In my thesis, I researched the thermal and oxidative stability of various edible oils (olive, rapeseed, pumpkin seed) and lard. Oils are esters of glycerol in higher fatty acids and belong to the subgroup of lipids which means that they are partially or completely insoluble in water, and all their properties depend on their composition.
In thermal analysis, the properties of materials are studied as a function of temperature. It is good to know how a material, such as oil or fat, behaves at a certain temperature, because certain oils can begin to thermally decompose into harmful products at high temperatures, which are also reached during food preparation. Thermal stability was studied while heating the oil sample in air atmosphere using a simultaneous TGA/DSC instrument. The oxidation induction time (OIT) at different temperatures was determined by DSC measurements. With the measurements, I was finally able to calculate the activation energy of thermal decomposition and oxidation.
With regard to the activation energy of thermal decomposition by TGA analysis, I have shown by all methods that olive oil and lard are the most stable of the four samples and thus the most suitable for use in prolonged use at high temperatures. I determined the activation energy of oxidation using the OIT results. Olive oil and pumpkin seed oil are the most comparable to each other and exceed the literature data in quality. The analysed range within the OIT measurement criteria is up to 180 °C, which is 30 °C higher than the analysed lard. Rapeseed oil is the least stable according to all criteria.
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