Liquid/Liquid Extraction

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for the extraction of the unsaponifiable fraction contained in vegetable oils, oils or vegetable butters derived from microorganisms or in by-products from the vegetable oil refining industry (eg deodorization emissions). Said process comprises at least: A) a process comprising converting the aforementioned oils, butter or by-products from the vegetable oil refining industry or oils originating from microorganisms into a water-alcoholic solution by means of, inter alia, selected from the steps of saponification and esterification step; B) comprising the step of extracting said hydro-alcoholic solution by means of liquid / liquid extraction, wherein the fat fraction is separated from the unsaponifiable fraction; and C) comprising the optional step of purifying said unsaponifiable fraction, Said purification is selected from steps of crystallization and liquid / liquid extraction. According to the present invention, at least one of the liquid / liquid extraction step in step B, the crystallization step in step C and the liquid / liquid extraction step in step C is performed using a first solvent system comprising a concentration of Expressed as at least 50% by volume of solvent relative to the total volume of the solvent system, the solvent is selected from: fluorinated aromatic solvents (especially trifluorotoluene (BTF) and hexafluorobenzene (BHF)); tert-butyl ethers (especially 2‑ethoxy‑2‑methylpropane, also known as ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE)); solvents containing at least one silicon atom (especially hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDS ) and tetramethylsilane (TMS)); methyltetrahydrofuran (MeTHF) and mixtures thereof. The invention also relates to the fractions obtained using this method and to compositions containing said fractions.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to a method for extracting the unsaponifiable fraction, especially a partial or total fraction, of vegetable oil, vegetable butter or oil derived from microorganisms. Background technique [0002] The unsaponifiable or unsaponifiable fraction of fat is that portion of fat which remains insoluble in water after prolonged action of alkali and which can be extracted with organic solvents. [0003] The unsaponifiables of most vegetable oils or butters contain several major families of substances. These may include saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons, fatty or triterpene alcohols, sterols, tocopherols, carotenoid pigments, lutein, and in the case of certain oils and butters, one or two specific and notable family. [0004] Standard methods for obtaining unsaponifiables in vegetable oils and vegetable butters aim at extracting all or part of the large family of substances contained therein for the preparation of part or all ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0008] However, from an industrial point of view, the toxicity of the solvents used and their chemical stability must be taken into consideration

For this reason, chlorinated solvents, especially 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) and 1-chlorobutane, have three major disadvantages: they can degrade in alkaline media saponification), they are classified as toxic solvents (especially DCE is classified as CMR), and they have a negative impact on the environment

[0009] Chlorinated solvents are often unacceptably toxic and / or hazardous

[0010] Furthermore, methods to obtain the unsaponifiable fraction may require the use of organic solvents in amounts unsuitable for the feasibility of the method, which may involve too many extraction steps and may be slow, both from an economic and environmental point of view. , and / or have unacceptable phase separation (e.g. create unwanted emulsions)

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