Arum Adriani Liman, Stephani Juanita, Felycia Edi Soetaredjo, Suryadi Ismadji
An alternative adsorbent, neem, Azadirachta indica, leaves powder, was used for bleaching of low-quality crude palm oil. Neem leaves were obtained from Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia and were repeatedly washed with distilled water to remove dust and soluble impurities, and subsequently dried at 60°C under vacuum condition until its moisture content was around 10%. Total color, % free fatty acid (% FFA) and peroxide value (PV) were analyzed on degummed palm oil and bleached palm oil. The highest color removal was observed with neem leaves powder treated with hydrochloric acid at impregnation ratio 1:2.5(w/w) with delignification process. The decrease of the PV value during the bleaching process was due to the adsorption of peroxide compounds and transformation of peroxide into secondary oxidation products and followed by the adsorption of secondary oxidation products on the surface functional groups of the neem leaves.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Widya Mandala Surabaya Catholic University, Surabaya 60114, Kalijudan 37, Indonesia