SEPARATION AND ANALYSIS OF COTTONSEED OIL DEODORIZER DISTILLATE (CODD) USING MOLECULAR DISTILLATION

A molecular distillation (MD) method was developed to separate the unsaponifiables from Cottonseed oil deodorizer distillate (CODD), which contains free fatty acids (FFA), mono/diglycerides, tocopherols and sterols. Using a model KDL6 MD glass still with a 0.06 m2 evaporator, five passes were conducted using different evaporator temperatures and with the condenser temperature held at 60°C and vacuum at 0.22 mmHg. With the feed rate of 0.2 kg/hr, at a temperature of 60°C, samples of the CODD were separated into the distillate and residue portion. Using a gas chromatography silylation method, quantification of the components was determined. The pass 4 distillate was composed of 90.8% of FFA and 4.3% of unsaponifiables and the residue had 63% unsaponifiables. Using this residue for stage-2, unsaponifiables were 84.5% of the distillate while the residue had 97.14% diglycerides. Molecular distillation is a solvent-free process, avoiding problems with toxicity. This laboratory method using a 2-stage process successfully distilled the unsaponifiables from the components of CODD and distilled the valuable tocopherols and sterols and the FFA.DocHale Food ingredient