened enough
b. pericarp is not softened enough
c. nuts cracking & broken kernels diff. to
separate later
d. poor oil recovery

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4.
-

Threshing/stripping
To separate sterilised fruits from bunch
stalks
Consist of 2 parts: thresher hopper &
drum
Thresher hopper: sterilised bunch can
slide freely down hopper
Drum: rotary cyclinder of small section
channel bars at equal intervals
Drum discharges 2 important items:
empty bunches fed to incinerator yielding
ash rich in potash (fertiliser) and
sterilised fruits fed to digester
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5.
-

Digestion
Sterilised fruits reheated and pericarp
loosened from nuts for pressing
Carried out in steam heated vessels wt
stirring arms digesters or kettles
~ 100oC, arms stir n rub fruit loosening
pericarp from nuts and breaking open oil
cells as many as possible
Digester converts stripped fruits into
homogenous mash

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6.
-

Oil extraction
By pressing usg screw press consist of
perforated cage runs in single or double
screw
Screw press made from tough & wear
resistant steel
Press cages from SS
Discharge fr screw press consists of
crude oil liquor & a matte of oily
fibre&nuts
Crude oil to vibrating screens to be
separated from solids for clarification
Fibre&nuts carried by steam jacketed
conveyor before splitting separate ways
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7.
-

Clarification & purification of CPO

Crude oil prod. by pressing contains water &
impurities
66% oil, 24% water and balance as non-oily
solids
Clarification: water & impurities removed to
give clear stable prodt of acceptable appearance
Water removed by gravity settling or
centrifuging
Crude oil diluted first wt hot water to reduce
viscosity, screened to remove coarse fibrous
material
Then heated to 90-95oC, pumped to continuous
settling tank
Retention in tank enable oil to rise to surface
and overflow into reception tank
Further purified by centrifuging reduces dirt to
0.01% or <
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Moisture still exist in oil removed by

evaporation in dehydrator with or without
vacuum
In practice, some moisture retain to avoid
oxidation in oil
Underflow from settling tank: sludge
containing some oil which can be
recovered by centrifuging
Rest of sludge sent to effluent treatment
plt.
Anaerobic digestion of POME produces
methane used to generate in-house
electricity
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8.
-

Nut & kernel station

Nuts & fibres separated in
depericarper station
Fibres act as fuel to boiler
Wet nuts elevated to nut bin (6077oC)
Dry nuts separated from shells usg
nut cracking machines
Shells as fuel for boiler
Kernels stored in silo
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Processing of Palm Oil and Palm Kernel Oil

Palm Oil and palm kernel oil - two different

oils or fats which can be extracted from the
fruit of the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis)
semi-solid at room temperature
fractionated into solid and liquid fractions
known as stearins and oleins respectively
processed through physical or chemical
refining to yield either refined, bleached and
deodorized (RBD) or neutralized, bleached
and deodorized (NBD) palm oil and palm
kernel oil
Combinations of these processes lead to
various types of palm oil and palm kernel oil
products (see figure 1)

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Refining of crude palm oil

Composition of palm oil: fatty acids namely
palmitic (45%), stearic, oleic, linoleic, free
fatty acids, mono & diglycerides and
impurities ( trace metals n oxidation prodts)
Objective of Purification or refining processes
to reduce contaminants that affect the
quality of end prodt n retain antioxidants of
the prodt
Two methods of refining: physical n chemical
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1.
-

2.
-

Degumming
Process to remove gums containing calcium n
magnesium that give oil inferior quality n shorter
shelf-life
Concentrated phosphoric acid 0.1% wt is
sufficient to remove phosphatides
Neutralisation
Oil is neutralised by NaOH resulting in soapstock
n separated usg centrifuge n washing with water
Any soap retained removed by adding citric or
phosphoric acid to final wash prior to oil drying
Losses occur normally attributed to the
followings:
a. FFA
b. mucillage, colouring matter n impurities
c. saponification of neutral oil
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3.
-

4.
-

Drying
Reduce moisture content <0.06% usg vacuum
dryer
Why?? Moisture cause FFA rise due to
autocatalytic hydrolysis
Bleaching n filteration
Purpose of bleaching:
a. to obtain the lightest colour possible
b. to remove traces of soaps present
c. to remove traces of nickel
Bleaching carried out usg adsorbent clay or
carbon in absence of O2 under steam, N2
blanket or vacuum
0.5 - 2% bleaching agent quantity
80 180 oC temperature
Once bleaching complete, oil pumped thru a
filter n recycle until filter cake formed, then
transferred to continuous deodoriser

