Quality assessment of deep-frying palm oil by impedimetric sensing with a simple and economic electrochemical cell

Abstract

Quality control of deep-frying oil is a global public health concern. A simple and economic electrochemical chamber composed of two bare screen-printed carbon electrodes (working area: 78.54 × 102 cm2; distance: 0.0055 cm; cell constant: 0.70 × 10−2 cm−1) was constructed for precisely acquiring the impedimetric responses of a high-resistance palm oil sample (RSD < 7%, n = 3). Good correlations between the measured impedance data (charge transfer resistance and logarithmic out-put impedance (Log Z) obtained in the frequency region <0.1 Hz) and the regulatory quality indicators (total polar compounds and acid value) were achieved (R2 > 0.97), suggesting that the proposed impedimetric sensing method is useful for accurately assessing the deteriorated condition of repeated frying oil. Applications for rapid screening can also be realized because the measurement times of Log Z at any given perturbation frequency from 0.01–1 Hz were all less than 3 min.