DSC THERMAL-ANALYSIS OF CRYSTALLIZATION BEHAVIOR IN PALM OIL

Polymorphic behavior of palm oil crystals was studied by DSC isothermal analysis and microscopic observation. Different crystal forms developed specific spherulites depending on the degree of super-cooling from the melt. The A-form crystal was capable of forming a dotted spherulite and the B-form crystal of forming a dendritic spherulite. Experimental results of B form crystallization studied by the DSC and a microscope under kinetic conditions were evaluated using Avarami's theory, since the behavior of the oil during crystallization related well to that of high polymers. The crystallization process was divided into nucleation and crystal-growth phases to facilitate a theoretical treatment similar to that of high polymers, providing crystals possessing overall structural regularity. © 1979 American Oil Chemists' Society.