Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C11—ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES
  • C11B—PRODUCING, e.g. BY PRESSING RAW MATERIALS OR BY EXTRACTION FROM WASTE MATERIALS, REFINING OR PRESERVING FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES, e.g. LANOLIN, FATTY OILS OR WAXES; ESSENTIAL OILS; PERFUMES
  • C11B3/00—Refining fats or fatty oils
  • C11B3/001—Refining fats or fatty oils by a combination of two or more of the means hereafter

Definitions

• Crude oils and liquid fats of vegetable or animal origin usually require refining for removal of such undesired components as suspended solid particles, colorants, and free fatty acid. It is conventional to admix alkaline compounds which combine with the free fatty acids to form soaps. The mixture is treated with solid, particulate adsorbents such as fullers earth or activated charcoal, filtered, and may then be subjected to steam distillation in a fairly high vacuum to remove most of the odoriferous constituents.
• the refining agents which have been employed successfully in my method include the mineral acids, including sulfuric acid and solutions of sulphur dioxide (sulfurous acid), phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, and their salts such as sodium bisulfate, sodium sulfite, potassium sulfate, sodium chloride, sodium hydrogen phosphates, organic acids such as formic acid, acetic acid, oxalic acid, citric acid, and also their anhydrides, for example, acetic anhydride.
• mineral acids including sulfuric acid and solutions of sulphur dioxide (sulfurous acid), phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, and their salts such as sodium bisulfate, sodium sulfite, potassium sulfate, sodium chloride, sodium hydrogen phosphates, organic acids such as formic acid, acetic acid, oxalic acid, citric acid, and also their anhydrides, for example, acetic anhydride.
• Suitable surface active emulsifying agents include the commercially available monoand diglycerides of naturally occurring saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, sulfates and sulfonates of fatty alcohols, non-ionic surfactants such as those derived from ethylene oxide, and cationic surface active compounds such as the well known long chain amine salts.
• I first combine the refining agent with the emulsifying agent and with Water, if water is employed as a diluent or solvent.
• the sequence of mixing the refining agent, the emulsifying agent, and the water, if any, will readily suggest itslf to those skilled in the art.
• the mixture is then stirred with the oil that it is desired to refine. It is also possible first to disperse the emulsifying agent in the oil and then to admix the refining agent together with any water used,
• the amount of suspended refining agent is small, fullers earth, activated clay, charcoal, or a similar solid adsorbent having a high effective surface-to-weight ratio may be admixed to the oil while it contains the refining agent so that the suspended phase is retained on the solid adsorbent together with certain impurities.
• filter aids such as diatomaceous earth (kieselguhr) or asbestos fibers are admixed to the oil, and the mixture is filtered.
• the aforementioned adsorbent is similarly removed by filtration. In either case, the excess of refining agent, any water present and not dissolved in the oil phase, and virtually all of the emulsifying agent is removed from the oil by the filtration step.
• the method of the invention has been employed successfully with soybean oil, rapeseed oil, sesame oil, castor oil, coconut oil, palm oil, linseed oil, fish oils, whale oil, and mustard oil.
• Separation of the refining agent from the oil may be followed by steam distillation in a vacuum in a manner conventional in itself.
• the fatty acids removed there-by are of high purity, show good color, and are free from contaminants.
• the steam distillation process is readily conducted in such a manner as to hold the amount of neutral oil in the fatty acids to a minimum.
• the resulting emulsion readily dispersed in 1000 parts crude coconut oil containing 4.6% free fatty acids and having a temperature of 30 C.
• a uniform emulsion of the water-in-oil type was formed thereby.
• Fifteen parts fullers earth were then admixed, and the temperature was raised to 94 C. over a period of several hours while stirring continued. The hot mixture was filtered.
• the filtrate was clear. It was subjected to steam distillation for four hours at 237 C. at a pressure of 4 mm. Hg. Fatty acids and odor-causing volatile constituents were thereby removed. The residue contained 0.06% free fatty acid. It included 97.3% of the neutral oil originally present. The product met all requirements for refined coconut oil of high quality.
• the distillate was light in color, and free from objectionable contaminants. It consisted essentially of free fatty acid containing 19% neutral coconut oil. The small amount of neutral oil not accounted for in the distillate and in the distillation residue was found adsorbed on the fullers earth. It was recovered therefrom by solvent extraction.
• a method of refining a liquid oil which comprises emulsifying in said oil an effective amount of a refining agent in the presence of an emulsifying agent, said refining agent being substantially insoluble in said oil, and being a liquid having a pH not substantially higher than 7 adsorbing the emulsified refining agent on a particulate solid; and separating said solid having said refining agent adsorbed thereon from said oil.
• a method of refining a crude edible oil which comprises:
• a refining agent selected from the group consisting of sulfuric acid, sulfurous acid, phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, formic acid, acetic acid, oxalic acid, citric acid, alkali metal salts of said acids having a pH not substantially greater than 7, and acetic anhydride, or an aqueous solution of said refining agent in the presence of a sufficient amount of an emulsifying agent to form an emulsion, the agent or the aqueous solution thereof constituting the'dispersed phase of said emulsion and said oil constituting the continuous phase of the emulsion;
• a refining agent selected from the group consisting of sulfuric acid, sulfurous acid, phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, formic acid, acetic acid, oxalic acid, citric acid, alkali metal salts of said acids having a pH not substantially greater than 7, and acetic anhydride, or an aqueous solution of said refining agent in the presence of a sufficient

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• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Microbiology (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Fats And Perfumes (AREA)

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Cited By (16)

Citations (2)

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• 1963
  • 1963-04-19 DE DEB71560A patent/DE1214818B/de active Pending
• 1964
  • 1964-04-14 NL NL6404015A patent/NL6404015A/xx unknown
  • 1964-04-20 US US361216A patent/US3354188A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime

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