MXPA99004074A - Refining of edible oil rich in natural carotenes and vitamin e - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a process for the production of a natural carotene rich refined and deodorised oil by subjecting the oil to a pressure of less than 0.060 mbar and to a temperature of less than 200°C and wherein the process includes the steps of distilling the oil in a short-path distiller at a temperature range of 160°C - 290°C and at pressures of 0.003 mbar to 0.08 mbar and removing free fatty acids (FFA) in the oil by condensation within the distiller. The FFA is removed by subjecting the mixture of the oil and the FFA to an internal condensor system operating at a temperature greater than the melting point of FFA in the oil. The process yields in refined, deodorised oil, in particular palm oil where the carotene and Vitamin E contained in the feed oil is substantially retained in the processed oil.

Description

REFINING RICH EDIBLE OIL IN NATURAL CAROTENE AND VITAMIN AND FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention refers to a refining process of edible oil rich in natural carotenes and Vitamin E, by which substantially a large percentage of natural carotenes and Vitamin E is retained in the refined oil. More particularly the invention relates to a process for refining palm oil, whereby substantially a large percentage of the natural carotenes and Vitamin E is retained in the refined oil.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A known fact is that crude palm oil is rich in carotenes, a class of 40-carbon polyunsaturated hydrocarbons. The palm, commercially cultivated, produces crude palm oil that contains from 500 to 700 ppm of carotenes, of which the a and j3 carotenes form 90% of the total carotenes. However, newer clones or new palm species can produce crude palm oil with carotene concentrations of 1,000 to 3,000 ppm. It is known that carotenes possess properties of provitamin A and recent discoveries have shown that ß carotene also inhibits the progress of tumors, and therefore reduces the formation of cancer in animals, including humans. Currently edible palm oil is used in the refined, bleached and deodorized form. However, the refining process to produce the refined, bleached and deodorized form of the oil, commonly adopted in the palm oil refining industry, results in the carotenes being destroyed while the oil is deodorized and deacidified. The refined oil of the prior art process typically has a free fatty acid (FFA) content of less than 0.1%, a carotene content of less than 20 ppm and a color less than red 3 in a 13.34 cm (5 4 in. ) (Lovibond scale). The refining process, of the prior art, of crude palm oil, in short involved deodorization at temperatures that were between 240 ° C and 260 ° C and at a pressure of 133.3 to 399.9 Pa, a process that resulted not only in the elimination of the unwanted fatty acids but also the destruction of all the carotenes.The carotene, ß, Gamma and Zeta, the zeacarotene, the cis a-carotene, the cis ß-carotene and the lycopene are destroyed. of prior art plants, the degassing of crude palm oil and the deodorization of the degassed oil is done within the same equipment.The typical working temperature is between 240 ° C and 260 ° C. At these temperature levels are eliminated Free fatty acids (FFA) are not desired, but in the process all the carotenoids are split.If the working temperature is reduced then the AGL are not completely eliminated to comply with the specifi stipulated for the edible oil and the final product is not completely deodorized and the taste is not tasteless. Attempts have recently been made to produce refined palm oil, where the natural carotenes and Vitamin E are substantially retained in large quantities. Australian Patent No. AU-B-31084189 issued to the Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia, describes an improved process for the refining of edible palm oil, substantially without destroying the carotenes present in the oil, and the process comprises the step of subjecting the oil to a pressure lower than 7,998 Pa and at a temperature lower than 200 ° C. In accordance with this invention palm oil, or a palm oil product, is passed through a deodorizer, preferably at a temperature that is in the range of 100 ° C to 200 ° C and at a pressure that is find in the range of 0.399 to 79.98 Pa. During this process the free fatty acids are distilled and the oil is deodorized, but the carotenes are not destroyed. This deodorized palm oil has a free fatty acid content of less than 0.12%. Carotene content and peroxide values are almost the same as for the previous process. Refined oil has a mild aroma. The examples described in the aforementioned Australian patent refer to reproductions of the invention, on a laboratory scale. However, when repeating the examples on a pilot plant scale, or at a commercial plant scale, different results were presented. It was not possible to obtain a production of refined palm oil with the characteristics shown in Tables 1, 2, 3 or 4 of the Australian patent. It is believed that gas, light compounds and free fatty acids, in the molecular distillation stage, create a deformation in the distillation process. Increasing the working temperature in the molecular distiller reduces the level of AGL in the refined oil but at the same time destroys the content of carotenes in the oil. At working temperatures of 100 ° C to 200 ° C and at a pressure of 0.399 to 7.998 Pa, the entire AGL content is not eliminated due to the inefficient elimination of condensed AGL in the condensation column. Thus, an object of this invention is to provide a refining process where the AGL are removed to an acceptable level, where the oil is deodorized to an acceptable level, where the oil becomes tasteless and the level of carotenes and Vitamin E present in crude palm oil, substantially at levels exceeding 90%, is retained in the refined oil. The invention describes a commercial process for the production of refined palm oil rich in natural carotene and Vitamin E. The process for the production of oil rich in natural, refined and deodorized carotene includes distilling the oil in a short-path distiller, in a temperature range of 160 ° C to 210 ° C and pressures of 0.3 Pa to 8.0 Pa and eliminate free fatty acids (FFA) in the oil, by condensation in the distiller.The AGL are removed by subjecting the mixture of oil and AGL to an internal condenser system that operates at a temperature higher than the melting point of the AGL found in the oil, which typically operates in a temperature range of 20 ° C to 80 ° C. The oil is removed from the distiller by condensing the AGL vapors immediately, as the oil and the vaporized AGL are introduced into the distiller.The condenser system that is inside the distiller, incorpor through it a flow of warm water and where the temperature of the warm water is marginally higher than the melting point of the AGL. The oil that is introduced into the distiller unit is preferably preheated to 160 ° C and preferably has been degassed, degummed and bleached. This oil may be any of the following: de-gummed and bleached palm oil, palm olein, de-gummed and bleached, palm stearin, de-gummed and bleached, medium palm fraction, de-gummed and bleached, de-gummed and bleached superolein, middle palm fraction , raw, and palm superolein, raw, palm olein, raw, palm stearin, raw, crude palm oil or hybrid palm oil. The invention further discloses a distiller for the production of refined and deodorized oil rich in natural carotene and Vitamin E, wherein the distiller includes an internal conversion system to remove the condensed AGL from the