Removal Of Free Fatty Acids Research Articles

The regularities of spent bleached earth treatment with the ester-aldehyde fraction

The regularities of extraction of adsorbate from spent bleaching earth (SBE) of sunflower oil by the esteraldehyde fraction (EAF) have been established. The content of the substances adsorbed by SBE was 34.1%, including 19.2% free fatty acids (FFA) and 11.1% moisture. The influence of temperature (50 and 700C), extraction duration (60 and 120 min), and the mass ratio of EAF to SBE ((2–4):1) on the extraction parameters has been determined. It was found that increasing these process parameters enhances the extraction degree of the adsorbate and FFA from the bleaching earth, reaching 41.9% and 34.4%, respectively, at a temperature of 700C, extraction duration of 120 min, and a mass excess of EAF to SBC at a ratio of 4:1. Optimal conditions for the removal of FFA from SBE were identified. It was established that strong acidic sites are present on the surface of the bleaching earth, with the acidity of fresh, spent, and EAF-treated bleaching earth being 0.79, 0.77, and 0.74 mmol H+ per gram, respectively. The basicity of fresh bleaching earth was 0.073 mmol OH– per gram, indicating the ability of bleaching earth to catalyze the esterification of FFA with ethanol. The suitability of the obtained extract for the production of FFA ethyl esters was demonstrated.

Optimizing the chemical refining process parameters on the removal of free fatty acid in distillers corn oil

Optimizing the chemical refining process parameters on the removal of free fatty acid in distillers corn oil

Utilizing Nano-Adsorbents and Electrostatic Field Treatment for Sustainable Refinement of Crude Canola Oil.

Removal of polar impurities, such as phospholipids, free fatty acids (FFA), and peroxides, can be challenging during the refining of crude canola oil. Current conventional refining methods are energy-intensive (e.g., hot water washes) and can generate significant waste (e.g., wastewater effluent) and neutral oil loss. This study investigated the joint use of nano-adsorbents and electrostatic field (E-field) treatment as a potential and sustainable alternative in removing these impurities during the oil refining process. Specifically, aluminum oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticles were employed to neutralize FFAs, achieving a 62.4% reduction in acid value while preserving the fatty acid profile of the oil. After refining, E-field treatment was successful in removing the spent nano-adsorbent from solution (up to 72.3% by weight), demonstrating enhanced efficiency compared to conventional methods (e.g., gravitational settling, filtration, and centrifugation). The neutral oil loss using Al2O3 nano-adsorbents was also comparable to conventional refining methods, with a 4.38% (by weight) loss. After E-field treatment, the Al2O3 nano-adsorbent was then calcined to assess reusability. The Al2O3 nano-adsorbent was effectively recycled for three refining cycles. the methods do not use of large amounts of water and generate minimal waste byproducts (e.g., effluent). Nonetheless, while the nano-adsorbents demonstrated promising results in FFA removal, they were less effective in eliminating peroxides and pigments. E-field techniques were also effective in removing spent nano-adsorbent; although, optimization of E-field parameters could further improve its binding capacity. Finally, future studies could potentially focus on the physicochemical modifications of the nano-adsorbent material to enhance their refining capacity and reusability. Overall, this study presents a sustainable alternative or addition to conventional refining methods and lays the groundwork for future research.

Mesoporous silica aerogels for sunflower oil refining and investigation of their adsorption performance

AbstractInvolving a succession of oil refining stages for edible oil production, a notable constraint lies in the necessity to employ diverse adsorbents at various steps within these processes. This study investigates the synthesis of mesoporous silica aerogels from rice husk ash, comparing their efficacy in physical sunflower oil refining with earth clay (Bentonite) and commercial silica (Trisyl). Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) impact during aging was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and N2 adsorption-desorption analyzer to examine alterations in the structure of silica aerogels. The surface areas of TEOS-doped silica aerogel (TSA) and non-TEOS-doped silica aerogel (NTSA) were 296.18 and 267.06 m²/g. Mesoporous silica aerogels were evaluated for their ability to reduce free fatty acids (FFA), peroxide value (PV), phosphorus, and color pigments in sunflower oil. TSA and NTSA demonstrated significant FFA removal, with TSA at 3 wt.% achieving the highest performance of 32.2%. TSA also effectively reduced PV and phosphorus compared to NTSA, Bentonite and Trisyl, exhibiting performance similar to Bentonite in the bleaching process. TEOS-doped silica aerogels have shown promise as adsorbents for impurity removal in sunflower oil and has emerged as the potential adsorbent that can comprehensively and effectively meet the requirements of many edible oil physical refining applications in a singular step. Graphical Abstract

