A process for the solvent fractionation of palm oil stearines and products obtained with said process

Claim 1

A process for the solvent fractionation of palm oil stear ine or catalyticall rearranged palm oil stearine or any similar animal or vegetable fat stearine yielding as the first fraction, a hard glyceride fat, (P-l) with melting point above 45°C, the second fraction being a semisolid glyceride fraction resembling cocoa butter in melting properties and having a melting range in excess of 33°C and under 44°C, the third fraction is an oil at room temperature, the process comprising the steps of: (a) dissolving the stearine in a solvent, the solvent ratio being from 1.0 to 6.0 ml. of solvent per gram of stearine, warming the mixture to ca 50°C to ensure complete solution. (b) crystallizing the solution from step (a) at 12-14°C. (c) collecting the precipitate formed in step (b) by filtration or centrifugation. (d) transferring the collected precipitate of step (c) to a suitable vessel and extracting the said precipitate with fresh solvent cooled to 10°C and equal in volume to about twice the volume of the precipitate usually less than 10 % of the original crystallization volume. (e) filtering the slurry of step (d) by vacuum or pressure filtration or by centrifugation and collecting the precipitate, which after processing in the evaporator and deodorizer yields the bland, solvent free first fraction, (P-1), the hard fat fraction with melting point over 45°C. The filtrate from step(e), if desired can be used as solvent for the initial crystallization step in another cycle. (f) further crystallizing the filtrate from step (c) at a temperature of 1-3°C. (g) collecting the precipitate formed in step (f) by filtration or centrifugation. (h) transferring the.collected precipitate of step (g) to a suitable vessel and extracting the said precipitate with fresh solvent cooled to 0°C and equal in volume to twice the volume of the precipitate usually less than 10% of the original crystallization volume. (i) filtering the slurry of step (h) by vacuum or pressure filtration or by centrifugation and collecting the precipitate, which after processing in the evaporator and deodorizer, yields the bland, solvent free second fraction, (P-2), the confectionery fat fraction, of melting point over 33°C and under 44°C. The filtrate from step (i) if desired can be used as solvent for the initial crystallization step in another cycle. (j) processing the collected filtrate of step (g) in the evaporator and the deodorizer to produce the bland, solvent free third fraction, (F-2), the oil fraction.