Palm kernel fatty acids distillate is one of the residual and renewable raw materials as well as wastes that are derived after processing palm kernels to find refined palm oil used in the chemical industry as well as the food industry. Palm oil is a vegetable oil derived from palm kernels.
According to experts, the distillate of palm kernel fatty acids is not a product that has been produced by performing a process but it is the resultant of a process that can be used as raw material for producing some other products. For this reason, some people are of the view that because palm kernel fatty acids distillate has a market value and can be used in many ways then it cannot be known as a residue.
Reasons to extract palm kernel fatty acids distillate
Bunches of fresh fruits of palm are handled while harvesting them to make palm oil but the fat in these fruits gets degraded due to normal bruising in them. Most of the fats in palm kernels get degraded until the fruits are transported, and processed to extract palm oil. These free fatty acids in the form of degraded fats are removed from the palm oil by the distillation process while refining food-grade palm oil. Thus palm kernel fatty acids distillate is removed from the palm oil not only to improve its odor, color, and taste but also for increasing its shelf-life.
Even after removing the distillate of fatty acids derived from palm oil, the degraded fats in the oils cannot be removed completely from it. But the palm kernel fatty acids distillate is not produced to eat as it is not suitable for humans to eat. So it is removed from palm oil according to the standards of the food industry.
Availability of palm kernel fatty acids distillate
A lot of palm kernel fatty acids distillate is readily available these days for various uses due to the increasing demand for food-grade palm oil. This distillate is legally used as a renewable raw material for the production of biofuels, soaps, candles, animal feed, and other products like oleochemicals, etc all over the world.
Effect of using this distillate on the expansion of farming palm
The focus of palm oil producers is mainly on producing more and more food-grade palm oil instead of its distillate as the price of distillate is far low than the price of food-grade palm oil. Actually, this distillate is produced as a result of the process of refining the quality of food-grade palm oil. So they always try to produce edible palm oil more and reduce the production of its distillate. The use of distillate in other industries does not encourage the producers of palm oil to cut palm trees or improve the cultivation of palm kernels.
Similarly, the sawdust produced by cutting down palm trees as well as while making their planks at a sawmill is also used as valuable raw material for producing different products. But even then they are not motivated to expand the farming of palm trees.
Climatic benefits of palm kernel fatty acids distillate
Eco-friendly:
Though this distillate is a residual waste still it is used as an important raw material in various industries like the biofuel industry etc. but refined palm oil can be used in the food industry. For this reason, the producers of biofuels offer space to the producer of refined edible palm oil to stream their residue to them without worrying about clearing their space for the palm kernels, the raw material for producing palm oil.
Reduce emission of greenhouse gases:
This distillate can also be used as fuel in place of diesel in diesel-powered vehicles used for transportation of edible palm oil. In this way, this distillate can on average reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by up to 90% which makes this distillate an environment-friendly residue waste.
Improve economy:
To the countries where the replacement of palm oil is not feasible, palm kernel fatty acids distillate is exported to be used in making animal feed. In these countries, corn or soybean oil can be replaced with this distillate.
Thus palm kernel fatty acids distillate is a useful waste residue that can be used as a raw material in various other industries.
