Visualized phase behavior of binary blends of coconut oil and palm stearin

Abstract

The graded blends of coconut oil (CNO) and palm stearin (POs) phase behavior was studied in the present work, by using pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance (p-NMR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray scattering (XRD). The kinetic phase diagram which was fitting to DSC data by polynomial equation (R > 0.95), indicated that the CNO-POs binary blends displayed monotectic behavior. The CNO-POs binary system displayed immiscible solid structures (β and β′ polymorphism) with the addition of POs in the range of 10–60%, beyond which it showed miscible solid structures (β polymorphism), respectively. Moreover, the presence of POs could elevate the liquid phase transition temperature and transform β′ polymorph into β. These variations in phase behavior were reflected in the morphology of the binary blends. Our findings not only broaden the application of CNO and POs with novel attributes, but also direct the production of high quality non-hydrogenated fat-containing products.