APPLICATION OF CHEMOMETRICALLY PROCESSED CHEMICAL AND THERMOANALYTICAL DATA FOR QUALITY-CONTROL OF SOYBEAN OILS

The quality assessment of commercial soybean oils was evaluated on the basis of chemical and thermal analyses. The most substantial chemical parameters, viz. the density, refractive index and saponification, io dine and acid numbers were estimated. The thermal parameters were dete rmined on the grounds of the TG and DTG curves. There are temperatures for the onset, end and successive mass losses. To find the relation b etween the chemical and thermal parameters, regression and principal c omponent analyses were applied. The results of principal component ana lysis indicate that the TG and DTG techniques are at least in equal de gree useful in defining the quality of soybean oils, as compared with the chemical analyses.