Synthetic resins or natural rubbers -- part of the class 520 ser – Synthetic resins – Cellular products or processes of preparing a cellular...
Patent
1998-09-16
2000-05-16
Nutter, Nathan M.
Synthetic resins or natural rubbers -- part of the class 520 ser
Synthetic resins
Cellular products or processes of preparing a cellular...
521 841, 435198, 435134, 435144, A23D 702, C11B 300, C11C 104, C12N 920
Patent
active
060638222
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for enzymatically dewatering, drying, isolating and purifying oil or fat. More specifically, it relates to a method for partially hydrolyzing the oil or fat with a lipolytic enzyme, thereby removing water from the oil or fat. It also relates to a method for removing, from oil or fat, substances dispersed therein along with water present in the oil or fat, thereby purifying the oil or fat. Finally, the invention relates to a method for producing a hydrolysate of the purified oil or fat.
BACKGROUND ART
Conventional methods for dewatering and drying substances such as oils and fats include heating the substance, reducing the pressure around the substance, adding a desiccant to the substance, or a combination of these. However, the heating and the pressure reduction require much energy necessary for vaporizing water. In particular, the pressure reduction on an industrial scale further requires vacuum equipment which is expensive. For the addition of desiccant, a large amount of desiccant must be added, resulting in the formation of a water-absorbed desiccant residue that has at least the same volume as that of the water absorbed, which requires the post-treatment of such a large amount of wastes.
Where industrial products are produced from oil or fat (for example, where oil or fat is hydrolyzed to produce diglycerides, monoglycerides, fatty acids or glycerin), the starting oil or fat is often pre-purified in order to reduce the content of the impurities to be in the products. To remove water-soluble substances from raw oil or fat, the raw oil or fat may be washed with water. However, the washing produces a large amount of wastes that must be post-treated.
Heretofore, lipases have been used for hydrolysis, esterification and interesterification of oil or fat. However, there is no precedent for the case of using lipases for dewatering, for drying and even for purifying oil or fat.
One object of the present invention is to provide a simple process for reducing water in oil or fat and for purifying oil or fat. Another object of the present invention is to provide a process useful for obtaining hydrolysates of oil or fat.
MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS
We, the present inventors have assiduously studied in order to attain the above-mentioned objects and, as a result, have surprisingly developed a method for reducing water in oil or fat, which comprises treating a water-containing oil or fat with a lipolytic enzyme to thereby reduce the amount of water in the oil or fat through water-consuming hydrolysis. In addition, we have found that the reduction in the water content of oil or fat can be used for the removal, from the oil or fat, of substances (water-soluble substances, substances insoluble in oil or fat) dispersed in the oil or fat along with the water present therein, without adding any additional water to the oil or fat, thereby achieving purification of the oil or fat. Further, we have found that the oil or fat thus having a reduced content of water and impurities can be effectively used as a starting material for producing hydrolysates of the oil or fat. On the basis of these findings, we have completed the present invention.
Accordingly, the invention provides: comprises treating the oil or fat with a lipolytic enzyme. which is soluble in water, but insoluble or hardly soluble in the oil or fat, which method comprises: and following sequential steps: that is soluble in water, but insoluble or hardly soluble in the oil or fat so as to precipitate said substance,
Now, the present invention is described in detail hereinunder.
The oil or fat to be treated according to the present invention may comprise esters of fatty acids, of which the number of carbon atoms is such that lipolytic enzymes can easily act thereon, for example, triglycerides, diglycerides, monoglycerides and wax esters. The number of carbon atoms of the fatty acid moieties, on which lipolytic enzymes can easily act, varies, depending on the type of the lipolytic en
REFERENCES:
patent: 4629742 (1986-12-01), Brady et al.
patent: 5677160 (1997-10-01), Oester et al.
Esq. Reza Green
Novo Nordisk A S
Nutter Nathan M.
Zelson, Esq. Steven T.
LandOfFree
Method for dewatering and purifying oil or fat does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method for dewatering and purifying oil or fat, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method for dewatering and purifying oil or fat will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-259373