PFAD (Palm Fatty Acid Distillate) is a by-product of physical refining of crude palm oil products and is composed of free fatty acids (81.7%), glycerides (14.4%), squalene (0.8%), vitamin E (0.5%), sterols (0.4%) and other substances (2.2%)

Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD) is a by-product from refining crude palm oil. PFAD is a light brown semi-solid at room temperature melting to a brown liquid on heating. PFADs comprise mainly of free fatty acid (FFA) (81.7%) with palmitic acid and oleic acid as the major components.

The remaining components are triglycerides (14.4%), partial glycerides and unsaponifiable matters, e.g., vitamin E (0.5%), sterols (0.4%), squalene (0.8%) and volatile substances (2.2%).

Palm Fatty acid distillates are generally used in the:

• soap industry such as Laundry Soap
• animal feed industry,
• and as raw materials for oleochemical industries, e.g., in the manufacture of candles, cosmetics and toiletries.

Other applications include use as food emulsifiers, an aid in rubber processing, in flavours and fragrance industries as well as in pharmaceutical products.

Vitamin E has been extracted commercially from Palm Fatty acid distillates with purity of over 90%.

Palm Fatty acid distillates is used as a renewable raw material in biofuels production. Producing renewable fuels using Palm Fatty acid distillates is good for the climate. It is an efficient way to use waste generated through the palm oil refining process, preventing PFAD from going to literal waste. A by-product that is undesirable from the food industry perspective can be very desirable for other sectors.