Polini Recicuw ISSUED BY GEBR. STORK & Co’s APPARATENFABRIEK N.V, AMSTERDAM Volume 1 No. 2 March 1960 Sterilization seen "Tha fet mechanical treatment the fruit of the oil alos is exposed to is sterieaton. The prevent atcle will dea! with the purpose ofthis process, the requirements underlying it and the time/temperature limits it iz subject to 1 will avo dhscust a fow aspects of cultivation technique, because the systein of harvesting employed in the plantation has a marked influence upon the process results, We propose to go into the practical problems connected with sterilization in a future article Purpose 1.01 Ina enzyme ation of the oil-splitting ‘The circumstance that on the world market the quality of palm oil is measured i.a, by its free fatty acid content, makes it neces sary to avoid as much as possible the forma- tion of this acid prior to the recovery pro- cess and an increase in acidity during and/or through that process. In the preceding number of this Review it has been explained that the enzyme respon- sible for the oil-splitting action in fresh fruit ean be destroyed by a heat treatment, Further, it has been shown that this en- zyme is already rendered irreversibly inac- tive at comparatively low temperatures and short heating periods. Ey:1.02 Coagulation of the albuminous substances Most of the albuminous substances with which we are here concerned, are of-the ‘globulin’ type ‘They will coagulate as a result of the ment in the sterilizers and, consequ cannot act as emulsifiers inthe further stages of the process, also because the gel is irreversible. However, not all the colloids present in the fruit are irreversible, or rather irresoluble, so that if they are contained in the extracted liquid they may change back into the colloidal state by 2 dilution of the electrolyte (addition of water to the crude). That is why these colloids which are carried with the fruit to the digester and the press (or extraction-centrifugal) in the form of gel, should be retained in the pressed residue as far as possible, so that they cannot be conveyed with the extracted liquid (crude oil) to the clarification plant and cause trouble there. ‘The effective coagulation of the albuminous mat- ter requires a temperature of at least 100°C(212°F) 1.03 Hydrolysis of the matter eilaginous ‘The mucilage present in the form of colloids in the protoplasm of the cells does not exert any os- motic pressure on the cell walls, Now the hydrol- ysis of this mucilaginous matter, which plays an important part in the decomposition of carbo- hydrates by water or steam, is strongly promoted by sterilization. Owing to the action of heat and moisture the mucilage will partly hydrolyze and partly coag- ulate, The dispersion balance will be upset, and the insoluble carbo-hydrate molecules broken down into soluble glucose molecules producing osmotic forces which, supported by differences in pressure arising LOSS OF FRUIT IN EMPTY BUNCHES 80 90 STERIUZING TIME 100 min with respect to the atmosphere, may bring about a collapse of the cell wall. The process requires a sterilization temperature of over 100° G, otherwise the necessary period of reaction would become too long. 1.04 Loosening the fruit in the bunch In the sterilizer the harvested bunch is prepared as it were, for the subsequent threshing or strip- ping proces. ‘Through the sterilization namely, a certain hydvol- ysis which occurs in nature as the fruit ripens, is accelerated. This action can be compared with the hydrolysis of poly-saccharides (starch-cellulose) and their conversion into mono-saccharides. The place of contact between the fruit and its stem is hydrol- yzed by the steam and the reduction of the poly saccharide molecules is attended with a better solu- bility of the substances in this place of contact. AAs a result the fruit is loosened in the bunch (as with the natural ripening process) and can be released, To enable the hydrolysis to take place, the fruit should be brought into contact with steam, The higher the temperature and the longer the steril- iuation period, the more readily the fruit ean be stripped from’ its bunch afterwards Figure 1 shows the relationship between the loss of fruit in empty bunches, the sterilizing time and the temperature, The conclusions presented are based on large scale factory tests which have covered a considerable period of time: ‘The scale for the ordinate has not been indicated, so that no exact losses can be derived from the graph which is only intended to give a general idea of comparative values. For example, it dem= onstrates that sterilization at 120° C for 80 minutes, gives the same proportion of non-released fruit as sterilization at 115°C: for 100 minutes We now come to the question of bunch stripping itself. First of alll we would remark that in the bunch stripper or thresher, varying quantities of bunch trash containing calyx fragments are knocked out along with the