Palm fatty acid distribution

Fats and oils may be synthesized in enantiomerically pure forms in the laboratory (30) or derived from vegetable sources (mainly from nuts, beans, and seeds), animal depot fats, fish, or marine mammals. Oils obtained from other sources differ markedly in their fatty acid distribution. Table 2 shows compositions for a wide variety of oils. One variation in composition is the chain length of the fatty acid. Butterfat, for example, has a fairly high concentration of short- and medium-chain saturated fatty acids. Oils derived from cuphea are also a rich source of capric acid which is considered to be medium in chain length (32). Palm kernel and coconut oils are known as lauric oils because of their high content of C-12 saturated fatty acid (lauric acid). Rapeseed oil, on the other hand, has a fairly high concentration of long-chain (C-20 and C-22) fatty acids. 

Fatty Acid Distribution Coconut Stripped Coconut Palm Kernel Palm Tallow... 

As previously mentioned, the triglycerides found in biomass are esters of the triol, glycerol, and fatty acids (Fig. 3.6). These water-insoluble, oil-soluble esters are common in many biomass species, especially the oilseed crops, but the concentrations are small compared to those of the polysaccharides and lignins. Many saturated fatty acids have been identified as constituents of the lipids. Surprisingly, almost all the fatty acids that have been found in natural lipids are straight-chain acids containing an even number of carbon atoms. Most lipids in biomass are esters of two or three fatty acids, the most common of which are lauric (Cn), myristic (Cu), palmitic (Cia), oleic (Cis), and linoleic (Cis) acids. Palmitic acid is of widest occurrence and is the major constituent (35 to 45%) of the fatty acids of palm oil. Lauric acid is the most abundant fatty acid of palm-kemel oil (52%), coconut oil (48%), and babassu nut oil (46%). The monounsaturated oleic acid and polyunsaturated linoleic acid comprise about 90% of sunflower oil fatty acids. Linoleic acid is the dominant fatty acid in com oil (55%), soybean oil (53%), and safflower oil (75%). Saturated fatty acids of 18 or more carbon atoms are widely distributed, but are usually present in biomass only in trace amounts, except in waxes. 

This compound is the zinc salt of a mixture of fatty acids, predominantly lauric acid, which is one of the three most widely distributed saturated fatty acids found in nature (coconut and palm oils). Consequently, no hazardous environmental impact is expected. 

Renaud, S.C., Ruf, J.C., and Pethitory, D. (1995) The Positional Distribution of Fatty Acids in Palm Oil and Lard Influences Their Biological Effects in Rats, J. Nutr. 125,229-237. 

Crude pahn kernel oil (CPKO) which is derived from the kernel of the oil palm fruit consists of large amounts of saturated fatty acids such as lauric acid (C12 0) [ 48 %], myristic acid (C14 0) [ 16 %], and palmitic acid (C16 0) [ 8 %] (Loo et al. 2005). However, the concentration of unsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic (C18 2) [ 2 %] is very low. It contrast, palm oil products derived from mesocarp such as crude palm oil (CPO) and palm olein (PO) are mainly composed of C16 0 and contain more unsaturated fatty adds such as oleic acid (C18 l), (C18 2) and trace quantities of Hnolenic add (C18 3) (Loo et al. 2005). Compared to palm oil products, soybean oil is rich in unsaturated fatty adds with C18 2 (54 %), C18 l (22 %), and C18 3 (8 %) as the major constituents while 10 % of the distributions are contributed from saturated fatty adds (Kahar et al. 2004 Loo et al. 2005). Nevertheless, soybean oil has proven to be a good carbon source for high cell density cultures. Since, CPKO contains lesser unsatuiated fatty adds, it conld become potential carbon feedstock for high cell density PHA prodnction. 

Oleic acid, the most widely distributed of all the natural fatty acids, is present in practically all lipids and is a significant component in sources such as those listed below. Many of these are commercially available and are discussed in more detail in Section 3.3. The least familiar is Jessenia bataua which is a native Amazonian palm. Its oil is considered as a potential replacement for olive oil. The octa-decenoic acids of plant origin are likely to be wholly oleic acid but those of animal origin may contain other isomers. 

Ng, S. (1985) Analysis of positional distribution of fatty acids in palm oil by C-NMR spectroscopy. Lipids, 20, 778-82. 

Table 8.2 Distribution of fatty acid compositions (wt%) for whole palm oil and fractions... 

Palmitic acid n-hexadecanoic acid, CH3-(CH2)i4-COOH, a fatty acid, M, 256.4, m.p. 63 °C, b.p.igo 271.5 °C, b.p.i5 215 °C. Together with stearic acid. Pa. is one of Ae most widely distributed natural fatty acids, and is present in practically all natural fat e.g. 36% in palm oil 29% in bovine carcass fat, 15 % in olive oil it is also found in phosphatides and waxes. Pa. is the taw material for the manufacture of candles, soap, wetting agents and antifoams. 

However, tallow is composed of -30% C16 and 70% C18 chains with substantial unsaturation. The choices of carbon numbers available are limited by the type of oil used as a feed material. Coconut oil is -50% Cj2 with up to 20% and -15% each of Cs io and Cig ig. Palm kernel oil has a similar distribution. However, tallow is mostly Cjg-Cig. The shorter chain C12-C14 fatty acids and methyl esters derived from coconut and palm kernel oil are key starting materials for a host of surfactant derivatives in each of the major categories (anionics, cationics, nonionics, and amphoterics). 

The workhorse amphoteric surfactants are the alkyl- and alkylamidopropyl betaines, containing C8-C18 linear chain distributions that are derived from coconut or palm kernel oil, or ethylene-based alpha olefins. The alkyl betaines are prepared from ADMA feedstocks that are typically derived from alpha olefins and dimethyl amine throngh hydrohalogenation and alkylation reaction steps. The alkylamidopropyl betaines are based on tertiary amines derived from whole triglycerides or their fractionated derivative fatty acids or methyl esters reacted with DMAPA. 

A surfactant comprises a hydrophobic tail and a hydrophilic head. The balance of hydrophobic and hydrophilic character is what defines the properties and performance of the surfactant. Hydrophobes from fatty acids consist of linear alkyl chains from C8-C22. Coconut oil provides a valuable source of the shorter C8-C14 acids while tallow, palm oil and soya bean oil are rich in C16-C18 acids. The longer C20-C22 chains are obtained from rapeseed. Natural fats and oils are triglycerides comprised of a distribution of different fatty acids and therefore, unless fractionated, the surfactants produced from them also comprise a mixture of chain lengths. While the chain length distribution of an oil or fat varies on a lot-to-lot basis, the differences in composition do not significantly impact the performance of the surfactant in most applications. 

Each triglyceride molecule has a random distribution of acid chain lengths and degrees of unsaturation. However, the composition of fats and oils from a common source is relatively uniform. While fatty alcohols theoretically could be derived from any fat or oil, most are prepared from coconut oil or tallow with an increasing quantity derived from palm oil or palm kernel oil. Approximate compositions (O of these four oils are listed in Table I. 

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