Sorbitan Fatty Acid Ester Fat Crystallization Accelerator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for controlling fat crystallization in food products like margarine, shortening, and chocolate are inefficient, leading to coarsening of crystals during storage and difficulties in achieving full crystallization during production, which affects production efficiency and product quality, especially when using palm oil or transesterified oils with slow crystallization speeds.
Innovation Solution
A sorbitan fatty acid ester with an esterification rate of 28 to 60% and a sorbitol-type content of 20 to 40% is used as a fat crystallization accelerator, enhancing the crystallization process by accelerating the formation of solid fat content, even with slow-crystallizing fats like palm oil or transesterified oils.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional methods (cooling units, tempering work, aging steps) are used to control fat crystallization, then crystal coarsening during storage is suppressed, but production efficiency deteriorates and production steps become complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by adding a crystallization accelerator during the production step to promote complete crystallization before storage. This prevents crystal coarsening during storage without requiring complex post-production steps like tempering or aging, thereby maintaining production efficiency while ensuring crystal stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a crystallization accelerator as an intermediary substance that mediates between the fat composition and the crystallization process. This accelerator promotes nucleation and crystal formation during production, eliminating the need for additional cooling units or aging steps, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and productivity.
2Quantity of substance
If palm oil is used as a fat raw material to reduce costs, then production cost decreases, but crystal coarsening during storage becomes inevitable due to slow crystallization speed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the crystallization kinetics of palm oil through the addition of a crystallization accelerator. This accelerator changes the crystallization rate and mechanism, enabling complete crystallization within the production step even when using large amounts of palm oil, thus maintaining both cost-effectiveness and crystal stability.
3Speed
If cooling temperature is extremely reduced to increase degree of supercooling, then crystallization is promoted, but production flow rate must be reduced and production efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a crystallization accelerator as an intermediary that promotes nucleation and crystal growth at moderate cooling temperatures. This eliminates the need for extreme cooling to achieve crystallization, allowing the production line to maintain normal flow rates while still achieving complete crystallization, thus resolving the contradiction between crystallization speed and production efficiency.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If transesterified oil is used instead of hardened oil, then healthiness is improved, but crystallization speed becomes slower making stable production of plastic fat compositions difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by using a crystallization accelerator to modify the crystallization kinetics of transesterified oil. This accelerator compensates for the slower crystallization speed inherent in transesterified oils, enabling stable production of plastic fat compositions with reduced trans acid content, thus resolving the contradiction between healthiness and crystallization speed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The sorbitan fatty acid ester effectively accelerates fat crystallization in a short time, improving production efficiency and product quality by ensuring proper crystallization during the production step, allowing for the creation of sheet-like plastic fat compositions with good physical properties and reducing the cooling time for chocolate or hard butter.
Implementation Method 1
a sorbitan fatty acid ester having an esterification rate of 28 to 60% and a sorbitol-type content of 20 to 40% is used as a fat crystallization accelerator, enhancing the crystallization process by accelerating the formation of solid fat content
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a crystallization accelerator capable of accelerating fat crystallization a short time during a production step of a product of margarine, shortening, chocolate, or hard butter to be used for confectionery production or bread production. A phenomenon that sorbitan fatty acid ester having an esterification ratio of from 28 to 60% and a sorbitol-type content of from 20 to 40% exhibits a remarkable effect on acceleration of fat crystallization in a short time was found, and thus, the invention was completed.