Oil Palm Deseeded Fruit Head Ash: Fractionation and Characterization

The processing of palm oil from the fruits of the African oil palm generates an increasing amounts of solid waste. The production of beneficial products for various applications from the oil palm wastes would reduce the amount of unwanted materials produced and contribute to a healthier environment. In this research, fractions were derived from the filtrate of the oil palm deseeded fruit head ash by fractional crystallization. Their physicochemical properties, cation, and anion compositions were determined by standard methods. Three hygroscopic oil palm ash fractions, namely crystals, anhydrous, and sediment, were obtained from the filtrate of the soaked ash. The crystals fraction showed significantly higher mean values than the anhydrous and sediment in conductivity and total organic matter (p