Coconut oil crystallization on tripalmitin and tristearin seed crystals with different polymorphs

This study evaluates the influence of the polymorphs of triacylglycerol (TAGs) seed crystals on the crystallization of coconut oil (CO) using seeding techniques. Tripalmitin (PPP) and tristearin (StStSt) with three polymorphs (α, β′, and βα forms) were used as the seed materials. β form seed crystals were prepared by transforming in the solid state from the α form (βα) and by annealing TAG powder (βann). The CO crystallization on the TAG seed crystals was observed at 20 °C using differential interference contrast microscopy and synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction. The seed crystals with different polymorphs of PPP and StStSt promoted the nucleation of the β′ form of CO by heterogeneous nucleation. The seed crystals with the β′ form were the most effective accelerators, indicating that polymorphic matching between seed crystals and CO strongly induced the nucleation of CO by epitaxial growth. A longer TAG fraction (such as LMP, PPP, etc., L is lauric acid, M is myristic acid) of CO probably grew on the surface of the βann seed via the template effect with the same orientation as the seed. These results indicate that the seed crystal polymorphs significantly affect the efficiency of CO crystallization. Efficient seedings can be used to improve the physical properties of CO via fractionation.