fruit, Another point is that of inadequately stripped bunches. Practice proves that in any batch of emp- ty bunches there will always be several which con- tain non-released fruit, As long as this is a matter of one or two stray fruits the bunches may be said to be empty for practical purposes, and the losses of oil sustained in consequence will not exceed 1.04%, t0 0.05%, in well-run mills. ‘There may also be bunches however, which though stripped, contain appreciably more than just a couple of undetached fruits, and such bunches should be considered the result of some abnormality either in the process (faulty action of the stripping machine, inadequate sterilizat or in the bunch itselA. Faulty action of the stripper or thresher This may result from imperfections in the design of the suipper and/or from incorrect operation (uneven charging or overloading). The fruit left in the stripped bunch is soft and will fall out immediately the bunch is dropped or shaken. B, Abnormal bunches ‘These are hard to deal with because they eannot be treated very well mechanically. The fruit in such bunches is reasonably soft but remains firmly attached to the stem, In the stripping process the Ihunches acquire a remarkably hairy and fibrous appearance. Even after re-steriization it will as ‘often as not be impossible to detach the fruit in the stripper and it has to be cut loose with a knife if any oil is to be recovered from it Although strictly speaking it is outside the com- pass of this article to da so, we would dwell briefly 6n this interesting phenomenon. Presumably a knot-head bunch or hard bunch, owes its peculiarities to very immature spots caused by some disease or stagnation in the flow of saps arrest- ing the ripening process. We base our conjecture ‘on the following observations: 1. Among under-ripe bunches there is always an appreciably higher percentage of knot-heads than among ripe ones 2. A mieroscopie examination does not show any ‘anatomical difference between the tissue of fruit from a knot-head bunch and that of fruit from a normal one. 3. Every degree of ripeness from under-ripe to ripe is represented in any one bunch. The vipe por tion is at the top, where the fruit begins to drop cout. As one approaches the stalk the fruit will be found less ripe, the base of the bunch con- taining a proportion of decidedly immature and/or undeveloped fruit. It follows theoret- ically, that any bunch whieh it has been found 10203045060 min impossible to strip properly of its fruit which, therefore, may be termed a knot-head bunch’ should have no, or hardly any, fruit at the top and a large portion of fruit at the base This theory is in eflect bore out by practice. Only if a buneh is reaped in a completely i ture state will it become an all-out knot-head, but of course this rarely occurs on a well-run ', Inadequate sterilization Too low a sterilizing temperature may be respon- sible for improper stripping. The factors by which this ean be brought about are dealt with elsewhere in the present number 1.05 Preparation of the fruit for further treatment ia the ‘extraction plant In the digester the pericarp must be loosened completely trom the nuts, Through the steriliza- tion the structure of the flesh of the palm fruit is so far weakened that this separation can in effect be brought about during digestion. It is not fully known how long and at what tem- perature the fruit should be sterilized in order to produce the desired result. ‘These ave indications, however, that the flesh loses its resistance already after a short period of sterilization, L., Kehren has described a number of tests carried out to measure the force required to drive a pin of a given diameter into the fruit. Those pressures were recorded at which the pericarp could no longer resist the penetration of the pin. Figure 2 pictures the results obtained. It is generally known that bunches will. shrink when subjected to sterilization, so that after the process they are about 2/3 of their original size, Figure 2 gives an indication that shrinkage is well on its way to completion after a period of approx. 10 minutes, 1.06 Preliminary treatment of the n If the nuts are to be cracked properly, they must be exposed to a given temperature for a given time Owing to desiceation the kernel will detach itself from the shell surrounding it AAs the process involves the evaporation of moisture from the inside of the kernel (diffusion-drying), it is obvious that the period of drying should ‘be considerable, Teis recommended to use moderate temperatures, otherwise there is the risk that the kernel will discolos is Requirements 201 Sterilization and the quality of palm oil Next to a low FFA content a good bleachabil is among the requirements high-grade palm oil is expected to meet, In other words, the bleach- ability of the oil may not be impaired by steil-ization, ‘The state in which the harvested fruit reaches the factory is of paramount