Microwave application in palm oil milling - latest development
2001
Chow, M.C. | Ma, A.N.
Laboratory tests on the effect of microwave heating on spikelets of palm fruits were carried out. It was determined that microwave heating could soften and detach fruits from spikelets of fresh palm fruits. The number of fruits detached was dependent on the duration of the heating. Three minutes of heating in a 800 W microwave oven was able to loosen and detach all the fruits from two spikelets of palm fruits. Extreme heating of the palm fruits lead to browning of the kernel and the surface of the fruits became wrinkled and dried. The quality and fatty acid composition of the palm oil and kernel oil extracted from the microwave heated fruits were not affected. Microwave heating was able to deactivate the lipase enzymes and halt lipolysis. The fruits could be stored up to a week without any rise in fatty acid content of the oil. Oil of extremely low free fatty acid content of less than 1.0% was obtained from microwave heated fruits. These effects on the fruits could have great implications in the industrial processing of fresh fruit bunches for palm oil. The industrial trials on the bunches of palm fruits indicated that a whole bunch of palm fruits could be rapidly and homogeneously heated. However, the fruits were not easily detached. It could be that steam is needed to detach fruits from the pedicle. The process of microwave heating for fruit detachment may be possible if the indigenous water of the fruits which is vaporized is retained on the surface of the fruits or specifically at the pedicle. Microwave heating which can heat the fruits rapidly can possibly be incorporated into the conventional process too.
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