Palm Kernel Stearin

About This Product

Palm kernel stearin is recovered by fractionating palm kernel oil: the oil is cooled under control so the higher-melting triglycerides crystallise, and the solid is separated from the liquid olein. Typical values are lauric acid at 46 to 52 percent, myristic at 15 to 18 percent, an iodine value of 5 to 9, a saponification value of 240 to 255 and a melting point of 30 to 34 degrees Celsius. What makes it valuable is the combination of very low unsaturation with a very sharp melting transition. An iodine value in single figures means almost no double bonds, so the fat resists oxidation, holds its colour and does not develop off-odour in storage or under heat, which matters in both confectionery coating and soap. The narrow melt means it is firm in the hand yet fully liquid a few degrees above, the profile that makes it the standard raw material for cocoa butter substitutes once hydrogenated. In soap making the same high lauric content and hardness give a dense bar with fast, abundant lather and lower moisture pickup than a softer lauric oil would allow. It is used in cocoa butter substitutes and compound coatings, hard soap and laundry bar manufacture, non-dairy creamers, and as feedstock for lauric fatty acids and fatty alcohols. Bio Green Wax supplies RBD palm kernel stearin to specification on fatty acid profile, iodine and saponification value, melting point, free fatty acid, moisture and colour.