importance with regard to the bleaching properties of the oil, Tt has been found that palm oil obtained from fover-tipe (loose) fruit is comparatively hard to bleach and that the presence of an excessive pro- portion of over-ripe fruit may have a most adverse influence upon the final product. (Of course this is applicable to rotten fruit in even stronger measure). That is why such fruit should be pr vented from lying about on the floor or on a platiorm in the sterilizing station or elsewhere for a day or even a part of the day. Furthermore, good bleachability necessitates a proper air-release prior to sterilization, the shortest posible sterilizing time and the lowest posible process temperature. If beside these requirements we take into account those which were mentioned in the paragraphs 1.01 up to and including 1.06, we find many of them to be contradictory, which implies that some compromise must be established in practice. Time and temperature limits of the sterilization process 3.01 For want of anything better, the only criterion we can apply to ascertain whether sterilization has been carried out correctly is the proportion of inadequately sterilized bunches. If the temperature used has been too low and/or if the sterilizing time hhas been too short, this proportion will rise con- siderably. There are a couple of factors governi the minimum time and temperature limit i 1. the size of the bunches 2. the degree of ripeness of the crop 3.01.01 The size of the bunches The smaller the bunches the more rapidly they will be sterilized, because they expose a relatively: large surface to the action of the steam whilst the hheat has only to travel a comparatively short distance, This rule has been tested on bunches from palms of varying ages, whereby the youngest palmtrees were supposed to yield the smallest bunches. The outcome was as follows: Arca ance Pesshacik Smee “e Tyan s0min 2 29 Syeas 30min, 2 8 Syears 30min, 2 " years 30min, 2 2 ‘These figures are quite self-explanatory. The crop from any plantation comprising bunches from palms of several year-classes, the sterilizing eyele is always based on the bunches from the oldest class. 3.01.02 The degree of ripeness of the erop If the bunches harvested are so ripe that much of the fruit is already loose on its stem, the sterilizing eyele can be relatively short, If the average degree of ripeness is lower so that the bunches are ‘more compact, the sterilizing cycle should be pro- longed a litte In the preceding lines we have repeatedly used the terms ripe, under-ripe, over-ripe, without attempt ing to define them and we shall now proceed to do s. ‘The time at which the bunches are harvested is always the result of a financial-economic compro mise made between the oil yield on the one hand and the expenditure involved in the harvesting procedure on the other Although it is by no means our intention to expa- tiate on matters of cultivation technique ( Review having quite a different purpose), we think it useful to give a brief summary of the chief points controlling the harvesting standards a. In the paragraph dealing with knot-head bunches (1.04. b), we have pointed to the cit- cumstance that the fruits in a given bunch will not ripen simultaneously. Whereas at the apex ripe fruit may already hegin to drop out, there will stil be a quantity of under-ripe and even undeveloped fruit at the base. b. The fruit has its maximum oil content the moment it will become loose in its bunch. By “oose’ we understand the condition which permits the fruit at the outside of the bunch to be detached easily and by a slight pressure of the thumb. Ifa bunch containing such fruit is harvested, the mere faet of its falling to the ground will release a large number of fruits A few days before this moment arrives it will be found possible already to break a few fruits from the bunch with a little exertion, but in this stage there can of course be no question of any loose fruit. Several research workers (H. M. Blommencaal, L. Kehren, A. Dessasis) have published figures relating to the oil content by weight of the pericarp during the ripening process. As they have based themselves on different test_mate- Is and_have carried out their experiments under different climatic conditions it is un- derstandable that their conclusions are not exactly identical, but making due allowance for the minor variations resulting from the dif- ferences alluded to we may draw from their tests the general inference that the average oil content by weight of the pericarp in freshly- ripe fruit which is loose in its bunch, is 50%, Five days before this moment is reached the oil eontent is about 437, and ten days before it is approx. 