ABSTRACT
Palm oil is the most commonly used vegetable oil in Nigeria due to its numerous benefits. Therefore, it is very important to investigate the quality of palm oil. In this study, oil samples were collected from different oil mills in Imo state. Physical and chemical properties of the oil samples were evaluated using standard procedures. The result showed that the moisture content ranged from 0.26% to 0.33%, specific gravity ranged from 0.8900 to 0.9250 while the density ranged from 0.8700 g/ml to 0.9100 g/ml. The saponification value (SV), Free fatty acid and Acid value ranged from 192.49 mg KOH/g to 202.73 mg KOH/g, 10.38 mg KOH/g to 18.80 mg KOH/g and 20.76 mg/g to 37.59 mg/g respectively, while the Smoke point and Refractive index ranged from 114.0 °C to 116.2 °C and 1.4615°Bx to 1.4640°Bx respectively. The peroxide value, Iodine value and Ester value ranged from 14.10 mEq./g to 24.80 mEq./g, 0.48wij’s to 2.84wij’s and 160.86 to 172.86 respectively. All samples showed > 35% SV suggesting the palm oil will be good in soap production. It is recommended that oil palm factories in Imo state processing and storage method should be properly monitored to prevent major contamination or adulteration which might have an adverse effect on the future of oil palm industry in Imo state, Nigeria.
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