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5.
-

6.
-

Deodorisation
Final stage of oil refining
To reduce oil to odourless n tasteless by
removing volatile odiferous n flavoured
substances (aldehydes, ketones n FFA)
Steam distillation under vacuum
Process x reduce trace metals or
phosphatide levels
Oil cooled to 55oC exiting deodoriser
Polishing
Oil pumped thru polishing filter giving
finished oil its final sparkle
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Physical refining
- Actually combining neutralization n
deodorisation usg steam distillation under
vacuum
- Operation cost > than chemical refining
but less hassle wt byprodts hence
preferable
- Suitable for high quality vegetable oil wt
low FFA
- Better quality oil (FFA distill to 95%)
- Proc also removed tocopherols hence
special precaustions taken drg storage
(short time only) n shipping (antioxidant
control)

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Fractionation flowscheme

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Fractionation
-

A thermomechanical process by which raw

material is separated into two or more portions
Normally usg distillation n crystallization
But distillation not suitable for triglycerides
mixtures becoz low vap pressure n low stability at
high T
Oil composition crystallized by controlled cooling
followed by separation yielding liquid 30-40%
olein n solid 60-70% stearin
Also, minor component of original oil became
concentrated n give effect on oxidative stability of
fractions
Constant monitoring of proc n prodts to ensure
prodt quality
3 methods for fractionation of palm oil
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1.
-

Dry process
Oil crystallized and separated usg
filtration
Oil first heated 70-75 oC to melt all
crystal nuclei n passed to crystaliser
Crystallization proceeds by initially
cooling to 45oC in 45 mins
Further cooling 18-20 oC abt 4-8
hrs before pump to filter
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2.
-

3.
-

Detergent process
Oil crystallized but separated by employing
aqueous detergent solution n centrifuge
Similar crystallization step to dry process
A continuous supply of slurry mixed wt
detergent soln (sodium lauryl sulphate) pumped
to crystallizer
Solution displaced oil fr stearin crystal surface
On centrifuge, olein discharged as oil phase n
stearin forms part of aqueous phase
Aqueous phase heated 90-110 oC to break away
stearin from emulsion
Cooled n centrifuged to recover stearin
Detergent recycled to plant
Solvent process
Employs crystallization n filtration but least
preferred in industries hence not quite
established

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Oleochemicals
chemicals derived from oils and fats
analogous to petrochemicals which are
chemicals derived from petroleum
based on C12-C14 and C16-C18 chain lengths
have a variety of uses
Tallow and coconut oil have been the
traditional raw materials used for the
production of C16-C18 and C12-C14 chain
lengths respectively
The hydrolysis or alcoholysis of oils and fats
formed the basis of the oleochemicals industry
The five basic oleochemicals are fatty acids,
fatty Methyl esters, fatty alcohol, fatty
nitrogen compounds and glycerin.

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1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Fatty Acids
High temperature and high pressure splitting of Palm Oil or Palm kernel Oil
to produce crude fatty acids and glycerin as a by product
Distillation of the crude fatty acids to produce distilled or fractionated fatty
acids which is a high purity fatty acids
Fatty Methyl Ester
Transesterification of Palm oil or Palm Kernel Oil with Methanol to produce
crude methyl ester and glycerin as a by product
Distillation of the methyl ester to produce distilled or fractionated fatty
methyl ester
Fatty Alcohol
Hydrogenation of distilled or fractionated methyl ester at high temperature
and pressure in the presence of catalyst to produce crude fatty alcohol
Distillation to produce distilled fatty alcohol
Fatty Nitrogen Compounds
The most common fatty nitrogen compounds are fatty amides, nitriles,
amines and quartenary ammonium compounds
The most important of these compound is quartenary ammonium
compounds colloquially known as quats which is used in softeners
Glycerin
Glycerin is a valuable co-product of the oleochemicals industry.
It has many applications such as in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics
industry.
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Biodiesel
1. What is biodiesel?
Biodiesel is a substitute for fuel, for diesel engines made from renewable
fats and oils such as palm oil, soybean and rapeseed oil. Biodiesel contains
no added sulfur and burns much cleaner than diesel fuel from petroleum
based product. Biodiesel can be used in existing diesel engines with little
or no modification.
2. Is biodiesel used as a pure or is it blended with petroleum diesel?
Biodiesel can be effectively used as a pure fuel or blended with fossil fuel
in any percentage.
3. How is biodiesel made?
Biodiesel is made through a chemical process called transesterification
whereby glycerin is separated from the fat or vegetable oil.
Transesterificaton chemically break the molecule into two products which is
Methyl Ester (the chemical name for biodiesel) and glycerin (a valuable
byproduct usually sold to be used in soaps and other products)
4. Why should I use biodiesel?
Biodiesel is better for the environment because it is made from renewable
resources and has lower emissions compared to petroleum diesel.
5. What are the environmental benefits of using biodiesel as a fuel?
reduce poisonous carbon monoxide emissions
reduce ozone forming hydrocarbon emissions
reduce hazardous particulate emissions
reduce acid-rain causing sulfur dioxide emissions.

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