A low-cost water hyacinth-based adsorbent for free fatty acids removal from waste cooking oil: kinetic, isotherm, and thermodynamic studies

A low-cost water hyacinth-based adsorbent for free fatty acids removal from waste cooking oil: kinetic, isotherm, and thermodynamic studies

Functionality and mechanistic parametric study of the potential of waste plantain peels and commercial bentonite for soybean oil refining

The consumption of unrefined vegetable oil poses acute and chronic health issues, yet improper disposal of waste plantain peels is not environmentally sustainable. This research investigates the feasibility, mechanism and thermodynamics of waste plantain peels, and commercial bentonite clay for soybean oil refining. Experiment was carried out using masses (1–4 g) of commercial bentonite clay, and unripe plantain peel ash (UPPA) to degummed and neutralized free fatty acid (FFA) contents in crude soybean oil at varying temperatures (50–120 °C), and time (15–35 min) for treatment of soybean oil. FTIR spectroscopy, SEM, and XRF techniques were applied to characterize the sample. The results established that at optimum 4.0 g dosage, the UPPA (97.73%) was more effective in the removal of FFA from oil at 50 °C and 20 min, while the clay (90%) was more effective in the removal of colour pigment from the vegetable oil 100 °C, and 25 min. The optimum efficiency of Clay-Ash-composite (70:30) in adsorbing pigment from soybean oil corresponds to 80%. The impact of changing viscosities, densities, and acid values on the performance of UPPA, clay, and clay-UPPA composite was investigated. Mechanistic studies confirmed the pseudo-second-order kinetics at 5 × 10–2 g/mg min−1 and 1.87 × 10–1 g/mg min−1, with corresponding adsorption capacity of 30.40 mg/g and 4.91 mg/g, at R2 ≤ 0.9982. The UPPA-driven sorption of FFA occurred as a physisorption and exothermic process (− 620.60 kJ/mol), while colour pigment removal occurred by chemisorption and endothermic process (22.40 kJ/mol). The finding recommends UPPA and composite as economically feasible for refining soybean oil.

Novel approach using [18F]FTHA-PET and de novo synthesized VLDL for assessment of FFA metabolism in a rat model of diet induced NAFLD

The worldwide prevalence of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) raises concerns about associated risk factors, such as obesity and type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, for leading causes of disability and death. Besides Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Spectroscopy (MRS), functional imaging with Positron Emission Tomography (PET) could contribute to a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of NAFLD. Here we describe a novel approach using the PET tracer [18F]FTHA, which is an analog of long-chain free fatty acids (FFA) and is taken up by tissues to enter mitochondria or to be incorporated into complex lipids for further export as very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). Male Sprague Dawley rats, after 6 weeks on a high-fat diet (HFD), were used as a model of diet induced NAFLD, while a standard diet (SD) served as a control group. Liver fat was estimated by MR spectroscopy at a 9.4T system for phenotyping. To measure hepatic FFA uptake, rats underwent 60min dynamic [18F]FTHA-PET scans after unrestricted access to food (HFD: n=6; SD: n=6) or overnight (≤16h) fasting (HFD: n=6; SD: n=5). FFA removal was assessed from incorporated 18F-residual in de novo synthesized VLDL out of plasma. MRS of the liver confirmed the presence of NAFLD (>5.6% fat). Under non-fasting conditions, hepatic [18F]FTHA uptake was significantly increased in NAFLD: SUVmean (p=0.03) within [0; 60] min interval, SUVmean (p=0.01) and SUVmax (p=0.03) within [30; 60] min interval. SUVs for hepatic uptake under fasting conditions were not significantly different between the groups. Analysis of FFA removal demonstrated elevated values of 18F-residue in the VLDL plasma fraction of the healthy group compared to the NAFLD (p=0.0569). Our novel approach for assessing FFA metabolism using [18F]FTHA demonstrated differences in the hepatic FFA uptake and FFA incorporation into VLDL between healthy and NAFLD rats. [18F]FTHA-PET could be used to study metabolic disturbances involved in the progression of NAFLD.

