Characteristics of Crude Palm Oil Produced in Hainan

Crude palm oil (CPO) was extracted from fresh fruit bunches of RYL7 oil palm cultivated in Hainan by using a self-made single stage screw press. The physicochemical characteristics and Fatty acid composition of the CPO was investigated. The experimental results included melting point (33.10 °C), density (0.91 g/cm3 at 20 °C), acid value (8.35 mg KOH/g), iodine value (62.72 mg iodine/g), saponifiable value (198.02 mg KOH/g), moisture and volatile matter (0.16% of total lipids), insoluble impurities (0.04% of total lipids), unsaponifiable matter (0.40% of total lipids). Oleic acid (40.90% of total fatty acids), palmitic acid (37.88% of total fatty acids), linoleic (14.29% of total fatty acids), followed by stearic acid (5.11% of total fatty acids) were found to be the predominant fatty acids in the oil. The unsaturated oleic acid was the most predominant fatty acid in CPO of Hainan while saturated palmitic acid was the most principal fatty acid in palm oil from Malaysia. The contents of linolenic, unsaturated fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids in this CPO were 4.09%, 5.09%, 4.09% higher than that of Malaysia, respectively. In addition, the percentages of palmitic acid and saturated fatty acids of this oil were 5.62%, 6.01% lower than that of Malaysia, respectively.