PREPARATION OF ACTIVATED CARBON FROM TEAK LEAVES FOR THE DECOLORIZATION OF PALM OIL

The bleaching efficiency of activated carbon prepared from teak leaves was investigated for the removal of pigments from palm oil. The adsorbents were activated using KOH and FeCl3 as activating agents. The effects of adsorbent dosage (2% - 6 %), contact time (15 min. – 90 min.) and temperature (30 °C – 80 °C) were studied, while the unactivated adsorbent was used as standard. The ash content, moisture content, volatile matter content, and fixed carbon content were determined and the adsorptive bleaching of palm oil investigated using 1.2 g activated carbon with 20 g crude palm oil. Bleaching efficiency was observed to be 93.09 % and 96.68 % for the KOH and FeCl3 activated adsorbent respectively, while the unactivated adsorbent was observed to have a bleaching efficiency of 89.21 %. The optimum bleaching efficiency was observed at a temperature of 70 °C, adsorbent dosage of 6 %, and contact time of 90 min. Results obtained suggests that teak leaves can be a source of low-cost adsorbent for the removal of pigments from palm oil which is of great relevance in obtaining a clean environment.