Palm Kernel Oil
INCI Elaeis Guineensis Kernel Oil. Saponified with NaOH it is listed as Sodium Palm Kernelate, with KOH as Potassium Palm Kernelate. CAS 8023-79-8; EC 232-425-4, as CosIng gives them. Also: Elaeis guineensis kernel oil, PKO.
Published values
| Saponification value | 230–254 mg KOH/g (typical 245) |
| Used by the calculator | 245.0 mg KOH/g (typical) |
| SAP for NaOH | 0.1747 g/g |
| Iodine value | 14.1–21 g I₂/100 g |
| INS (SAP − IV) | 227 |
| Melting point | — |
| Unsaponifiable matter | ≤ 1 % |
Soapmaking books print about 0.178 g NaOH per g (median of 4 books), which agrees with ours to within 2 %. Several soapmaking books print 0.155-0.157 g NaOH per g for palm kernel oil, a figure for a fat with no lauric acid; palm kernel is half lauric. Malaysia's palm oil research institute surveyed its palm kernel oil and found 243-249 mg KOH/g, 245 on average, which its fatty acids confirm, and two lots analysed in 1908 took 247 and 249. We use 245 (0.175); a recipe made to the books' low figure has more superfat than it says.
A bar made of 100 % Palm Kernel Oil
Conventional qualities summed from the fatty-acid groups; a single-oil bar is a reference point, not a recipe.
How much lye
| Oil | NaOH | KOH |
|---|---|---|
| 500 g | 83.0 g(77.9–86.0) | 116.4 g(109.3–120.7) |
| 1 kg | 165.9 g(155.8–172.0) | 232.8 g(218.5–241.3) |
| 1 lb (454 g) | 75.3 g(70.7–78.0) | 105.6 g(99.1–109.5) |
| 2 lb (907 g) | 150.5 g(141.3–156.1) | 211.2 g(198.2–218.9) |
For this oil alone at 5 % superfat, with pure sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or pure potassium hydroxide (KOH); in brackets, across the published range of its saponification value. KOH is usually sold at 90 %: divide by 0.9. For a whole recipe, open the calculator.
Fatty-acid profile
Saturated : unsaturated 82 : 18
| Fatty acid | Published range, % | Used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caproic acid | C6:0 · saturated | 0–0.8 | 0.4 |
| Caprylic acid | C8:0 · saturated | 2.4–6.2 | 4.3 |
| Capric acid | C10:0 · saturated | 2.6–5 | 3.8 |
| Lauric acid | C12:0 · saturated | 45–55 | 50.0 |
| Myristic acid | C14:0 · saturated | 14–18 | 16.0 |
| Palmitic acid | C16:0 · saturated | 6.5–10 | 8.3 |
| Palmitoleic acid | C16:1 | 0–0.2 | 0.1 |
| Stearic acid | C18:0 · saturated | 1–3 | 2.0 |
| Oleic acid | C18:1 | 12–19 | 15.5 |
| Linoleic acid | C18:2 | 1–3.5 | 2.3 |
| α-Linolenic acid | C18:3 n-3 | 0–0.2 | 0.1 |
| Arachidic acid | C20:0 · saturated | 0–0.2 | 0.1 |
| Gadoleic acid | C20:1 | 0–0.2 | 0.1 |
| Behenic acid | C22:0 · saturated | 0–0.2 | 0.1 |
Recipes that use it
- African black soap homage 45 % of the oils
Guides that discuss it
- SAP values: what they measure and why tables disagree
- Soap in hard water: scum, chelators and rinse
- The soaping oils: what each one brings to a bar
Compared with other oils
Where these numbers come from
Verbatim mirror of the FAO file CXS_210e.pdf; the official FAO link was Cloudflare-gated at retrieval. Table 1 (Section 3.1) = mandatory GLC fatty-acid ranges, % of total fatty acids, ND = not detectable (<=0.05%). Table 2 (Appendix 'Other quality and composition factors') gives saponification value, iodine value (Wijs) and unsaponifiable matter of CRUDE oils; the Appendix is explicitly ADVISORY (a product not meeting it may still conform). This print predates the 2021-2025 amendments; the 2024 additions (avocado, camellia seed, sacha inchi, high-oleic soya bean) are not included.
The source of the typical saponification value. Table VII reproduces PORIM's survey of Malaysian palm kernel oil (Siew and Berger, PORIM Technology No. 6, 1981): saponification value range printed '243 - 349', a misprint for 243-249, mean 245; iodine value 16.2-19.2, mean 17.8; unsaponifiable matter 0.1-0.8 %, mean 0.3; mean fatty acids C6 0.3, C8 4.4, C10 3.7, C12 48.3, C14 15.6, C16 7.8, C18 2.0, C18:1 15.1, C18:2 2.7 %. Rossell, King and Downes (JAOCS 62:221-230, 1985, Table X) compare their own authentic samples with this survey, which 'originally analyzed 118 samples plus a further 44 of the 1983 crop'.
Corroboration. The authors' analyses of two English and Hamburg palm-nut (palm kernel) oils: saponification equivalents 225 and 227 (free acid 4.4 and 7.7 %), i.e. 249.3 and 247.1 mg KOH/g by the book's formula 56,100 / equivalent.
Fatty acids from CXS 210 Table 1 (mandatory GLC ranges, % of total fatty acids; 'ND' = not detectable, <=0.05%, entries that are ND-only are omitted; C17:0, C17:1, C20:2, C22:2 and C24:1 columns omitted because they are outside the acids this database records). The saponification value, the iodine value and the unsaponifiable share from Appendix Table 2 (crude oils; ADVISORY, not mandatory; unsaponifiable converted from g/kg). No 'typical' values are printed in the standard. The saponification value's typical, 245, is the mean of PORIM's survey of Malaysian palm kernel oil (range 243-249), as Tang and Teoh reproduce it (JAOCS 1985, Table VII); that survey's own mean fatty acids give 246.4 as pure triglyceride, 245.6 after its 0.3 % unsaponifiable matter, and its iodine value (17.8) matches them too. Composition surveys of authentic samples agree (Rossell et al. 1985: 244.1 over several origins, 244.7 for Malaysian oil, 244.8 for PORIM's 1983 crop), as do the 1908 Handbook of Soap Manufacture's two palm-nut oils (247.1 and 249.3) and India's FSSAI band (237-255). Until 2026-09-26 the calculator used the Codex midpoint, 242, which sits under all of them; nothing found supports Codex's 230 floor. The fatty acids and iodine value keep the Codex ranges. Appendix: Reichert value 4-7, Polenske value 8-12; relative density 0.899-0.914 (40 C).
This record is part of the open ingredient database (ODbL), which you can download as CSV or JSON. Found an error or a better primary source? Corrections with a link to the document are welcome at support@soapformulator.com.