347, . Asa general nile any increase in the percentage of detached fruit will entail a rise of the FEA content (please refer to Stork Palmoil Review Nr. 1)— 4. & An increased percentage of detached fruit is likely to impair the bleaching properties of palm oil. Oil recovered from under-ripe fruit has a higher meiting point than oil from Ireshly-ripe fruit fad this is sometimes an advantage in the processing of margarine. ‘The fruit that has fallen to the ground is con- veyed to the mill with the harvested bunches, so far as it can be found under the trees and so far as the harvesters are prepared to collect it ‘There will always be a slight loss because a cer- tain proportion of the detached fruit lies hidden from view amid the foliage of the ground cover in the plantation or is eaten by animals, For reasons of economy, the harvester cannot return every day to a given tree to see whether a bunch has attained the correct degree of ripeness. It may frequently happen that a har- vvester comes across a bunch which is slightly under-ripe but which may be over-ripe if left till the next round. ‘This can hardly be ascertained from ground level, especially when the tree is old and there- fore tall, and it is quite understandable that the harvester, once he has climbed the tree, will he disinclined to leave alone a bunch which though under-ripe — is not totally unsuitable for harvesting, and to come down empty-hand- ed. His keenness on including doubtful bunches will be the more readily explainable when his wages are based purely on quantity ‘This enumeration shows that here again a vati- ety of conflicting considerations necessitates. a balanced compromise on the basis of statistical investigations and/or experience, established in the form of a harvesting instruction and rules concerning the harvesting intervals to be ob- served. Tt will be clear that in the crop arriving at the mill every degree of ripeness between over-ripe and under-ripe may be represented. Now, in a well-organized palin oil mill it is common p tice to keep a close check on the actual situation by singling out part of the erop (ie, a few Tories) and subjecting it to an analysis, the bunches being sorted into different classes. ‘This is what such an analysis might look like: (00 = no detached fruit 1% = from 0 40 10% of detached fruit = = from 10 10 25% of detached fruit Chass 2 = from 25 t0 50% of detached fruit lass 3 = from 50 40, 75% of detached fruit = €% lass + = from 75 to 100% of detache fruit = 1% ass 5. = part of intevior fruit also detached = 4% Jetached fruit 1% Totals 100% Considering the circumstance that by the fall of the bunches from the trees and as a result of bunch transport to the mill a large quantity of fruit will be released before arrival, the eat- egories 00-0 and perhaps also category 1 may be classed as under-ripe. The bunches from class 5 are over-ripe, while class 4 is rather a doubtful case Which class should include the major part of the erop is a matter to be decided by the man- agement of the mill on the basis of the com- promise adopted. ‘To harvest a crop that is on the unde! implies a lower oil content by weight of the pericarp, a lower FFA percentage, better bleach- yy and a higher melting” point, whereas with a largely over-ripe crop it is just the other way round. A harvest comprising bunches of all year-clases, which for the most part come under the eat- ripe side Hortsontal sterilizersTemperatures eee ie Tre ee ee te ie oe OOOOCOO0O IOOOCOCOOCO IOOOOCOOCO lO lO egories 2 up to and including 4, can be sterilized with little or no tisk of inadequate results, if the process cycle is built up as follows: de-aeration 5 min, working up to full pressure : 20 min. steril ing 50-60 min. 3.02 Maximum limit ‘This is controlled by a tendency of the kernel to discolour as a result of over-steriizing. The diagram above, which is the outcome of thorough full scale investigations made in one of the palm oil mills in Sumatra, gives the approximate rela tion between temperature, period and discoloura- tion: Explanation of symbols © no visible discolouration © slight discolouration © marked discolouration ® kernel to turn brown © kernel to turn dark brown © ‘kernel to turn black ‘This table leads one to expect that the kernel can be subjected to a temperature of 130°C for a period of 1.5 hour without showing signs of dis colouration. Yet experience proves that under these circumstances the kernel tends to be slightly off-coloured, which fact should be accounted for as follows: From the very beginning of the heat treatment, certain changes will occur in the kernel which later on, eg, after 2 hours, result in discolouration. Tt is unlikely and even impossible that during the first hours of the heat treatment nothing should happen in the kernel at all, and that it should nevertheless turn brown suddenly after the said period of 2 hours, ‘The real situation is that although after say 1.5 hour at 130°C the kernel is still white, it_ will be well on the way to discolouration, Additional heating at a later stage of the recovery process (€. in the digester) may make the kernel pass the discolouration limit, the temperature