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ABSTRACT
Bleaching is an essential stage in the palm kernel oil (PKO) refining process that helps in removing contaminants and improving the oil's quality. Hydrogen peroxide's oxidative qualities and environmental friendliness have made it a promising bleaching agent in chemical industries. Even with constant developments, the industry still has trouble streamlining the bleaching process to get reliable and effective refining results. A number of problems, including uneven color removal and variable free fatty acid concentration, make it difficult to achieve the industry standards required. This study aims to optimize the bleaching process of PKO using hydrogen peroxide to achieve improved refining outcomes. Experimental tests were conducted to investigate the effects of hydrogen peroxide concentration, reaction time, and other process parameters on bleaching efficiency and oil quality parameters. Through practical experiments, it evaluates how hydrogen peroxide, alongside bentonite, can enhance bleaching efficiency and oil quality. Results reveal hydrogen peroxide's effectiveness in removing color and improving oxidation, complementing bentonite's traditional role. It showed that a ratio of hydrogen peroxide to bleaching clay being 3:1.5 with the peroxide being dosed into the oil first at an optimal temperature of 90 led to increased color removal and reduction in free fatty acid content and acid value of the refined oil. Here we show that hydrogen peroxide bleaching process optimization presents a promising way to meet industry standards and increase refining efficiency because current methods have been found to have issues with lowering PKO's acid value and free fatty acid content, which results in longer refining times and higher energy consumption.
