The Mahua tree, known as the ‘Tree of Life,’ and the Indian Butternut tree are grown all over India. Though not much known to the urban people, all parts of this magical Mahua tree is helpful for basic requirements like medicine, food, manure, and fodder. Mahua oil extracted from the seed kernel of the butternut fruit has a high butter content to have a similar texture and solidifies at low temperature. The best mahua oil extraction process helps to make this miracle helpful oil for multiple purposes. Also, the over 5,000 years old practice of using linseed oil extracted from pressing dried flax plant seeds as a supplement and effective medicine continue to date. And the high-quality linseed oil refinery also removes all the impurities, odor, and other suitable for use in many different sectors.
Hydrogenation of oils and fats is one of the significant activities in the oil and fats sector to change many physical characteristics of natural fats and oils. The hydrogen atoms added to the carbon-carbon double bonds in the presence of a nickel catalyst change the unsaturated fat to saturated fat. The best hydrogenation plant produced by a reputed manufacturer with years of experience helps achieve low iodine of up to 0.5 and reduced catalyst consumption. And it allows for 100% reproducibility of the product because of using a high degree of automation.
This article will discuss the three types of hydrogenation of fats and oils and its benefits in the food industry to develop the business to new levels.
What is the different hydrogenation of fats and oils?
One of the suitable examples of hydrogenation of fats and oils is making vanaspati ghee, which is semi-solid at room temperature, the best alternative to expensive butter ghee. There are three types of hydrogenation to change the liquid form of vegetable oils to semi-solid for having many benefits like increasing the taste, shelf life, and others. The following are the three hydrogenation types that include the following.
- Semi-continuous hydrogenation by the best machine with the agitation system having a unique design made by a decades-old experienced manufacturer minimizes the entire cycle by controlling the autoclave’s flow, pressure, and temperature for excellent quality with 100% reproducibility.
- Continuous hydrogenation is the most extensive modification process in the oil & fa industry to add hydrogen directly to the carbon double bonds in the fatty acid chain to reduce the iodine value.
- Loop hydrogenation using a reactor with a candle filter and auto-wash is best for filtering the catalyst.
What are the benefits of hydrogenation of fats and oils?
Hydrogenated fats revolutionized the food industry to make products with improved stability, flavor, texture, taste, and others. Hence there are many benefits of hydrogenation of fats and oils, including the following among others.
- It improves shelf life as the hydrogenation of fats and oils increases stability to prevent it from going rancid and is best for food products like baked items and snacks.
- Increases the texture and mouthfeel of food products as hydrogenation creates solid fats to provide a smooth and creamy texture to food products
- Reduces oil separation in food products like chocolate and peanut butter to improve their appearance
- Increases the heat stability to be best for baking and frying as it is hard for the created fats to break down even at high temperature
Mectech started in 1978, is the pioneer in making machines and plants for hydrogenation of fats and oils, linseed oil refinery, and mahua oil extraction process in its four manufacturing facilities to export to over 20 countries.
