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10.09.2010 05:14

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Dear Friends, Here bellow you can ask your questions which will be answered briefly by our TECHNOLOGICAL consultant, Mr. Frank Pantzaris, a well known expert and consultant in tropical oils based in England.

You can ask ONLY TECHNOLOGICAL general questions that can be easy to answer (something like FAQ). Please do not ask questions about prices and companies. All questions pls send to info@palmoil.com with a mark "Q&A".

"I am taking this opportunity to request all people who ask me questions to help me, if possible, by telling me something about their background and country so that I might phrase my answers accordingly. For example, students, technologists and traders need a different kind of explanation. Regards, FP."

778	Dear Frank, I am from D.R.Congo, I bought a small palm oil refinery line( 2T/24hours) in China. I attended the commissioning and test of a similar refinery in Indonesia. The test of machines in Indonesia was conducted by an engineer from the Chinese supplier. The instructions I got from the engineer will be helpful for me when I will install the machines in my country. I have many issues regarding refining and machines. In my village CPO is produced by rudimentary means (manual) with no guarantee of quality as most of my people use it for cooking in its crude state. I will have to buy it from different small local producers. My CPO will be a blend of CPOs. The Chinese engineer suggested me to "wash" the CPO first prior real neutralization with hot NaOH solution. "washing" according to him is pouring a hot solution of salt (NaCl 2 Kgs in 20 liters of hot water 80C) the CPO must be at 70C and mechanically agitating for 40minutes after adding salt solution. Then stop mixing and leave CPO at rest for 2 - 3 hours. Then remove the solid particles( soap ) at the bottom of the vessel. The "washed" CPO is then ready for real neutralization with hot NaOH solution. My questiion: Is this "washing" a good practice when CPO with FFA > 5%? Is it bad for the following processes? Thank you for your valuable advices, Have a nice day.	Kizito Vyam
Dear Mr Vyam, Your question is the same as 774 from Mr Milton which is surprising, but, please also read my answer there. There is nothing wrong in what the Chinese engineer advised you, but it is a pity that while you told me the amount of salt you add, you have not said anything about the batch size (amount of oil in the vessell) and so I cannot calculate the %age This is why consultants have to go and see for themselves, because the people who ask the questions never give all the required details. As for the effect of salt in the susequent stages, it is not soluble in the oil, it will be removed with the soap and will not have any effect. Regards, FP (24.05.2010)
777	Dear Mr Frank, We thank you so much for your prompt response (757). As we know some countries in Asian such as Japan, China use only palm oil for deep frying as snack or instant noodle not including palm stearin. It seems that palm oil's more suitable with climate of these countries because average annual temperate of these countries are smaller than other countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Viet Nam. Could you tell me in Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia which kind of oil they use for deep frying as snack or instant noodle, Palm oil or Palm Stearin? Is price of Palm Oil's more expensive than Palm Stearin?	Truong Son VU
Dear Mr Vu, The climate of a country does not have much to do with the type of frying oil used, since the mouth temperature is the same for all people. I think it has more to do with consumer standards, tradition, price sensitivity and fear of bad publicity. In the more prosperous and more developed countries palm stearin (PS) is only used as a component in blends, and not for frying. In the less developed countries PS is used for industrial and restaurant frying quite extensively but still not as much as PO.The exact split is not known, PS is always cheaper than PO, fob Malaysia/ Indonesia. Regards, FP (06.05.2010)
776	I have access to a lot of palm oil from nigeria and am interested in exporting to international buyers. pls can you tell me how to start and also when they give specifications..is there are way of finding if the palm oil i have meets these spec.. i.e. what are the ways of finding sll the dpecs in palm oil e.g. FFA (As Palmitic) 0.2% max. Moisture&Impurity 0.15% max Lodine Value(Wijs) 48 max Melting Point(AOCS CC 3-25) 44 Degree C min Colour(5.25" Lovibond Cell) 3 red max	Akin
