The palm oil bleaching capacity of various Nigerian clay deposits

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Abstract
Summary: The ability of clay deposits from six different locations in Nigeria to bleach palm oil was assessed. Each clay was analysed for gross mineral composition. Degummed and steam‐sparged palm oil was heated with different quantities of each fine clay for 30 min. The degree of bleaching was determined by comparing the absorbance of residual pigment at 452 nm with that of unbleached oil. Performance was assessed with a modified form of the Freundlich adsorption isotherm (X/M = KCn), where X/M is the mass of pigment adsorbed per unit weight of adsorbent, C is the equilibrium concentration of pigment, and the constant K provides an index of performance for each clay. The exponent n was 2 for all clays, and K values varied from 120 to 2950, apparently with the Fe2O3 content of the clay. Clays with high iron content should be tested further, for use in bleaching palm oil.

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