Nanoscience for life GmbH & COKG offers patent-protected processes for the purification of vegetable oils and fats using aqueous solutions. These can be used with any vegetable oil or fat. The purification takes place under conditions that are very gentle on the product. The total of 5 procedures can be used individually or in combination to achieve the an optimal purification result.
Procedure:
In the process, the vegetable oils to be purified are mixed with aqueous solutions and the emulsions formed are split again after a few minutes or after a few hours by means of a centrifugal process or a spontaneous separation (sedimentation process). With most oils, three consecutive purification steps are sufficient to obtain a purified vegetable oil. The process fluids do not need to be heated. The processes can be used to produce edible oils and cosmetic oils, as well as lubricants and fuel / technical oils that meet the specifications required in each case.
In addition, the accompanying substances present in vegetable crude oil, such as phospholipids, glycolipids, free fatty acids, coloring agents, flavorings, antioxidants and many other compounds, can be separated from the separated water phase without loss. Using known purification processes the separated accompanying substances can be obtained in a pure form and commercialized. The process works completely without product loss.
It is also advantageous that the processes can be carried out efficiently and economically even with very small amounts of crude oils. In particular, those crude oils are particularly suitable which have a high proportion of accompanying oil substances, which is the case in linseed oil, almond oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil or evening primrose oil. Such crude oils can practically not be purified using the classic refining process, which is why such oils are mainly offered in their native form and therefore mostly have an unsatisfactory quality.
However, the processes can also be carried out on an industrial scale. The technical equipment required for this is limited to appropriate tank capacities and phase separation devices, such as a decanter or separator.
In comparison to the classic refining of vegetable oils, with the aqueous purification process there is
- no formation of trans fatty acids and 3-MCPD esters,
- no product loss,
- obtainable the totality of the accompanying oil substances which can be purified, thus generating added value.
In contrast to the prior art, oils and fats can be purify with regard to various requirements. For example, flavorings can be removed to varying degrees. In this way, for example, bitter substances can be removed from oils (e.g. linseed oil) without the oil losing its typical taste. However, complete taste neutrality can also be achieved. Optionally, oil accompanying substances can be obtained in separate fractions, such as phospholipids, glyceroglycolipids or free fatty acids. These compounds are obtained in a native form while retaining their properties, so that they can be used, for example, in foods, cosmetic articles or pharmaceutical preparations.
The processes can also be carried out economically with small amounts of product. Only water-soluble compounds that have been approved for use with food are used for purification. The aqueous purification processes are therefore particularly suitable for the treatment of bio oils.