{"id":83033,"date":"2022-06-29T10:08:10","date_gmt":"2022-06-29T10:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chinadialogue.net\/?post_type=explainer&p=83033"},"modified":"2022-08-22T16:27:26","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T16:27:26","slug":"breaking-down-palm-oil","status":"publish","type":"explainer","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/food\/breaking-down-palm-oil\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking down palm oil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The media often highlights the prevalence of palm oil in food and household products, as well as the deforestation linked to it. But there is a general lack of awareness of the existence of the commodity in its other forms, such as fatty acids, fatty alcohols and glycerol. It is little understood just how widely and increasingly these forms are used in chemical and industrial manufacturing sectors such as pharmaceuticals, paint and plastics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such sectors have complex supply chains with very little transparency, which has perhaps helped them fly under the radar of campaign groups. But with the climate and biodiversity crises intensifying, it\u2019s never been more important to explore the ties between palm oil and these lesser-known industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Production of the world\u2019s most popular vegetable oil has increased five-fold in the past three decades, to nearly 77 million tonnes in 2021<\/a>. The rapid expansion of oil palm plantations across the tropics has contributed to land degradation and greenhouse gas emissions, driving NGOs to campaign for sustainability and accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Proponents draw attention to palm\u2019s high yield and low production costs compared with other vegetable oils, though this may mask some of its social and environmental impact<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like most oils, it is a mixture of compounds that can be broken down into hundreds of derivatives<\/a>. These are useful in myriad products, from chocolate and pizza, to toothpaste and shampoo, and even paper and fire retardant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palm oil processing is a highly adaptable process: many different pathways can be followed. Because the oil is stable at high temperatures, blends well with other ingredients and has a natural preservative effect, it and its derivatives have become sought-after workhorse ingredients in countless edible and non-edible products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like most oils, palm oil is seldom used in its crude form. The pungent, reddish-orange oil is first refined and physically separated into different components known as fractions. Using chemical reactions, it may then be broken down further to produce compounds called oleochemicals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any material that is palm-based can be considered a palm oil derivative, and as we will see, it is no easy feat to examine the true extent to which palm-based derivatives are embedded in our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are palm oil derivatives?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fractions and other derivatives of crude palm oil account for about 60%<\/a> of global palm oil consumption. But the complexity of their supply chains makes it far more difficult to trace and assess whether they have been produced sustainably. In some cases, derivatives may go through double-digit transformations before reaching a final product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever chemical pathway palm oil follows, it all begins with the supply of fresh fruit bunches from an oil palm plantation to a mill. Once there, the bunches are stripped and processed into crude palm oil and crude palm kernel oil. While the crude oil is extracted by pressing the flesh of the fruit, the kernel oil comes from crushing the fruit seeds. The average extraction rate from fresh fruit is around 20% for palm oil and 2\u20135% for palm kernel oil \u2013 so for every 1,000 kg (1 tonne) of fresh fruit bunches, 200 kg of crude palm oil and 20\u201350 kg of crude kernel oil can be drawn out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From the mill, the crude palm oil and kernel oil are transported to refineries where they are refined, bleached and deodorised. The physical refining process removes any unwanted substances such as free fatty acids, phosphatides and metallic compounds. Physical refining is usually preferred to chemical refining because it requires less chemicals, produces less liquid waste and has a higher overall yield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A by-product of the refining process is palm fatty acid distillate. This light brown, semi-solid, non-edible residue is becoming increasingly popular as a feedstock in biodiesel production, as well as to produce candles, soaps, animal feed and certain chemical products. Around 3 million tonnes<\/a> of fatty acid distillate are produced globally every year through palm oil refining. There is some debate over whether it should be considered a \u201cprocessing residue\u201d at all, due to its market value and many uses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rising demand for palm oil in the manufacture of food and chemical products has underpinned huge technological advancement<\/a> in its physical and chemical processing since the 1980s. Fractionation is the most common method of extracting useful products from refined palm oil and kernel oil. It entails physically separating the oil into liquid and solid fractions using crystallisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The liquid fat fractions or \u201coleins\u201d contain unsaturated molecules making them perfect for products that melt at a medium heat, such as cooking oils. While the solid fat fractions or \u201cstearins\u201d contain more saturated molecules and are used in things like margarine and vegetable ghee that melt at a high heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oleins and stearins can then be fractionated further to create super oleins, super stearins and harder palm mid-fractions. These multiple-step fractionation processes yield higher added-value products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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