Fractionation of fatty acid esters and acylglycerides with pressurized CO2

Abstract

Fatty mono- and di-glycerides are products highly used in the food, cleaning and cosmetic industries because of their emulsifying properties. These products can be obtained through different synthesis routes, namely, glycerolysis of vegetable oils, direct esterification of fatty acids with glycerol or partial transesterification of vegetable oils with alcohols. The last two chemical pathways produce fatty acid esters besides mono/diglycerides, which are difficult to split and purify at industrial scale because of its low vapor pressure, low relative volatility, and high viscosity. In this work, we evaluate the fractionation of fatty acid esters and acylglycerides by supercritical CO2 technology. High pressure experimental extractions were carried out at different operating conditions to validate the technology and a rigorous thermodynamic model was used to evaluate the fractionation process.