New estimation method for fatty acid composition in oil using near infrared spectroscopy

The absorption bands of cis-unsaturation and the carbon chain length of the fatty acid moieties in oil appear in the near infrared (NIR) wavelength region, especially around 1600-1800 nm. Using this region, a new estimation method for fatty acid composition analysis is proposed. Because the differences of the original NIR spectra are miniscule even in this region, the second derivative NIR spectra were examined in order to estimate the fatty acid composition in oil exclusively from the spectral patterns obtained. The parameters for calculating the second derivative NIR spectra were examined to make the spectral difference clearer. In any parameter, the absorption band was shifted to the shorter wavelength region when the unsaturation in fatty acid moieties increased, and it was shifted to the longer wavelength region when the carbon chain length increased. When the parameters were correct, this NIR method can estimate the fatty acid composition roughly, but simply, easily, and sometimes nondestructively.