What Is Palm Kernel Oil?
Palm kernel oil is the oil that is processed and extracted from the seed of the palm oil plant fruit. It differs from palm oil, which is extracted from the fruit pulp of palm. However, in common parlance, when people talk about palm oil, they are actually referring to palm kernel oil.
Palm kernel oil is more saturated than palm oil and, hence, has a higher shelf life and multiple applications. Most of the usage of palm oil is due to its edibility, resulting in 85% of palm oil coming out of an oil refinery plant being used by the processed food industry. Around 15% of palm kernel oil produced is used for non-consumption purposes. This is why you cannot avoid palm oil in any way because it exists in most of the processed foods we have.
What Uses Does Palm Oil Have?
Palm oil has countless utilities and uses throughout the entire industry. Let us take a look at just a few of the sectors that use it:
Soap and Cosmetics
Palm oil is an important ingredient in most lipsticks and soaps since it aids saponification in general. Moreover, palm oil has a high shelf life, which is useful in storing wellness products.
Foods and Confectionery
Arguably, the lion's share of the palm kernel oil process is used by the food segment. From common everyday items like margarine and shortening to all processed foods available, palm oil lives on in all of them. Due to its high saturation, it is very useful throughout.
Pharmaceuticals
Even though it doesn't seem so, palm oil is an important source of lauric acid, which is an essential ingredient in many chemicals that both cosmetic and pharma companies use.
Conclusion
Now you know a bit about palm oil and the palm kernel oil process, search for yourself and find out more! If you are a business opportunist, get in touch with Mectech for the best equipment. Building an oil refinery plant can be a great business idea for the future. If you want to be in cosmetics, you should know how palm oil plays an important role. Explore!
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