Keywords:
Palm oil, PFAD, PCDD/F, PCB, DEXTech
Abstract:
Palm and palm kernel oil as well as many of their by-products like palm fatty acid distillates (PFAD), or palm stearin are used nowadays in a variety of products. You can find them in many processed foods, feed supplements, cosmetics or biofuels. In order to ensure the quality and safety palm oils and its derived products, they are tested for a variety of contamination like PCDD/F as well as dioxin like and non-dioxin like PCBs. PFADs and other palm oil derivates contain high amounts of free fatty acids with high melting points like palmitic acid or stearic acid. This often leads to a low solubility of these substances in n-hexane at room temperature and can make the clean-up of the dioxin and PCB analysis quite tricky with clogged columns and low recoveries. The DEXTech Heat system was developed especially for matrices with a high melting point but of course can be used for standard fat/oil samples as well. The system has three different heated zones, the heated sample holder, the heated sample loop and some heated tubes to ensure that the sample stays liquefied during the whole clean-up process. These features ensure an easy handling of difficult matrices as well as an increase in the clean-up performance.
