Mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOSH/MOAH) in tropical plants oils and removal
of them by molecular distillation
Abstract
Nowadays, tropical plants oils (e.g. palm oil and coconut oil) are
extensively used in consumer products, especially in infant formulas.
However, there is a lack of statistical data about the levels of mineral
oil in tropical oils, including saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and
aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH). In this study, we reported a survey of
MOSH/MOAH in tropical oils. Meanwhile, we provided an effective strategy
to reduce the content of MOSH/MOAH. A total of 708 tropical plant oils
were collected from five tropical countries for this survey. The highest
quantifiable MOSH and MOAH concentrations were up to 455.99 mg kg-1 and
78.87 mg kg-1, respectively. Thereinto, MOSH was ubiquitous in almost
all the tested samples. The distribution of sub-fractions for MOSH was
centered at C25-C35 and C35-C40 for most crude and refined oils. After
distillation, the MOH sub-fraction ≤C40 could be removed effectively,
but there was no effect on the sub-fraction >C40.