Coconut Oil - Taiwan

Brief Overview

Coconut oil is an edible oil extracted from the kernel or meat of matured coconuts harvested from the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). It has various applications in food, medicine, and industry. Because of its high saturated fat content it is slow to oxidize and, thus, resistant to rancidification, lasting up to two years without spoiling.

Manufacturing Process

Dry Process

Coconut oil can be extracted through "dry" or "wet" processing. Dry processing requires the meat to be extracted from the shell and dried using fire, sunlight, or kilns to create copra. The copra is pressed or dissolved with solvents, producing coconut oil and a high-protein, high-fiber mash.

Wet Process

The all-wet process uses raw coconut rather than dried copra, and the protein in the coconut creates an emulsion of oil and water. The more complicated step is breaking up the emulsion to recover the oil. This used to be done by prolonged boiling, but this produces a discolored oil and is not economical; modern techniques use centrifuges and pre-treatments, including cold, heat, acids, salts, enzymes, electrolysis, shock waves, or some combination of them.

Food Industry

Coconut oil is commonly used in cooking, especially for frying, and is a common flavor in many South Asian curries. It has been used for cooking (in tropical parts of the world) for thousands of years. In recent years, Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) has become increasingly popular in health and natural food circles and with vegans.

Detergent Industry

Coconut oil can be used as a skin moisturizer, helping with dry skin and reducing protein loss when used in hair. Coconut oil is an important base ingredient for the manufacture of soap. Soap made with coconut oil tends to be hard, although it retains more water than other oils, increasing manufacturer yields. It is more soluble in hard water and salt water than other soaps allowing it to lather more easily. A basic coconut oil soap is clear when melted and a bright white when hardened.

Agriculture Industry

Acids derived from coconut oil can be used as herbicides. Coconut oil (and derivatives, such as coconut fatty acid) are used as raw materials in manufacturing surfactants such as cocamidopropyl betaine, cocamide MEA, and cocamide DEA.