Deodorization of vegetable oils: loss impact by chemical reactions and distillation in final product quality

• Grant number: 05/02079-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: November 01, 2005
• End date: February 02, 2009
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles
• Grantee: Roberta Ceriani
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 05/53095-2 - Phase equilibrium and separation processes of fatty and aqueous food solutions, AP.TEM

Abstract

This research project aims to investigate the impact of chemical reactions and distillation of nutraceutical compounds in the final quality of vegetable oils, submitted to deodorization and/or deacidification by steam distillation. These two processes, almost always present in the refining of edible oils, are conducted to produce a large difference in the volatility of the unwanted compounds (flavors and free acidity) and the neutral oil (acylglycerols). In order to attain this objective and ease the separation, it is done at high temperatures and strong vacuum. However, these drastic operational conditions also generate chemical reactions, as the cis-trans isomerization of unsaturated fatty acids, hydrolysis of acylglycerols, thermal decomposition of nutraceutical compounds and oxidation of pigments, besides the losses of neutral oil and natural antioxidants due to distillation. Following the methodology developed in previous works, in a first part of this project, it will be used the modeling and simulation of continuous deodorizers with the inclusion of important chemical reactions, for which the kinetic is available, and predictive equations for the physical properties of nutraceutical compounds. The inclusion of these new tools in the computational program would permit to quantify and qualify more precisely losses that occur throughout the refining of vegetable oils, and the composition of the distillate, both related to the profitability of the industry. It is interesting to also analyze the use of commercial software, such as Aspen PlusÒ, in this kind of problem solution. When this part of the project is complete, it would follow an experimental investigation of the deacidification of vegetable oils by steam distillation using a batch laboratory-scale equipment. Although this choice is not so common industrially, it represents the mainly phenomena that occur in the continuous process, in a simpler manner. The actualness and great importance of this kind of research is related to the increasing nutritional relevance attributed to certain aspects of the ingestion of oils and fats, as the presence of natural antioxidants, and the incidence of trans isomers, that already have an impact in the consumer choices, and, in a close future, will also influence the legislation of products elaborated with triacylglycerols. This proposal of research could help in the improvement of equipment design and in the enhancement of operational condition ranges to better the final quality of food products.

Scientific publications

(9)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SCANAVINI, HELENA F. A.; CERIANI, ROBERTA; CASSINI, CARLOS E. B.; SOUZA, ELSON L. R.; MAUGERI FILHO, FRANCISCO; MEIRELLES, ANTONIO J. A.. CACHACA PRODUCTION IN A LAB-SCALE ALEMBIC: MODELING AND COMPUTATIONAL SIMULATION. JOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING, v. 33, n. 1, p. 226-252, FEB 2010. (05/53095-2, 07/08136-8, 05/02079-7)

SILVA, SIMONE M.; SAMPAIO, KLICIA A.; TAHAM, THIAGO; ROCCO, SILVANA A.; CERIANI, ROBERTA; MEIRELLES, ANTONIO J. A.. Characterization of Oil Extracted from Buriti Fruit (Mauritia flexuosa) Grown in the Brazilian Amazon Region. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN OIL CHEMISTS SOCIETY, v. 86, n. 7, p. 611-616, JUL 2009. (05/53095-2, 05/02079-7)

CERIANI, ROBERTA; PAIVA, FERNANDA R.; GONCALVES, CINTIA B.; BATISTA, EDUARDO A. C.; MEIRELLES, ANTONIO J. A.. Densities and Viscosities of vegetable oils of nutritional value. JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING DATA, v. 53, n. 8, p. 1846-1853, AUG 2008. (05/53095-2, 07/08136-8, 05/02079-7)

CERIANI, ROBERTA; MEIRELLES, ANTONIO J. A.; GANI, RAFIQUL. SIMULATION OF THIN-FILM DEODORIZERS IN PALM OIL REFINING. JOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING, v. 33, p. 18-pg., 2010-02-01. (05/53095-2, 05/02079-7, 07/08136-8)

CERIANI, ROBERTA; MEIRELLES, ANTONIO J. A.; GANI, RAFIQUL. SIMULATION OF THIN-FILM DEODORIZERS IN PALM OIL REFINING. JOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING, v. 33, n. 1, p. 208-225, FEB 2010. (05/53095-2, 07/08136-8, 05/02079-7)

CERIANI‚ R.; MEIRELLES‚ A.J.A.. Modeling vaporization efficiency for steam refining and deodorization. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, v. 44, n. 22, p. 8377-8386, 2005. (05/53095-2, 05/02079-7)

CERIANI‚ R.; COSTA‚ A.M.; MEIRELLES‚ A.J.A.. Optimization of the physical refining of sunflower oil concerning the final contents of trans-fatty acids. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, v. 47, n. 3, p. 681-692, 2008. (05/53095-2, 05/02079-7)

SAMPAIO, KLICIA A.; CERIANI, ROBERTA; SILVA, SIMONE M.; TAHAM, THIAGO; MEIRELLES, ANTONIO J. A.. Steam deacidification of palm oil. FOOD AND BIOPRODUCTS PROCESSING, v. 89, n. C4, p. 383-390, OCT 2011. (05/02079-7)

SCANAVINI, HELENA F. A.; CERIANI, ROBERTA; CASSINI, CARLOS E. B.; SOUZA, ELSON L. R.; MAUGERI FILHO, FRANCISCO; MEIRELLES, ANTONIO J. A.. CACHACA PRODUCTION IN A LAB-SCALE ALEMBIC: MODELING AND COMPUTATIONAL SIMULATION. JOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING, v. 33, p. 27-pg., 2010-02-01. (05/53095-2, 05/02079-7, 07/08136-8)