The Investigation Of The Synthesis Cooking Oil As A New Power Transformer Oil

Abstract Background: The mineral oil has been widely used in a power transformer for the purpose of insulation and suppression of corona and arcing. But due to its extremely low flashpoint, this can also cause an explosion in the case of a fire and the mineral oil has been found to be non-biodegradable. In this research, an alternative of mineral oil is proposed, which is the usage of used cooking oil which will undergo chemical modification via transesterification in order to achieve its expected properties which fits into the requirements of the power transformer according to the IEEE standard of IEEE C57.147 Methods: the synthesis of oil process will begin by the selection of the most suitable vegetable oil, in this case the palm oil in which, the water content and acidity were taken into consideration. The oil will then undergo transesterification process for the removal of free fatty acids and water content, before being tested for its acidity, water content and the breakdown down voltage in the high voltage lab to evaluate the electrical properties of the oil. Results: The results obtained during testing is that the breakdown voltage and water content is 6 kV and 125 ppm and the acidity 0.13 mg KOH/g. Conclusion: It is expected that the potential synthesized oil which has undergone transesterification process and the removal of all water content and free fatty acids in the oil, can be able to replicate the values replace the mineral oil in a power transformer despite having a higher acidity than the mineral oil.

Removal of free fatty acid from waste cooking oil using an adsorbent derived from cassava peels

Removal of free fatty acid from waste cooking oil using an adsorbent derived from cassava peels

Kinetics of reactive extraction of free fatty acids in jatropha oil with monoethanolamine in methanol: A key biodiesel pre-processing step

Unrefined vegetable oils and fats contain free fatty acids and they ought to be minimized for use in food and non-food applications. Traditional deacidification of vegetable oils and fats adopts alkali neutralization for the removal of free fatty acids. Here, a simple method for the removal of free fatty acids from jatropha oil by reactive extraction using monoethanolamine in methanol is proposed. Reactive extraction kinetic studies with initial free fatty acids concentration (0.1–0.5 kmol/m3) using monoethanolamine (0.4141–1.6568 kmol/m3) in methanol at 30 °C was performed and investigated. Parameters like distribution coefficient, equilibrium complexation constant for free fatty acids extraction were obtained to arrive at equilibrium and kinetic conclusions. Most importantly, the criteria for reaction regime was established through Hatta number. The study revealed that reactive extraction of free fatty acids using monoethanolamine in methanol falls under reaction regime 2. The study demonstrated that reactive extraction was highly successful in reduction of the free fatty acids in jatropha oil. Further biodiesel was prepared using the deacidified oil and the specifications obtained were well within the standard ASTM limits.

Elimination of free fatty acid from palm oil by adsorption process using a strong base anion exchange resin

Deacidification is one of the important processes to obtain a suitable raw feedstock for the production of bio-transformer oil. This work proposed an alternative process for reducing the acidity of refined palm oil by adsorption of the free fatty acids (FFAs) using anion exchange resins (AER). The effect of the types of functional groups (tertiary amine and quaternary ammonium group) and the resin structure (gel and macroporous structure) of the commercially available resins were characterized and investigated for their adsorption ability. The adsorption kinetic and experimental conditions such as adsorption time, the moisture content in resin, and resin amount were studied. The gel-type strong-base anion exchange resins exhibited the best performance for the FFAs removal. This result suggests that the quaternary ammonium functional groups in the resin have a high dissociation capacity for anion exchange and the gel-type resins easily access by the FFAs molecules. The effect of types of functional groups is stronger than that of the resin structure. The adsorption mechanism mainly occurred via an ion exchange equilibrium rather than the hydrogen bond complex. The FFAs adsorption on the resins conformed to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Under optimum conditions (room temperature, atmospheric pressure, resin dosage of 0.4 wt%, and 8 h adsorption time), the Pall Tec PTA304 resin reduced the acidity in palm oil from 0.5 to 0.02 mg KOH/g with the adsorption capacity at the equilibrium of 589.5 mg/g, achieving approximately 95 % FFAs removal. The negative values of ΔGads0 and ΔHads0 demonstrated that the FFAs adsorption on the Pall Tec PTA304 resin was a spontaneous and exothermic process. This study provides an insight into the interactions between FFAs and anion exchange resins that is useful for further development of palm based bio-transformer oil.