distiller. In one embodiment of the invention, the oil or olein, or stearin, crude (a), pretreated (a) (degummed (a)), is pumped from an external storage tank at a temperature of about 30 ° C to 50 ° C, through a preheater heated with steam, to a degassing equipment, with or without a reflux condensing unit. The oil in the preheater is heated and maintained at a temperature of 80 ° C to 160 ° C. The working pressure in the degassing unit is maintained between 50.0 Pa and 500.0 Pa. Under these conditions of temperature and pressure the diluted gas evaporates, light compounds and some fatty acids. These evaporated vapors pass to a reflux condenser unit cooled with water that is in a temperature range of 20 ° C to 60 ° C, whereby the fatty acids condense again in the packet of the degasser. The vapors are condensed in an external cooled condenser, at a temperature of -5 ° C to +15 ° C. The degassed oil is pumped through another preheater heated with steam, where the temperature is between 160 ° C and 180 ° C. Then it is pumped to a short-path distiller (molecular distiller) where the fatty acids are distilled at a temperature between 160 ° C and 210 ° C and at a pressure of 0.3 Pa to 8.0 Pa. These fatty acids are condensed in an internal condenser (which is inside the short path distiller) which is cooled with water maintained at a temperature of 35 ° C to 80 ° C. The condensed fatty acids in the internal condenser are collected in a separate receiver and pumped to a storage tank by means of a discharge pump. The distiller's residue is pumped into a storage tank, after cooling in a cooler, to a temperature that is between 50 ° C and 70 ° C. The residue is refined palm oil rich in natural carotenes and Vitamin E. The refined oil has a free fatty acid content of less than 0.08% and is odorless and tasteless. The peroxide value of this refined oil is in the range of 0 to 1.0 meq / g and has a minimum content of 500 ppm carotenes and vitamin E (tocopherols and tocotrienols) of 800 ppm. The loss of carotenes and Vitamin E during the process varies from 0 to 5%. The distillate (distillate of palm fatty acids) has a carotene content of 30 ppm maximum and a Vitamin E content of 1,000 to 2,500 ppm maximum and a minimum content of AGL of 90%. The color of the residue is in the range of 19 R to 25 R on the Lovibond scale, with a 13.34 cm cell (5 4 Plg). • The distillation process requires different vacuum values, in different stages. The vacuum system is a combination of several vacuum pumps, in series and in parallel. The vacuum pump in operation, for the distiller, is a vacuum pump with an oil vapor jet. This pump is cooled by a special circuit of cooling water. The cooling water inlet is maintained at a pressure of 4X10A Pa at 6x104 Pa and at a temperature of 20 ° C to 30 ° C. The rest of the vacuum system consists of a series of Roots blowers and a vacuum pump with hydraulic ring. The vacuum system is protected by cold traps with different cooling coils where the temperatures of the refrigerant fluid are kept at different values that are between -15"C and +60 ° C. To heat the distiller, a fluid of heating (food grade) approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) The present invention will be illustrated by the following examples: Example 1 Preheated Crude Palm Oil, preheated (degummed) up to 120 ° C, and degassed in the degasser at a pressure of 100 Pa, and passed through the Short Path Distiller at a rate of 2,000 kg / h at a pressure of 0.8 Pa. The water temperature for the internal condenser is maintained at 57 ° C, using a system for temperature control.The temperature of the distiller was maintained at 180 ° C. It was found that refined and deodorized oil, rich in natural carotene and Vitamin E, and the Fatty Acid Palm Distillate (DAGP) had the characteristics shown in Table 1.

