Influence of a commercial monoacylglycerol on the crystallization mechanism of palm oil as compared to its pure constituents

The effect of a commercialmonoacylglycerol (MAG),Myverol™18 04-PK(Myverol), on the non-isothermal crystallization mechanismof palm oil (PO) was investigated and compared to the effect of the two main constituents of Myverol, monopalmitin and monostearin. The MAGs were added to PO in concentrations up to 8% and the blends were studied using different techniques (differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and polarized light microscopy (PLM)). The DSC crystallization profiles revealed an earlier onset of crystallization along with extra crystallization peaks when MAGs were added to PO. Combined with X-ray results, it could be concluded that the crystallization process of the blends is initiated by the MAGs crystallizing in the
α form and then transforming to sub-α. The effect on the non-isothermal crystallization of the PO TAGs is confined to an earlier onset of crystallization, probably through a template effect, and an effect on the crystal structure coarseness.