Dear Mr Akin, I think the simplest way for you to find buyers would be to sell it to Nigerian packers or exporters or to contact European brokers. Note that the specification you gave is that of RBD Palm Stearin, not CPO.To find out what grade you have you must get it tested by a laboratory experienced in oils and fats. If your oil is CPO the standard is FFA max 5%, but you can sell it with a higher FFA if you accept a lower price. Regards, FP (06.05.2010)
775	Dear Sir, I am based in India and writing a report on the Malaysian and Indonesian Oil Palm Industry. Can you please help me to understand what are the various types/grades of palm oil and palm kernel oil produced and what differentiates palm oils of different grades (purity, color, application etc.)	Shivani Singh
Dear Mr Singh, The main grades of PO and PKO are natural, stearin, olein and hydrogenated. Their main differences are in their physical properties such as MP and SFC. Each of the above grades can be crude or RBD where the difference is in their purity, ie FFA, gums, odour, colour etc. (06.05.2010)
774	Hello Sir, I am from D.R. Congo I bought a small PO refinery line in China(capacity of 2 Tons/24hours). The CPO I plan to process in my village is processed by my fellow villagers in rudimentary manner (manual) in small quantities thus the CPO to be refined will be a blend of different CPO quality (sellers). Machines will be shipped very soon to my country.I underwent a training in Indonesia a couple of weeks ago by a chinise engineer from the company which sold me the refinery. Theorically, I almost mastered the steps of refining. The chinese engineer taught me to "wash" my CPO as it is a mix of different qualities. He said prior to neutralize CPO at 70°C with hot caustic soda(NaOH) solution of 80°C poured into stirring CPO. "Washing" according to him is pouring a solution of 2 kgs of salt(NaCl) mixed in 20 liters of hot water (80°C) into the CPO and stirr it for 40 min then stop mixing to let solid particles and impurities settle at the bottom of the neutralizer vessel (2-3 hours). He said this "washing" can save me caustic soda as salt is more cheap and my CPO quality not guarantee. Is this "washing" heplful? Could it bring drawbacks in the following processes? (bleaching, filtering and deodorizing) What should I do with bad CPO (FFA > 5%)? Thank you for the help.	Milton
Dear Mr Milton, As you have been taught by the engineer from your plant constuctor, it would be best to discuss any of your doubts with him, because as they say, ""too many cooks spoil the broth" Washing with sod.chloride prior to neutralising is not usual, but I think it is a good Idea with poor quality CPO. The fact that your CPO is from different people, is not important. More important is to settle the oil and run off any sludge from it before neutralising. CPO of high FFA will give you higher neutralising losses and higher final FFA and you may have to neutralise twice. But your customers will not be very discriminating so set your self easy qualty standars for the end product. FFA 0.3%, and colour 6R should be adequate. But here in UK African people consume clarified CPO of very high FFA and very strong taste/odour, so why have you bought a refining plant? Regards, FP (06.05.2010)
772	I am sanjay khatri, chemical engineer from india, working in pvt co. I want to know what is the acid oil? how acid oil produce from palm oil? And what is the diffrence between acid oil or vegatable palm oil.	Sanjay khatri
Dear Mr Khatri, Acid oil is the FFA separated from vetable oils or animal fats when they are chemically refined. The crude oil is washed with sod.hydroxide solution and the soap formed is separated and then split back into fatty acid by mixing with sulphuric acid. The difference is that acid oil is essentially fatty acids and oil is essentially triglycerides. Regards, FP (06.05.2010)
771	Dear Sir, Thanks for your kind support. We are planning to import Semi Acid Oil, which is having FFA 23.1% as Lauric, Oxidised Fatty Acid is 2.6%, Mineral Acidity is Nil, Iron 300 ppm, PH 6.4, Unsap Matter is 17.2 and color is Dark brownish viscous liquid. Can you judge, whether it is chemically modified or not?	Satish Sejpal
