Oils, Fats and Waxes

Fats, oils and waxes are the naturally occurring esters of long straight-chain
carboxylic acids.
O O
HO C R1 CH2 OH H2C O C R1
O
O
HO C R2 + HO C H R2 C O C H
O
O
CH2 OH 3 H 2O H2C O C R3
HO C R3
Glycerol Triglycerides
Fatty acids (Triacylglycerol)
The difference between fats and oils is the melting point: fats are solid at
room temperature (20C) while oils are liquids.

Waxes are monoesters of long-chain fatty acids, usually containing 24 to 28 carbon

atoms, with long-chain fatty primary alcohols. Waxes are normally saturated and
are solids at room temperature

Industrial Uses of Oils, Fats and Waxes

Fat or oil Use

Animal fats Soaps, greases, paints, fatty acids and plasticizers

Coconut oil Fatty alcohols, soaps and detergents

Linseed oil Paint, varnishes, floor coverings, lubricants and greases

Soybean oil Paint, varnishes, floor coverings, lubricants and greases

Castor oil Protective coatings, plastics, plasticizers, lubricants, hydraulic fluids

Tung oil Paints and varnishes

Tall oil Soaps, leather, paint, emulsifiers, adhesives and ink

Beeswax Candles and moisturizing cream

Basic Product Formulation

Fats and oils consist primarily of glycerides. They also contain many other
lipids in minor quantitites like
fatty acids
partial glycerides (mono- and diglycerides)
phosphatides
sterols
hydrocarbons
pigments (gossypol, chlorophyll)
vitamins (carotene)
sterol glucosides
protein fragments
traces of pesticides and heavy metals..
Waxes consist of long chain saturated fatty acid and primary alcohol. The
dominant components are stearyl and ceryl alcohol (C26H53OH).

Production Process
The general methods employed to produce edible oils consist of:

(a) seed preparation

(b) extraction
(c) degumming
(d) bleaching
(e) deodorization
(f) hydrogenation and sometimes winterization.
Seed preparation

When oils seeds contain plant residues, damaged seeds, dust, sand, wood,
pieces of metal and foreign seeds. The oils seeds are carefully cleaned of
these materials using magnets, screens, and aspirator systems.
The cleaned seeds are dried to remove moisture.
The dried oil-seeds are usually decorticated to remove the hull that
surrounds the oilseed meat.

Extraction

Three methods, with varying degree of mechanical simplicity are used:

1. Rendering- fatty tissues are chopped and are boiled in steam digesters. The
fat is gradually liberated and floats to the surface of the water, where it is
collected by skimming.
2. Pressing with mechanical presses- Reduction of particle size of the kernels
(meats) by grinding, cooking and pressing in hydraulic or screw presses.

3. Extracting with a volatile solvent- Extraction of oil from press cake is

done by solvent extraction. The common solvent for edible oil is commercial
hexane or heptane. The solvent is recovered by distillation and is reused

Degumming

It removes mucilaginous material. In the soft degumming process, a

chelating agent (EDTA) is added to the oil to remove the cations from the
nonhydratable phosphatides.
Bleaching

Removal of pigments in the oil. Bleaching reduces the color by absorbing

these colorants on bleaching earth (bentonite clays) and/or activated
charcoal.
Bleaching clay also absorbs suspended matter and other minor impurities.

Deodorization

Most fats and oils, even after refining, have characteristic flavors and odors
due to the presence of minor amounts of free fatty acids, aldehydes, ketones
and other compounds.
The efficient removal of undesirable substances is steam heating.

Hydrogenation

Hydrogenation is used to convert liquid fats to plastic fats, for the

manufacture of margarine or shortening.
It is a type of addition reactions accepting hydrogen at the double bonds of
unsaturated fatty acids.

Winterization

Winterization is removing certain oils the components that solidify at low

temperatures and therefore a source of turbidity or settling in the bottle.
The process consists in filtering cooled oil under strict control.
Major Products

Coconut oil is from copra which contain 63% to 75% oil. It is press in screw presses.
The oil refined contain 1% to 12% of free fatty acid.
Fish oil is from sardine and salmon that are cooked by steaming and pressed. The oil is
settled and winterized. The oils are consumed in paints as lubricants, leather and soft-
soap manufacturing.
Beeswax is made from honeycomb by solvent extraction and boiling in water. It is used
in manufacturing of candles.

Quality Control Methods

Acids Number (or value):

It is the number of milligrams of KOH required to neutralize the free fatty acids present
in one gram of fat.
It is used for detection of hydrolytic rancidity because it measures the amount of free
fatty acids present.

Shelf Stability Test

Shelf life prediction is determined by Active Oxygen Method (AOM).

The fat or oil is subjected to an accelerated oxidation test under standardized conditions
so that the signs of deterioration are revealed within several hours or days.
The sample is heated at 97.8C while air is blown through it. The AOM Value is reported
as the number of hours to reach a peroxide value of 100 meq/kg.

Waste Management

Effective treatment of refinery effluent may be achieved by a combination of the

following:

Screening-Gross solids may have entered the effluent system may be removed using a
rotary or a static "self- cleaning" screen
Splitting of oil emulsions- Destabilisation of emulsions can be achieved using sulphuric
acid, and the separated fatty material can be recovered.
Neutralization- Effluent with low pH will be neutralizing with caustic soda before being
mixed with the remaining effluent.
What is smoke point?

Smoke point refers to the temperature at which an oil starts to burn and smoke. When you cook with
oil thats been heated past its smoke point, you do more than impart a burnt flavour to foods.
Beneficial nutrients and phytochemicals found in many unrefined oils are destroyed when the oil is
overheated. Overheating also creates harmful free radicals.

The smoke point of cooking oils varies widely. In general, the more refined an oil, the higher its smoke
point, because refining removes impurities and free fatty acids that can cause the oil to smoke.

Refined oils typically have a neutral taste and odour and a clear appearance. Light olive oil (light in
colour, not in calories), for example, has been refined and has a higher smoke point (486 degrees
Fahrenheit) than extra virgin olive oil (410 degrees F), which has not been refined.

Even so, the smoke point of extra virgin olive oil makes it suitable for many types of cooking. Cooking
on average home stoves, such as roasting in the oven and sauteing, pan-frying and stir-frying over
medium-high heat, is typically done between 250 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Other oils that have high smoke points (400 degrees F and higher) include avocado oil (refined),
almond oil, corn oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, safflower oil, sesame oil and sunflower oil.
These oils are better suited for cooking at higher temperatures.

Unrefined oils such as flaxseed oil, wheat germ oil and walnut oil have a low smoke point and should
not be heated.

Whether you use cooking oil for stir-frying, drizzling over vegetables or blending in a smoothie, dont
stock up on Costco-sized bottles you wont use within a year. Over time, heat and light can generate
free radicals that degrade an oils taste and quality. Store cooking oils in a cool, dark cupboard or the
refrigerator.