Modifying soybean oil chemical structure by application of high voltage atmospheric cold plasma treatment

• Main Author: Yepez, Ximena V
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2014
• Subjects: Agricultural engineering; Food Science
• ISBN: 1369078676; 9781369078671

Soybean production in the United States totaled 89.5 million tons in 2013. Soybean is processed into a variety of food and industrial products including soy protein and soybean oil. Annually 8.9 million tons of soybean oil are extracted and approximately 49\% is hydrogenated to obtain functional food ingredients for frying, baking, confectionery or snack foods. Properties such as higher melting points, reduced trans-fat, or extended shelf life are currently pursued by the food industry. Hydrogenation of vegetable oils dates back to 1910. This process modifies the chemical structure of oil by the incorporation of a hydrogen molecule within the double bonds of the structure. It is through the hydrogenation process that a solid vegetable fat is produced with similar properties as animal fats. From 2005, as a consequence of the mandatory FDA trans-fat labeling law, the use of soybean oil as partially hydrogenated oil has declined. The traditional hydrogenation process leads to 25-45\% of trans- fat. It is this trans- fats that are associated with the high risk potential of heart disease. Today, new processes and technologies are able to manipulate oil and fats chemistry to achieve unique characteristics. High voltage atmospheric cold plasma (HVACP) is a novel technology recently developed at Purdue University. HVACP generates reactive gas species (RGS) from gases such as hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. HVACP treatment of soybean oil in the presence of hydrogen gas may achieve hydrogenation at room temperature and room pressure without a metal catalyst. The goal of this study is to evaluate the effect of HVACP treatment of soybean oil in a hydrogen gas environment. The specific objectives of this study include: 1) Optimize the treatment conditions for maximum efficiency to obtain partially hydrogenated soybean oil and 2) Analyze the effect of direct/direct treatment and storage time ; 3) Quantify the changes in oil chemistry with iodine value, fatty acid profile, color and viscosity; 4) Characterize the effect of HVACP treatment using nitrogen-hydrogen gas blends. HVACP treatment of soybean oil in the presence of hydrogen gas may achieve hydrogenation at room temperature and room pressure without a metal catalyst. HVACP treatment is an environmentally friendly process that has the potential to achieve hydrogenation of soybean oil without trans- fatty acids.