Dear Mr Sejpal, The data you gave are of no value in dettecting chenical modification. But if you give me the IV, SMP and trans value, I may be able to tell you if it is hydrogenated. How ever, your oil is not edible grade, so why your great concern about chemical modification? Regards, FP (06.05.2010)
770	Dear Frank, We have 800 hectare of palm oil plantation in Kisangani in the DR Congo. The plantation was abandoned for over six years. Today, we are looking for serious partners to reinvest in palm oil production for export, and biodiesel processing. What would be your advise to start out our business venture? Thank you in advance for your feedback.	Pascal Nimi
Dear Mr Nimi, You will first have to prepare a business plan where you describe what you are planning to do in the next few years, how much money you will be spending and how much you will be earning every year, and show it is a very attractive business venture. If necessary, pay an accountant to assist you with it. Then you can contact some rich business people, preferably running similar businesses and invite them to invest the money you need, in exchange for a certain percentage of your business. Your bank manager or big stock brokers may also undertake to find investors for you, but will want a good fee if they succeed.. There are also companies in Malaysia and London who could be interested. Regards, FP (06.05.2010)
769	hello, i am rajkumar from india could any body tell the cost of production of crude palmoil/ton in malasian rinngits (approximately)	rajkumar
Dear Mr Rajkumar, The cost of production of most goods is a trade secret and it is not appropriate for any outsider to ask. When I was with MPOB we made such studies regularly but they were all marked confidential for the Ministry and top indusrty levels. There were considerable differences between costs in W.Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. It would not be ethical of me to tellyou more.. If you are thinking of entering that industry you must do your own calculations for India. Regards, FP (27.04.2010)
768	l am want to go into palm oil production in Nigeria. l want to know the varieties of crop you have, thier prices, period of time of maturity, l want to plat on a 50 hecters of land for a start.pleased keep me posted. Kind Regards, Y.M.	Yusuf Mohammed
Dear Mr Mohammed, We at palmoil.com are not selling any thing except advertising space and membership. For what you want you will have to contact individual seed companies. Regards, FP (27.04.2010)
767	Dear Sir, How we can define that product is chemically modified or not? Is there any specific method to verify the same or by testing of various pameters? If method, pls. advice what call to that method? if parameters, pls. inform which parameters will decide whether product is chemically modified or not? thanks	satish sejpal
Dear Mr Seijpal, There is no fixed set of tests to do. You must first decide what chemical modification you suspect and then test for that. But oils and fats are used for food and there are not many chemical modifications you are permitted to do to them. The two most common ones are hydrogenation, detected by testing the fatty acid composition and interesterificatiion detected from the glyceride composition and NMR, if you know the blend used. Otherwise it is extremely difficult. Regards, FP (27.04.2010)
765	FYI, I am going to help put an end to the Palm Oil industry by telling the world about the horrors that it is inflicting on the remaining orangutan population. This arrogant, ignorant and greed soaked industry is directly responsible for the illegal murder of hundreds of thousands of Orangutans and for the destruction of 90% of Orangutan habitat. I urge you to be a part of the solution. Turn you back on the Palm Oil industry NOW & never look back. Blow the whistle on the Palm Oil industry and the Palm Oil associations that pretend to be pro-forest, pro-orangutan and pro-sustainability. Thanks for listening.	Endit
Dear Sir, I think you will find that many PO plantations strive to preserve their enironment. and you will do better to direct your anger against the guilty ones. But with the world population increasing by 1 billion every 12 years you are fighting a losing battle. Regards, FP (27.04.2010)
764	Dear Sir, 1.Whether any product less 50% FFA is considered as acid oil or not? 2. IS there is any poram standard for Acid oil/ Palm kernel Acid oil if yes then please let us know and if not can we get any supporting for the statement? please send us your contact details. thanks, satish	satish
