Conventional sterilization in oil palm mill utilizes heat to soften the fresh-fruit bunch in a pressurized vessel to detach the mesocarp, kernel and nut from the fruitlet. It also inactivates the generation of lipase enzyme that triggers the formation of Free Fatty Acid (FFA) and breaks the oil-bearing cells for easier oil extraction. However, the utilization of pressured-vessel encounters frequent production interruptions due to regular inspections of pressure vessel, which finally reduces production efficiencies. To improve the efficiency of the sterilization process, the microwave irradiation technology was introduced to efficiently halt the reaction of enzymatic lipolysis leading to FFA production. The present study proposes an innovative atmospheric-pressured hybrid steam-microwave method to perform sterilization of palm oil fruits under a continuous process without a need to use the pressured-vessel. The analysis is focused at establishing the feasibility of the adoption of hybrid sterilization process for future implementation in palm oil industry. Physical properties of fruit were determined. It was observed that the microwave process heated up the kernel efficiently with a shorter duration. The temperature under the hybrid system increased by 17.5% for mesocarp and 25.1% for the kernel. The process exhibited shorter heating duration and could be useful for industrial applications.

油棕磨房中的常规灭菌利用热量来软化加压容器中的新鲜水果束，以使果皮，果仁和坚果与小果分离。它还可以使脂肪酶的生成失活，从而触发游离脂肪酸（FFA）的形成并破坏含油细胞，从而使油提取更加容易。然而，由于对压力容器的定期检查，压力容器的使用经常遇到生产中断，这最终降低了生产效率。为了提高灭菌过程的效率，引入了微波辐照技术以有效地终止酶促脂解的反应，从而导致FFA的产生。本研究提出了一种创新的常压混合蒸汽-微波方法，可以在连续过程中对棕榈油水果进行杀菌，而无需使用压力容器。分析的重点在于确定采用混合灭菌工艺的可行性，以在棕榈油行业中进一步实施。确定了水果的物理性质。据观察，微波过程以较短的持续时间有效地加热了籽粒。中果皮和杂种的混合系统下的温度分别提高了17.5％和25.1％。该方法显示出较短的加热时间，并且可用于工业应用。分析的重点在于确定采用混合灭菌工艺的可行性，以在棕榈油行业中进一步实施。确定了水果的物理性质。据观察，微波过程以较短的持续时间有效地加热了籽粒。中果皮和杂种的混合系统下的温度分别提高了17.5％和25.1％。该方法显示出较短的加热时间，并且可用于工业应用。分析的重点在于确定采用混合灭菌工艺的可行性，以在棕榈油行业中进一步实施。确定了水果的物理性质。据观察，微波过程以较短的持续时间有效地加热了籽粒。中果皮和杂种的混合系统下的温度分别提高了17.5％和25.1％。该方法显示出较短的加热时间，并且可用于工业应用。