Palm kernel oil

European merchants trading with West Africa occasionally purchased palm oil for use in Europe, but palm kernel oil remained rare outside West Africa.

[3] The USDA has published historical production figures for palm kernel oil for years beginning October 1 and ending September 30:[4] In the 1960s, research and development (R&D) in oil palm breeding began to expand after Malaysia's Department of Agriculture established an exchange program with West African economies and four private plantations formed the Oil Palm Genetics Laboratory.

[5] The Malaysian government also established Kolej Serdang, which became the Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (UPM) in the 1970s to train agricultural and agroindustrial engineers and agribusiness graduates to conduct research in the field.

[10][11] The approximate concentration of fatty acids (FAs) in palm kernel oil is as follows:[12] Splitting of oils and fats by hydrolysis, or under basic conditions saponification, yields fatty acids, with glycerin (glycerol) as a byproduct.

The split-off fatty acids are a mixture ranging from C4 to C18, depending on the type of oil or fat.