Characterization of vegetable oils through scattered radiation and multivariate analysis

X-ray scattering techniques have been considered promising for the classification and characterization of many types of samples. This study employed that technique combined with chemical analysis and multivariate analysis to characterize vegetable oil samples (22 of olive oils and 29 non-olive oil). All samples were obtained from the commercial establishments in Rio de Janeiro City. The samples were chemically analyzed using the iodine and peroxide indexes. In order to obtain the X-ray scattering spectrum, a X-ray tube with a silver anode operating at 40 kV and 50 μA was used. Results showed that oils analyzed could be divided in three large groups: olive oils, non-olive oils and compounds oils. Additionally, Factor Analysis was used and two factors were obtained and accounted for more than 80% of the variance. One factor was associated with chemical parameters and the other, with scattering profiles of each sample. Results showed that the use of X-ray scattering spectra combined with chemical analysis and Multivariate Analysis can be a fast, cheap and an efficient method for vegetable oil characterization.