Sefa S. Koseoglu

XRecent advances in canola oil hydrogenations

Rapeseed oil has been the source of edible oils in many parts of the world. In the last decade, Canadian plant breeders have developed new rapeseed cultivars which yield oil low in erucic acid and meal low in glucosinolates. These cultivars were named “canola” by the Canadian rapeseed industry. Literature on the hydrogenation characteristics of canola oil is limited; however, in recent years, several aspects of canola oil hydrogenations with commercial nickel catalysts have been reported including the formation ofrans-isomers, trisaturated glycerides and physical properties. In addition, as the methods for determination of sulfur compounds in canola oil developed, the effect of some isothiocyanates on the hydrogenation rate was further investigated to determine the relative catalyst poisoning ability of serveral of these sulfur compounds. However, during the last few years, most of the efforts were directed towards development of novel, selective and active catalysts for canola oil hydrogenations. These studies cover a wide range of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts including sulfur poisoned nickel, gold supported on silica, arene-Cr(CO)3, RuCl2(CO)2(PPh3)2, palladium on carbon, palladium black and nickel and arene-Cr(CO)3 mixtures. Effects of temperature, pressure, catalyst concentration and catalyst preparation procedure on the hydrogenation rate, selectivity, catalyst life and quality of the oil were examined and compared with that of commercial nickel catalysts. A brief discussion about continous hydrogenations of canola oil with commerical fixed bed catalysts is also included.

Effects of Expander Process on the Phospholipids in Soybean Oil

Crude oils were extracted from soybean flakes and collets by conventional and expander processes, respectively. The phospholipids were removed by degumming, and the lecithins were produced by using commercial procedures. The effects of the expander process on the degumming efficiencies were evaluated. The differences in the phosphatide compositions of the oils and the lecithins produced from expander and conventional processes were compared by high-performance liquid chromatography. The phosphorus content indicated that expander-processed oil contained more phosphorus (985 ppm) than the conventional oil (840 ppm). However, the phospholipids in the expander-processed oil were more hydratable than those in the conventional oil. After degumming, the phosphorus content in the expander-processed and conventional oil were reduced by 93.2 and 78.6%, respectively. The expander-processed lecithin contained 74.3% acetone-insoluble matter (AI), and the conventional lecithin contained 65.8%. More phosphatidylcholine was found in the expander-processed lecithin (39.78%, based on AI) than in the conventionally processed lecithin (34.19%). The phosphatidylinositol contents of the expander-processed lecithin and the conventional lecithin are almost the same (19.95 and 19.97%). The phosphatidylethanolamine in the expander-processed lecithin (12.36%) was lower than that in the conventional lecithin (18.07%).