Abstract:
Cotton-seed oil, palm-oil and certain kinds of animal fats are composed of
two groups of fatty acids: liquid fraction (unsaturated fatty acids) and
solid fraction (saturated fatty acids). It is often desirable to separate
both fractions into two commercial products: technical stearin and technical
olein. This process is more economical than fractional distillation. Moreover,
thermal destruction of fatty acids is considerably less, and in most
cases the products satisfy the customers. The separation is based on the
crystallization of solid fatty acids and the emulsification of liquid fatty
acids, followed by filtration.
