Malaysian Palm Oil Council

Pakistan

Oil palm, scientifically known as Elaeis
guineensis jaq, is a unique crop as its fruit
produces two distinct types of oils; crude
palm oil from the mesocarp and crude
palm kernel oil from the kernel. Both of
these oils, which are mainly made up of
triglycerides, are chemically and
physically different from each other with
palm oil high in palmitic acid (C16 fatty
acid) and palm kernel oil high in lauric
and myristic acids (C12 and C14 fatty
acids respectively).

Upon harvesting, oil palm fruits, which
are produced in bunches called fresh fruit
bunches (FFBs), are transported to a palm
oil mill where the fruits are sterilised,
stripped off the bunches, and crushed to
extract the crude palm oil. The crude palm
oil collected in a tank contains impurities,
which are made up of both oil-soluble and
-insoluble non-triglycerides. The oilinsoluble
impurities such as fruit fibres,
free moisture, and nut shells can later be
removed through a purification process
(see Figure 1). In the meantime, the nut
shells are further processed to separate the
kernels from the shells. At the end of the
milling process, crude palm oil and palm
kernels are produced.

There are many uses of palm oil and palm kernel oil and MPOC hopes that this booklet will
be useful for you to better understand
the applications of palm oil and palm
kernel oil in the global oils and fats
industry today.