Palm oil

Palm trees

Description

A yellowish semisolid oil obtained from the fruit around the nuts of the oil palm, Elaeis guineensis, native to Africa. Palm oil is composed of palmitic acid (40.1%), stearic acid (5.5%), oleic acid (42.7%) and linoleic acid (10.3%). It is used in the manufacture of soaps, chocolates, cosmetics, and candles. Palm oil has also been used to dress leather made from goatskins. Oil extracted only from the palm nut is called palm kernel oil and is very similar to coconut oil.

Synonyms and Related Terms

Elaeis guineensis; aceite de palma (Esp.); huile de palme (Fr.); olio di palma (It)

Other Properties

Iodine number = 54.2; Saponification number = 199.1;

Soluble in ethanol, ether, chloroform, carbon disulfide.

Melting Point	30-35
Density	0.915-0.952
Refractive Index	1.4578

Hazards and Safety

Combustible.

Sources Checked for Data in Record

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 572; Iodine number = 55; Saponification number = 205; palmitic acid (40-70%)

• Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982

• CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Robert Weast (ed.), CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, v. 61, 1980 Comment: melting point = 35.0, density=0.915, ref. index = 1.4578, iodine value=54.2, saponification value = 199.1

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998