Purifying polyunsaturated fatty acid glycerides
AssigneeNorsk Hydro ASA
InventorsMichel Perrut, Wieslaw Majewski, Harald Breivik
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Abstract
A composition containing polyunsaturated fatty acid glycerides is purified by means of supercritical fluid fractionation in one or more countercurrent columns operated either with internal reflux achieved by a temperature gradient along the column or with an external reflux achieved through external regulation of the pressure, and using as the solvent a mixture of supercritical CO2 and a polar co-solvent. Oligomeric and malodorous impurities in particular can be successfully removed by this process, which also can, if desired, be followed, or preceded, by another supercritical fluid fractionation with supercritical C02 under conditions adjusted so as to favor fractionation of the glyceride components.
Claims15
A process for purifying a starting glyceride composition containing a mixture of different polyunsaturated fatty acid glycerides together with at least one impurity, comprising the steps of:
- (a) subjecting said composition to supercritical fluid fractionation in one or more countercurrent columns in which the fluid serves to extract at least a portion of at least one impurity from the composition, the column being operated either with internal reflux achieved by a temperature gradient along the column or with an external reflux achieved through external regulation of the pressure, and the fluid for said extraction being a mixture of supercritical CO2 and a polar co-solvent;
- and
- (b) recovering a purified composition containing said polyunsaturated fatty acid glycerides with a lesser concentration of impurities than was present in said starting composition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.