In this project, the chemical composition and chemical structures of palm oil (a type of saturated oil), canola oil (a type of unsaturated oil), and various mixtures of both oils were found to be related to the positions and areas of signals / peaks observed in their Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra (1H-NMR).
Using an FTIR machine (Shimadzu IRAffinity) and a 1H-NMR machine (Bruker), the experimental data was obtained as .CSV and .TXT files summarizing the responses of the oil samples to infrared light and radio waves at various frequencies under specified conditions.
A Python program using Pandas, Numpy, MatPlotLib, and SciPy packages was developed in order to process the .CSV and .TXT files, create visualizations for the FTIR and 1H-NMR spectra, and analyze the relationships between peak height and area with the relative composition of the oils.
This Python program supports the use of spectroscopic techniques, including 1H-NMR, in describing the composition (e.g. degree of saturation) and evaluating the quality of cooking oils for household and industrial purposes.