Adsorptive pretreatment of waste cooking oil using quicklime for fatty acid methyl esters synthesis

Synthesis of biodiesel from various plant oils is realized by the transesterification of triglycerides with methanol or by a reaction usually defined as methanolysis. The usage of low-quality oils, such as waste cooking oil (WCO), is followed by undesirable side reactions as a result of the increased content of free fatty acids (FFA), and water. The presence of FFA in WCO usually requires a pretreatment stage before subjecting it to methanolysis. In the present work, heterogeneously catalyzed methanolysis of WCO with and without pretreatment was investigated. Removal of FFA from WCO was conducted by using only quicklime or with the addition of a small amount of methanol (FFA to methanol = 1:3 molar ratio). The obtained results showed that pretreatment of WCO with quicklime at 30 ?C after 1 h reduces the FFA content by 72 %, while the adsorption capacity was determined to be 910 mg g-1. The adsorptive pretreatment, as a simple operation, using low-cost quicklime under mild conditions, had a positive effect on the transesterification rate with CaO?ZnO as a catalyst, enabling the achievement of over 96 % of biodiesel yield in only 15 min, compared to 1 h without the pretreatment. Furthermore, pretreated WCO allows an increase in repeated catalyst use and overall savings in the necessary amount of catalyst. The present study showed that quicklime is an economic, environmental-friendly, and sustainable material for FFA removal from WCO.

Interactions between polyphenols from Theobroma cacao and Lactobacillales to evaluate the potential of a combined strategy for intestinal free-fatty acid removal

Reducing the absorption of lipids in the gastrointestinal tract is one approach used to manage caloric intake in the fight against excessive weight. Biocompounds, such as polyphenols and probiotics, have been used in this regard. However, some studies have reported that polyphenols have both inhibitory and stimulatory effects on bacterial growth. This study aimed to investigate the resistance to polyphenol-rich extracts from Theobroma cacao L. of Lactobacillales isolated from the human fecal microbiota of lean volunteers (with high saturated fat consumption), to further the knowledge of the potential combination of these bioactive compounds. The strains were selected using an improved and affordable strategy that allowed the rapid screening of strains with fat-removing capacity. Among 1400 isolates, two strains, Lactobacillus sp. A1 and Pediococcus acidilactici E1, were selected due to their capacity to remove saturated fats from the culture media similar to the reference strain Lactobacillus sp. JBD301. Both isolated strains differed in their resistance to cocoa polyphenols: the extract did not affect the growth of strain A1, but reduced the growth of strain E1. However, the extract did not affect the level of in vitro fat removal by either strain, confirming the potential use of a combination of bacteria and polyphenols as a promising strategy for the intestinal removal of free fatty acids.

Use of Urea-imprinted cobalt ferrite nanoparticles in deacidification of deteriorated vegetable oil: Synthesis, characterization and preclinical toxicity screening

