Separation of squalene from palm fatty acid distillate using adsorption chromatography

A method to separate squalene from palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) using neutralization-hydrolysis-neutralization before employing adsorption column chromatography was developed. Extraneous matters, especially free fatty acids (83.8%) and acylglycerols (12.7%), were first neutralized and removed before being subjected to hydrolysis by using commercially available, immobilized Candida antartica lipase, at 65 °C for 8 h. Neutralization followed by hydrolysis and repeated neutralization successfully concentrated squalene from an initial amount of 3.76% to 27.5%. Oil extracted from neutralized-hydrolyzed-neutralized PFAD was then passed through a Diaion HP-20 column using reverse-phase adsorption chromatography. Squalene was desorbed by hexane, with a recovery of 93%.