Deacidification of Coconut Oil by Membrane Filtration

• Published in: Food and bioprocess technology Vol. 6; no. 2; pp. 498 - 508
• Main Authors: Rao, Yalagala Poorna Chandra, Ravi, Ramasamy, Khatoon, Sakina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer-Verlag 01.02.2013; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acetone; Agriculture; Biotechnology; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chemistry/Food Science; Coconut oil; Ethanol; Fatty acids; Filtration; Food Science; Isopropanol; Isopropyl alcohol; Low temperature; Membrane filtration; Membranes; Methanol; Molecular weight; Original Paper; Pressure; Propanol; Reduction; Rejection; Solvents; Temperature effects; Ultrafiltration; FFA; Flux; Ultrafiltration; Hydrophilic cellulosic membranes; Coconut oil
• ISSN: 1935-5130; 1935-5149
• DOI: 10.1007/s11947-011-0743-z

Ultrafiltration (UF) of coconut oil was carried out using a Millipore membrane cell at different pressures (0.1–0.4 MPa) and with different molecular weight cutoff membranes, that is,YM-1 (1 kDa), YM-3 (3 kDa), YM-10 (10 kDa), YM-30 (30 kDa), and PLTK-30 (30 kDa). Reduction of free fatty acids (FFAs) was 93.6%, 92.7%, 83.5%, 82.6%, and 81.6% with ethanol, methanol, acetone, n -propanol, and isopropyl alcohol, respectively, in three-stage filtration. The effects of temperature and applied pressure on the permeate flux and oil rejection were also studied with membranes using multistage filtration. As pressure increased from 0.1 to 0.4 MPa, the permeate flux and oil rejection increased linearly. A significant reduction of FFA was observed, which is in proportional with the amount of solvent in the feed used. The oil loss was less at lower temperature (25 °C) and pressure (0.2 MPa). Using PLTK 30 membrane with three-stage filtration, reduction of FFA was achieved up to 93% and 94% with methanol and ethanol solvents, respectively.