Neutralização e degomagem de azeites artesanais de coco babaçu (Orbignya speciosa) e de dendê (Elaeis guineensis) utilizados para comercialização

Abstract

The objective of this work was to perform chemical neutralization and acid degumming of artisanal babassu coconut and palm oil in crude form with physicochemical evaluation of acidity, peroxide and percentage of free fatty acids using the methodologies of the American Oil Chemists Society-AOCS, to quality control of the same and of industrial oils, for the purpose of comparison. The samples were submitted to degumming treatment, under heating, using P.A phosphoric acid and distilled water. Subsequently, the samples were neutralized using a 20% sodium hydroxide solution, where they were kept by slow stirring for 12 minutes in a water bath, followed by decanting at room temperature for 24 hours to separate the liquid content and the "sludge" formed. . Degumming and neutralization treatments were performed separately on the samples to verify the effects separately. Average values of acidity in the range of 0.443 to 4.23 and peroxide from 0.195 to 0.394 were obtained for the babassu coconut samples and for the palm oil samples average values of 0.145 to 7.45 for acidity and from 0.58 to 5, 07 for peroxide. These values are within the recommended by current legislation. In the samples of crude and degummed oils, higher average values were observed for the percentage of free fatty acids (27.08 and 29.82 for the coconut samples and 48.74 and 52.56 for the palm oil). These treatments proved to be efficient, as it improved the quality of the treated oils, since these parameters are important for the conservation status of the oil.