Oil palm

The African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is an extremely important oil plant for the global economy. Originally found in West Africa, Elaeis guineensis is now cultivated in the tropics all over the world.

Elaeis guineensis is a tree that reaches a height of up to 30 meters. The oil palm forms 25 to 35 pinnate leaves per year, which can be up to 7.5 m long. They die off after 2 years and break off. The leaf base remains on the trunk.

Each plant produces inflorescences at regular intervals. These develop into up to 6000 stone fruits, about the size of a plum. The fruits contain a hard stone core, which contains the seed, and a fleshy, creamy pulp. The pulp and stone kernel both store a lot of fat. However, they are processed separately.

Elaeis guineensis oil, palm oil or palm fat, is extracted from the orange-colored, fatty pulp by pressing. This is solid at room temperature. It mainly contains oleic acid and palmitic acid. Elaeis guineensis oil is mainly used in the production of margarine.

The white palm kernel oil, Elaeis guineensis kernel oil, is obtained from the kernels of the fruit. This is solid at room temperature. Elaeis guineensis kernel oil contains mainly lauric acid and myristic acid and is mainly used in the production of margarine. With a higher proportion of free fatty acids, it is also used for soap (curd soap) and cosmetics production.

Uses: Palm oils are widely used in the food sector (margarine, ice cream, chocolate), cosmetics (soap, detergents) and technical sectors (biodiesel).

Oil palms are mainly cultivated in regions where tropical rainforest grows naturally. The unchecked and often uncontrolled expansion of palm oil plantations therefore threatens the ecological balance, the biodiversity of tropical regions.