Author
 |
King, Jerry |
|
Submitted to: Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 10/3/1999 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Binary critical fluid mixtures, i.e., mixtures in which both components are above their critical temperature at elevated pressures, can be used to regulate lipid and oil solubilities, reaction rates, and the composition and characteristics of end products. The addition of a second fluid component, such as helium or nitrogen to supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2), can change the solubility of lipids such as soybean oil or cholesterol in SC-CO2, significantly. Such an effect can be exploited to fractionate these moieties from other compounds. Likewise, binary critical fluid mixtures can be used as media with which to conduct reactions, thereby changing the kinetics of a specific reaction and the resultant properties of the products. Using mixtures of hydrogen (H2) and CO2, we have hydrogenated soybean oil in a batch autoclave to yield products having different glyceride compositions, low trans fatty acid content, and resultant end properties, e.g., iodine value. Pressure (50- 500 psi) not only affects the selectivity of hydrogenation, but by the adjustment of the binary fluid ratio, one can produce either low trans oils for use as margarine or shortening mixtures exhibiting high, invariant solid fat index plots. In addition, CO2 and H2, or H2/propane mixtures, can be used to hydrogenate fatty acid methyl esters derived from soybean oil in a flow reactor at elevated temperatures, yielding mixtures of fatty alcohols. Using conventional conditions, i.e., 210-250 deg C and pressures of 150-250 atm, high conversions of soybean oil to the corresponding fatty alcohols can be achieved using binary mixtures in which the hydrogen component is present from 10-25 mole %. |
