Crystallization of Palm Oil Experiment

What is the initial temperature requirement to fully melt the refined bleached and deodorized palm oil?

At what time intervals were observations made to measure the morphology of the crystals?

What was the constant stirring speed maintained during the crystallization process?

Which tool was used to photograph the crystals during the observations?

What was the crystallization temperature range used in this experiment?

Aim

Investigate the relationship between time and the rate of crystallization in palm oil.

Materials

Beakers
Slides
Cover slips
Microscope
Thermally controlled water bath
Stirring motor with paddle propeller

Procedure

Palm oil is melted in a beaker at 70°C for 30 minutes.
The temperature is decreased to 30°C over an hour.
Then, the temperature is further reduced to 14°C or 22°C over 30 minutes.
The oil is allowed to crystallize for 90 minutes, with samples taken at 5, 15, 30, 60, and 90 minutes.
Samples are placed on slides, covered with cover slips, and observed under a microscope at 200x magnification.
The lengths of the four longest dimensions of each crystal are measured, and an average of at least six crystals is recorded for each observation.

Observation

The size of the crystals is recorded at each time point in a table.

Analysis

The rate of crystallization is determined by analyzing the change in crystal size over time.
The report will likely include the average crystal size at the 90-minute mark.

Explore the relationship between time and the crystallization rate of palm oil through a systematic investigation. This quiz covers the materials, procedure, and analysis involved in measuring crystal sizes at different time intervals. Test your understanding of experimental methods and data analysis.