Hydrogenation
Hydrogenation is a modification process applied in edible oils processing industries for more than a century already. Also called ‘hardening’, it is mainly used on vegetable soft oils like soybean, rape or sunflower to increase their oxidative stability and improve their functional properties by reducing the degree of unsaturation. The hardened oils display improved consistency and increased melting points, behaving entirely like fats. Hydrogenation is also applied typically on palm kernel stearin (produced via dry fractionation) to obtain confectionery fats that serve as cocoa butter substitutes.
How does it work
In a 21st-century where trans fatty acids are banned from food formulation due to health concerns, full hydrogenation is commonly complemented with an interesterification and fractionation process. This sequence of various process allows to match the peculiar structural properties of the now phased out trans-fatty-acid rich products, and the resulting fats can be then used as key ingredient in a wide plethora of confectionery, bakery, spreads and ice cream products.
Desmet serves this oil industry the discontinuous "dead end" hydrogenation technology, in a combination nearly total heat recovery system. The plant is equipped with several features, controlling reaction pressure, reaction temperature and quantity of injected hydrogen.
Desmet’s proprietary hydrogenation reactor is equipped with state-of-the-art agitation system to optimally disperse, recirculate and mix the system of three-phasic system (oil/gas/solid catalyst). It is also engineered to ensure the instant evacuation of the reaction heat and recuperate the energy as steam and/or hot water elsewhere in the refinery.
