PHASE-EQUILIBRIUM STUDY FOR THE SEPARATION AND FRACTIONATION OF FATTY OIL COMPONENTS USING SUPERCRITICAL CARBON-DIOXIDE

Vapor-liquid equilibria were measured for the binary systems oleic acid-carbon dioxide and triolein-carbon dioxide and for the ternary system oleic acid-triolein-carbon dioxide with the aim of separating the fatty acids and triglycerides. Experimental results showed that oleic acid can be selectively extracted using supercritical carbon dioxide as a solvent. Supercritical carbon dioxide was also considered for the fractionation of mixtures of triglycerides. High pressure vapor-liquid equilibria were measured for the systems palm kernel oil-carbon dioxide and sesame oil-carbon dioxide. Supercritical carbon dioxide was found to fractionate these triglyceride mixtures on the basis of the total carbon number of the constituent fatty acids of the triglyceride.