Finding an affordable solution to the challenge posed by quality deterioration and loss of vitality of vegetable oil is of concern to the food industry. This study evaluated the synthesis of cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) and urea modified cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4@Urea) via the coprecipitation method and their application to the sorption of free fatty acids (FFAs) in deteriorated vegetable oil (DVO). CoFe2O4 and CoFe2O4@Urea were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The crystallite size was found to be 29 nm for CoFe2O4 and 31 nm for CoFe2O4@Urea. CoFe2O4 and CoFe2O4@Urea exhibited high performance for the removal of FFA from DVO restoring its loss quality. The negative values of ΔGo for both CoFe2O4 and CoFe2O4@Urea are indications that the sorption process is spontaneous with an increased percentage removal of FFA from 77.80 % in CoFe2O4 to 97.50 % in CoFe2O4@Urea in a process that may be described by Freundlich, Langmuir, and Temkin isotherm models. CoFe2O4@Urea (195.00 L kg−1) exhibited a better sorption capacity than CoFe2O4 (155.60 L kg−1); in furtherance of this exhibited performance, CoFe2O4@Urea (20 and 40 mg kg−1) was fed to rats for 7 days and assessed for sero-clinical and morphological alterations in the liver and kidney. Incidentally, treatment of rats with CoFe2O4@Urea did not affect clinical parameters including albumin, calcium, triglycerides and creatinine. Contrariwise, the biochemical markers of hepatorenal function, aspartate aminotransferase and bilirubin were significantly depleted following treatment with 20 mg kg−1 CoFe2O4@Urea while micromorphological studies indicated the presence of congestion and infiltration of the hepatic portal tract. These studies established the outstanding performance of CoFe2O4@Urea for restoring the quality of DVO which paves the way for the future prospects of CoFe2O4@Urea in the treatment of DVO in the food industry.

Process Simulation of Steam Stripping of Bleached Palm Oil Deodorization for Removing Free Fatty Acids using DWSIM

The presence of free fatty acids (FFAs) and odoriferous components in the bleached palm oil (BPO) need to be removed to meet the specific standard quality and make the oil palatable. Because FFAs and odoriferous components is more volatile than the main oil components, they vaporize readily thus being removed from the oil product. Deodorization is the key process in industry to remove FFAs by vaporizing them using steam stripping agent such as steam under vacuum. In this work, a simulation study was adopted for the analysis of deodorization process implemented in an open-source chemical process simulator software, DWSIM. The deodorization section was modelled using absorber column unit operation in the software. The process conditions and BPO compositions fed into the deodorizer were taken from literature. The simulation showed much decrease in the FFAs content below the maximum value as standardized by the authorized association. The deodorization of BPO was analyzed by studying the column profiles such as the individual TGs, FFAs and water interstage flows in vapour and liquid phases, and the total component interstage flow for vapour and liquid phases’ profiles. From the simulation study under defined process conditions, the percentage removal of FFAs from the BPO was >99.99%.

Biodiesel from high‐acid‐value grease trap waste: process optimization and purification using bio‐based adsorbent

AbstractMaterial with negative value such as grease trap waste appears to be a cost‐effective feedstock for biodiesel production since it can be collected at little to no charge. Owing to its high lipid content, fatty acid methyl ester can be produced from grease trap waste via a two‐step production process with methanol, using potassium hydroxide as the catalyst. However, there are several process parameters that could affect the yield of the fatty acid methyl ester produced. In this study, the optimum conditions for biodiesel production were 6:1 methanol‐to‐oil molar ratio, 1.5 wt% potassium hydroxide loadings, a 40 °C reaction temperature and a 2 h reaction time, resulting in a fatty acid methyl ester yield of 87%. Further purification using 0.05 g L−1 of biobased adsorbent from woodchip biomass for a 1 h residence time at 25 °C yielded the highest removal of free fatty acid and soap at 98.2 and 67.9%, respectively. This study not only demonstrates the potential of grease trap waste as a bioresource for the production of biodiesel, but also proves an interesting and additional use of bio‐based adsorbent from woodchip biomass as an effective tool in biodiesel purification since the quality of biodiesel produced within the standard EN14214. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Synthesis of N, N(1,3-phenylene)dimethanimine: A useful resource for the removal of free fatty acid in waste vegetable oil

