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Abstract In this study, hexagonal mesoporous molecular sieves (HMS) were synthesized to investigate their potential to be used as alternative for bleaching earth in palm oil processing. This study also investigated their ability to be regenerated for reuse. HMS synthesized were found to have BET surface area ranging between 900 and 1,200 m2/g and total pore volume of 0.9 cm3/g. It was proven that synthesized HMS can successfully perform the bleaching of the palm oil and, in addition, can be regenerated for at least nine times to be reused for bleaching. It was found that the dosage of phosphoric acid added for degumming and the ratio of HMS to oil used during bleaching play important role in ensuring the success of the bleaching. The ratio of HMS to palm oil for successful bleaching is found to be 1:11.

Introduction Bleaching is one of the critical stages in the crude palm oil refining process. In the bleaching process, bleaching adsorbents are used to remove the selective impurities and colour pigments. The colour pigments can adversely affect the taste of the oil and is generally disliked by consumers (Rohani 2006; Hassan and El-Shall 2004). Hence, the removal of the colour pigments is essential to improve the quality of the palm oil. Currently, bleaching clays have been most commonly and extensively used in the industry for bleaching of edible oil (Sabah 2007). According to a report by L. N. Ngu (&) Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering and Science, Curtin University, CDT 250 98009 Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] F. A. A. Twaiq Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering and Architecture, University of Nizwa, P.O.Box 33616 Brikat Al Mouz, Nizwa, Oman e-mail: [email protected]

R. Pogaku et al. (eds.), Developments in Sustainable Chemical and Bioprocess Technology, DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4614-6208-8_36,  Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

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L. N. Ngu and F. A. A. Twaiq

Malaysian Palm Oil Board (2012), crude palm oil production in Malaysia reached 19 million tons in 2011. With the high production rate of crude palm oil, there are significant quantities of spent bleaching earth generated in the refining of crude palm oil. Besides, spent bleaching earth usually contains retained oil of 20–40wt % after bleaching process (Yahia and Abdulrahim 1999), which can present a fire hazard. Also, as it is usually disposed into landfill without pretreatment, it could cause pollution problems, which includes polluting underground water. Therefore, a suitable alternative bleaching material that can be regenerated for repeated use would be both economically and ecologically advantageous. In this research study, it is aimed to investigate an alternative bleaching agent that can be used to replace bleaching earth and can also be regenerated multiple times for reuse as a means of reducing the cost of refining. According to Patterson (1992), cited in Rohani (2006), for effective adsorption in bleaching process, porous adsorbents with high specific surf