of 130°C having brought it very near this limit as the table shows, At 120°C the risk of discolouration at any stage ff the process is much smaller, so that the kernel may be expected to retain its original colour. It will be observed from the table that the rate of discolouration increases considerably at tempera- tures above 130° C. For the sake of good order we would mention that to ascertain whether there has been any dis- colouration one should take a kernel in its final condition, ie. dried and ready for despatch, cut it through and examine the section. This is ecause no signs of discolouration will ever show at the outside. ‘To complete the picture we give below a short list of the types of kernel oil that are obtained from palm Kernels in various conditions 1, Kemels from fruit that is sterilized for very short period at normal temperature will yield cil of a slightly yellow colour, although the kernels themselves remain quite white 2, The oil recovered from normal kernels is of a light yellow colour and is easy to bleach. 3. The oil recovered from kemels that have not heen adequately dried is of a greyish-yellow colour and is hard to bleach. 4, The oil recovered from light brown kemels is again light yellow andl can generally be bleached without trouble. 5, The oil recovered from kernels that have been stored wet and/or are slightly rotten is dark red and hard to bleach. 6. The oil recovered from dark brown kemels is dark brown and cannot be bleached. The effect of the sterilizing temperature on the oil recove: quo’ As is generally known, the use of a high steriizing ‘temperature will improve the oil recovery quotient, ic. the oil losses in fibre will be lower. It is obvious therefore, that there will always be a tendency to increase the sterilizing temperature. ‘There is, however, a certain maximum. limit which for reasons explained in the preceding paragraph it is essential to adhere to.content zation to the high temperature the fruit is ex- sterilization, part of the moisture in it will evaporate spontaneously after the pres- posed to durin sur has been released, ‘This loss of moisture amounting to 10%, of the weight of the fruit, assists materially in the expression of the oil in the press system. Experiments, both on a laboratory seale full factory seale, have demonstrated that the oil recovery improves with a given moisture content The optimum moisture content has been found to be about 12%, + 2%. If the moisture content is less than 10%, or if it exceeds 147, the oil recovery quotient will decrease and on a of the pericarp after sterilization, To explain this phenomenon we should consider The cell- wall namely is made up of 2 parts, ie. a wall of the structure of the cellular membrane cellulose, which cellulose is almost invariably asso- ciated with other substances (chiefly pectin, hemi- cellulose, etc.) as well as a wall built up of fine lipoid membranes confining the protoplasm. In this stratified structure the moisture can be hound in many ways and sometimes in large quantities The chemical reaction taking place during steril~ ization (refer to 1,02 and 1.03) and the abstra tion of moisture from the cell-wall weaken the cells to such an extent that the oil can be easily liberated from them afterwards, The moisture content of the bunches handled in the mill depends on the degree of ripeness they have when harvested, the time elapsing between harvesting and arrival at the mill and climatic conditions Whilst making due allowance for the same restric- tions that were applicable to the oil content of the pericarp (3.01.02 - b), we may state that the pericarp of freshly-ripe fruit has a moisture con- tent of about 337, this percentage having been 44 ten days previously and 38 five days previously sneral rule that a normal crop which has not been too long on its way to the mill will be brought at the optimum moisture content by normal sterilization with saturated Tt can be laid down as a Conelusi: In the present number attention has been paid to those factors which are of importance in the mechanical sterilization of palm fruit and which affect both the quantity and the quality of the oil recovered, In the next number of this Review we propose to deal with subjects of a more practical nature n consumption, the advan as de-aeration, ste and drawbacks of various types of sterilizers, ete “Capcity 18Some references cone st Comytagn Toop “ey * bunches or Anda cen Go BE 3 | es ‘| | Tic Gon SERS Rito ° a ee : Been 4, Ciwtiam iene 0 re eo eeleneesed Piao ; | = ieageia ' | So = ; SCAM. Rep of Congo Leo 15 hans Gye ; i = : | ito Ree of Gabon 3 {864 Eranenia nh Angola 3 3 StF coe ERAS ct eae 3 Pa EeRpilae Amerdan’ fee Pavan 3 ro Teg 4 so ode po Decne 1986 aah Sopa angie Gms | 0 on f EF pe hour i 1S as Induce 38 ho Maayan 3 noe cami); 461 foie prewes {17 fae Boorstraat - Telephone 60591 - Postbox 3007 - Telex 12517 - Amsterdam (Holland) 1 70 sal sl automat)