Developing an efficient material for the removal of free fatty acids (FFAs) in waste vegetable oil is a challenge in the refining of vegetable oil in food and oleochemical industries. In response to this, N,N(1, 3-phenylene)dimethanimine (NPD) was synthesized via green reaction route without involving solvent. NPD was characterized using Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). NPD was then applied as a material for the removal of FFA from waste cooking oil (WCO). The synthesis process gave a high yield of 95% of NPD. The FTIR result revealed different functional groups in NPD; the TG showed mass loss at diverse temperature range revealing loss at 80–150, 180–250, 250–410 and 410–600 °C while loss above 600 °C was assigned to loss of char. while TEM revealed the surface of NPD to be smooth with an irregular shape. EDX results further demonstrated the presence of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon in NPD. Removal of FFA from WCO may be described by pseudo-second-order with an adsorption capacity of 42.30 L kg−1. The process obeyed Langmuir isotherm with ∆H of -0.679 kJ mol−1 and ∆S of -0.049 kJ mol−1 K−1 while ∆G increased with increase in temperature. The Density Functional Theory (DFT) concept was used to explain the action of NPD as an adsorbent with the aid of lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO). It revealed the mechanism of removal of FFA from WCO by NPD to be via nucleophilic interaction.

Fatty acid solvent extraction from palm oil using liquid–liquid film contactor: Mathematical model including mass transfer effects

Free fatty acid (FFA) presence in vegetable oils (VO) promotes unwanted organoleptic characteristics. Its traditional removal is carried out by steam distillation (deodorization). However, the high temperature of this process promotes the formation of toxic components such as glycidol esters (GE) and 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD). FFA extraction by solvents is an alternative refining process at low temperatures which preserves natural phytonutrients that are thermically destroyed or distilled in deodorization. In this work, a model to predict continuous co-current FFA extraction with a liquid–liquid film contactor (LLFC) using ethanol as a solvent at low temperature (<80 °C) was developed and experimentally validated. This model includes the prediction of the FFA mass transfer from the oil-rich phase to the interface. Experimental validation also assessed the effects of flow rate (0.5–1.5 kg/h), ethanol to oil mass flow rate (1–2), FFA initial concentration (2–4 wt.%), and LLFC stages employed on FFA removal. At the best operational conditions experimentally evaluated, it was possible to reduce the FFA content from 4 wt.% to 0.08 wt.%. The mathematical model shows an approximate description of the LLFC behavior and mass transfer effects that can be used for the scale-up of the technology.

Preparation of polyethersulfone/magnesium silicate membranes via casting and electrospinning and their application in the removal of free fatty acids from biodiesel

Due to the reversible nature of reactions in biodiesel production, a purification process is necessary for the biodiesel to meet international standards. As an effective method, dry washing has been applied in biodiesel purification for years, but it still faces limitations and challenges. In this work, a magnesium silicate (MS) was synthesized using the hydrothermal method. Two types of composite membranes were prepared by doping the prepared magnesium silicate into polyethersulfone (PES) via casting and electrospinning, respectively. Structural and physical properties of the composite membranes were characterized. The composite membranes were applied as adsorbents to remove free fatty acids (FFAs) from crude biodiesel. Adsorption isotherm and kinetic studies were performed at different temperatures (20, 40 and 60 °C). For both membranes, the obtained adsorption capacity was higher at low temperature (20 °C). Maximum adsorption capacity was found with the electrospun membrane to be 852 mg g-1, calculated from the Langmuir model. Adsorption kinetics for both membranes can be well described using the pseudo-second-order model. In addition, the internal diffusion was not negligible during the adsorption process based on the intraparticle diffusion analysis. As revealed by thermodynamic study, the adsorption processes were all exothermic with a spontaneous nature. Reusability of the membrane adsorbents was evaluated, in which the electrospun membrane showed a promising performance with 94% adsorption capacity remaining over 8 cycles of adsorption and desorption.

Various Pre-Treatment Methods to Reduce Free Fatty Acid Content in Non-Edible Vegetable Oils for Biodiesel Production

In this work, the efforts were made to reduce high free fatty acid (FFA) content in non-edible karanja and jatropha vegetable oils below 1 mg KOH/g. The process was optimized in terms of amount of sulphuric acid used in pre-treatment of the studied non-edible oils. Various adsorbents like activated carbon, alumina, alumina-silica, calcined alumina and calcined alumina-silica exhibited significant removal of FFA in a single-stage filtration process. Pre-treatment of test oil with calcined alumina-silica as adsorbent was found to be the most appropriate for the removal of free fatty acids. Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV) analysis showed that the original composition of test oil was not changed after the pre-treatment process.