Palm Kernel Oil-Based Emulsifiers and Food Preservatives

Wahyu Bahari, along with his colleagues, began this research in 2015. The following year, they received funding from the BPDP Palm Oil Plantation Fund for this research. The research team consisted of Ir. Tri Yogo Wibowo, MT, Ir. Didi Dwi Anggoro, M.Eng, Ph.D, Heryoki Yohanes, ST, Fatim Illaningtyas, S.TP., M.Si and support from the Diponegoro University Chemical Engineering students. "We chose palm kernel oil because its derivatives have not yet been processed much domestically. Meanwhile, most of them are exported only in the form of palm kernel oil. Based on the analysis results, palm kernel oil contains a lot of lauric acid, around 50%. Lauric acid can be utilized or further processed into high-value lauric acid derivative products, "said Wahyu when contacted by Sawit Indonesia. He said that with that much lauric acid content, palm kernel oil could be processed as a preservative and food emulsifier. An emulsifier is an additional material to unify food ingredients that contain water and oil like ice cream, mayonnaise and other processed products. In the process, palm kernel oil was hydrolyzed to produce several types of fatty acids, one of which is lauric acid. The lauric acid is then separated from the other fatty acids by using a fractionation process. Next, the lauric acid is reacted with glycerol until it produces glycerol mono-laurate (GML) that functions as an emulsifier and food preservative. "GML can function as an emulsifier because the two carbon atoms from the glycerol have an active hydroxyl group to provide hydrophobic characteristics, which are often referred to as head groups. The glycerol element can form a hydrogen bond with water in areas that contain water and are often referred to as head groups. The hydrocarbon chain provides the hydrophobic characteristic in GML and is often given the term tail. The existence of two different hydrophobic and hydrophilic characteristics in GML places GML in the surfactant category and makes it possible to be used as an emulsifying material in the mixture of water and oil, "he explained. Generally, the stages in this research go through the catalyst observation stage, catalyst dealumination, lauric acid esterification with glycerol, analysis of reaction results and products purity analysis (GML content). This research is a development of the study based on references from various journals, with modifications made in accordance with the conditions in the field. According to him, the catalyst observation stage is the most difficult stage, requiring large funding to determine the type of catalyst and to modify the catalyst used for synthesizing this GML. "We had hit a snag when we were in the research stage of catalyst observation, although there were no serious obstacles in the stages that followed," he said. Moreover, this palm-based food preservative and emulsifier product has advantages when compared with other emulsifier products. Emulsifier products that are sold in the market function only as food preservatives or emulsifiers alone. Meanwhile, the product that was researched by Wahyu Bahari and his team functions doubly, simultaneously as an emulsifier and food preservative. He said that in countries like Europe, America or Japan, for example, the communities that avoid animal products, whether for religious reasons or because they are vegetarians, have made it a "routine ritual" to check the food composition of items they buy. One of the things that consumers focus on is the source of the emulsifier: whether it comes from plants or animals. The reason is to avoid animal products, to ensure its halal status, to observe aspects of health (i.e. allergies) or because of a vegetarian lifestyle. https://sawitindonesia.com/rubrikasi-majalah/inovasi/pengawet-makanan-dan-emulsifier-berbasis-minyak-inti-sawit/