What are the Properties of Palm Oil?

The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is a native of West Africa. Palm oil is produced from the flesh of the fruit and has been mainly used as a food supply in the past, according to "The Cambridge World History of Food." Today, palm oil is still an important ingredient in African and Brazilian regional cuisine. However, the oil is more often used as a component of many processed foods, such as biscuits, margerines and chocolates, and as a biofuel. Palm oil properties include low density, a high solidification point and biotic activity of the third order.

Density

• Fats and oils have low density, which is roughly 0.9 g per cm3, according to German Transport Information Service. However, density varies according to temperature. At 77 degrees F, the density of palm oil is 0.89 g per cm3. At lower temperatures, this density slightly increases, according to the Chempro website. Volume is also related to density. most oils, including palm oil, increase 1 percent in volume for each 57-degree temperature increase.

Solidification Point

• Solidification point is the amount of temperature required for a substance to change its physical state from liquid to solid. According to German Transport Information Service, palm oil has a high solidification point, in the range of 88 to 105 degrees F. In temperate countries, palm oil is thus also known as palm fat, due to its solidified consistency.

Biotic Activity

• Levels of biotic activity are related to the capacity of microorganisms to develop in a substance decomposing it. Palm oil has a biotic activity of third class, in a scale that goes from zero to four, where microbial processes have stopped totally. Palm oil and other third class substances still suffer biochemical, microbial and other decomposition processes, reports the German Transport Information Service.