Table l Value of Content Total Peroxide of Vitamin E eq / kg of AGL Carotenes ppm ppm Crude Palm Oil Pretreated (Degumming) 0.19 3.39 523 958 Refined and deodorized palm oil, rich in carotene Nothing 0.076 502 944 natural and vitamin E DAGP 90.50 28 1,584 Example 2 Pre-heated crude palm oil (degummed) was preheated to 100 ° C and degassed in the degasser at a pressure of 80.0 Pa and passed through a Short Path Distiller at a rate of 1,000 kg / h at a pressure of 0.5 Pa. The distiller temperature was maintained at 175 ° C. The temperature of the warm water for the internal condenser was maintained at 57 ° C. It was found that the refined and deodorized oil, rich in natural carotene and Vitamin E, as well as the DAGP, had the characteristics shown in Table 2.

Table 2 C3 Content Total Vitamin E Peroxide% FFA Carotene ppm meq kg ppm Pretreated Crude Palm Oil (Degummer) 0.25 3.390 552 886 Refined and Deodorized Palm Oil, rich in natural carotene and Nothing 0.054 545 865 Vitamin E DAGP 91. 0 30 2, 124

Claims (11)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the above invention, it is considered as a novelty, and therefore, the content of the following is claimed as property: CLAIMS

1. A process for the production of a refined and deodorized oil, rich in natural carotene, by subjecting the crude or pre-treated oil to a pressure lower than 6.0 Pa and at a temperature lower than 200 ° C, the process is characterized because it includes the steps of: a distilling the raw or pretreated oil, on a commercial scale, at a rate of approximately 1,000 kg / h in a short path distiller, in a temperature range of 160 ° C to 200 ° C and pressures of 0.3 Pa to 8.0 Pa, and, b) removing the free fatty acids (FFA) found in the oil, by condensation in the distiller, wherein the step of removing the FFA comprises subjecting the oil and FFA mixture to an internal condenser operating at a temperature which is in the range between the melting point of the AGL and a temperature lower than the dew point of the AGL, to condense the AGL vapors immediately as the oil with AGL is introduced into the distiller; to produce a refined and deodorized oil, rich in natural carotene, containing a minimum of 90% of the carotene and Vitamin E present in the pre-treated oil, before being fed to the distiller and containing less than 0.1% of AGL.

2. A process as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the oil is preheated to 160 ° C and has been degassed.

3. A process as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the internal condenser incorporates a flow of warm water therethrough and because the tempered water temperature is marginally higher than the melting point of the AGL.

4. A process as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the oil is degummed and bleached oil.

5. A process as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the oil is crude or pre-treated palm oil.

6. A process as claimed in the claim 5, characterized in that the oil is selected from degummed and bleached oil, de-gummed and bleached palm oil, de-oiled and bleached olein, de-oiled and bleached palm stearin, palm olein, crude oil, palm stearin, crude oil, palm middle fraction, dyed and bleached, palm superolein, de-gleaned and bleached, medium palm fraction, crude, palm superolein, crude, crude palm oil or hybrid palm oil.

7. A process as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the oil is degassed in a degassing unit with a reflux condenser.

8. An oil refining process according to claim 1, characterized in that it is carried out under vacuum by means of a vacuum system in which the vacuum system is protected through a plurality of cold traps with different cooling coils in where temperatures can be varied independently from -15 ° C to + 5 ° C during operation and up to 60 ° C during defrosting.

9. A process as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the working temperature of the internal condenser is about 57 ° C.

10. A process for the production of a refined and deodorized oil, rich in natural carotene, by subjecting the crude or pre-treated oil to a pressure lower than 6.0 Pa and at a temperature lower than 200 ° C and the process is characterized in that it includes the steps of : a) distill crude oil or pretreated oil on a commercial scale, at a rate of approximately 2,000 kg / h in a short-path distiller, in a temperature range of 160 ° C to 200 ° C and pressures from 0.3 Pa to 8.0 Pa , and, b) remove the free fatty acids (FFA) found in the oil, by condensation in the distiller, where the step of eliminating the FFA involves subjecting the oil and FFA mixture to an internal condenser that works at a temperature that is in the range between the melting point of the AGL and a temperature lower than the dew point of the AGL, to condense the AGL vapors immediately, as the oil with AGL is introduced to the distiller; to produce a refined and deodorized oil, rich in natural carotene, which contains a minimum of 90% of the carotene and Vitamin E present in the pre-treated oil, before being fed to the distiller and containing less than 0.1% of the AGL.

11. A process for the production of a refined and deodorized oil, rich in natural carotene, by subjecting the crude or pre-treated oil to a pressure lower than 6.0 Pa and at a temperature lower than 200 ° C, the process is characterized in that it includes the steps of (a) distill raw or pretreated oil, on a commercial scale, at a rate of 1,000 kg / h to 2,000 kg / h in a short path distiller, in a temperature range of 160 ° C to 200 ° C and at pressures of 3.0 Pa to 8.0 Pa, and at a pressure of 0.3 Pa to 8.0 Pa, and, b) eliminate the free fatty acids (FFA) found in the oil, by condensation in the distiller, where the step of eliminating the FFA involves the mixture of oil and AGL to an internal condenser operating at a temperature that is in the range between the melting point of the AGL and a temperature lower than the dew point of the AGL, to condense the AGL vapors immediately , as the oil with AGL is introduced to the distiller; to produce a refined and deodorized oil, rich in natural carotene, which contains a minimum of 90% of the carotene and Vitamin E present in the pre-treated oil, before being fed to the distiller and containing less than 0.1% of the AGL.