Deasr Mr Satish, 1) There is no official definition of acid oil, but I think you can call it acid oil even if it has FFA below 50% provided you disclose it to the customer before sale. 2) There is no PORAM standard for PK Acid Oil. PORAM is only concened with PO products. Regards, FP (27.04.2010)
763	Hallo Mr. Frank. Im from Malaysia. I like to trade palm oil (buy and sell ). I also have no xperience in this business. Pls guide me where should I start. Thank you.	PAUDZI YAHAYA
Dear Mr Yahaya, Many people ask this question and I always give the same answer. Take a job in an office doing the kind of work you want and learn how it is done, make contacts with buyers and hope some will come to you when you set up on your own. Regards FP (27.04.2010)
762	hello..i want to know how the economic, environment factor and technological factor affect the crude palm oil price.	sha
Sorry, but I do not understand your questions. Regards, FP (27.04.2010)
761	Hello. i am looking to invest in a 50 hectre palm oil farm in west Africa Nigeria i would like to know how palm oil is priced i have looked all over the internet n can not find any information. thank you for yur help in advance.	John Ogun
Dear Mr Ogun, The main prices quoted for PO in international trade are fob Malaysia/Indonesia and cif Rotterdam and they are decided by the balance of supply and demand. They are quoted daily in trade newspapers, magazines and websides like this one, but you have to join and pay a membership fee. With 50 hectares in Nigeria you will be a small producer, of about 200 tonnes pa, and you should do better packing in yourselves in cans and drums and selling it locally. Regards, FP (17.04.2010)
760	I need to know what is palm kenel oil viscosity at 20 deg C. and density of it. thank you.	Ganesh Patil
At 20C PKO is solid, it does not flow and so no viscosity value can be given. but its density at 20C is 0.920 Kg/litre. Regards, FP (27.04.2010)
757	Dear MR Frank, We have intention to replace Palm sterine (IVmax=48, MP=49-50oC) by palm oil (IV=50-55, MP=37-38oC) for frying snack, because we want to provide products more healthy for customer. However, we don't know that whether Palm oil whose MP's similar to temperarure human bring a lot of benifits for human health than Palm Sterine we'are using for frying snach or not? And more, what's the real benifit from this replacement? We highly appreciate all your recommendation. Best regards.	Truong Son VU
Dear Mr Vu, It does you credit that you are concerned with the health effects of your products. The harmful effects of oils and fats in human diets are mostly ascribed to their saturated fatty acid content, of which palm stearin contains about of 64% and PO 50%. Saturated fatty acids raise the cholesterol level in the blood which is associated with heart desease. Another advantage of PO over srearin is that its lower MP will give less greasy mouth feel. Regards, FP (27.04.2010)
755	I am currently helping a customer to source for PFAD to China and I encounter some issues: 1. My customer requests to have white PFAD instead of the red PFAD, because he wanted to use the white PFAD to product white soap. What process is involved in converting crude palm oil to white PFAD? Thank you.	Melissa
Dear Ms Melissa, Unfortunately all the PFAD on the market is of dark colour because it is a cheap byproduct of low volume and not enough care is given to it. PORAM recognise this and have put no specification for its colour, so anything goes. It is only suitable for laundry soap, If your customer wants a white soap he will have to use RBDPO or even better, distilled PO fatty acid. But their price will be much higher. Regards, FP (14.04.2010)
754	Dear Mr. Frank, We started manufacturing of cake margarine and while producing following problems encountered. 1. After about 7 days of production margarine is subjected to post hardening. We are maintaing SFC at 20 degree - 28-30% and at 30 degree - 12-14%. 2. Whipping quality is not good. (we are using 0.3% of polyglycerol esters). 3. Cake is not lifiting properly. I greatefully apreciate if you could give any solution for these problems. Thanks	Chan
Dear Mr Chan, It seems you will have to change your processing conditions or your formula, or both. regards, FP (14.04.2010)

Question numbers

808-789

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