Influence of the operating conditions on acid degumming process in sunflower seed oil

Abstract

In a recent paper (1) we studied the kinetic extraction of phospholipids present in crude sunflower oils, such as phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidic acid (PA), for monitoring the efficiency of the degumming process under conditions used by the oil industry. We have now extended this study, investigating the effect of different variables related mainly to the acid refining step (type and concentration of degumming agents, temperature and contact time), in accordance with technological requirements. Diverse degumming agents [phosphoric acid, citric acid, and acid mixtures (phosphoric/citric acids, 50:50), all used in a 2.5% ratio (degumming agent/oil) at a concentration of 8, 10, and 13%], temperatures (60, 70, and 80°C), contact times (5–35 min with moderate agitation) were used...