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Best Practice of High-Quality

Lecithin Production. From


Miscella-Clarification to
Lecithin-Powder

Barbara Harten– Application Sales Manager


PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE: OILSEEDS DEEP PROCESSING

TECHNOLOGIES (LECITHIN))
Content

• Lecithin

• Water degumming

• Lecithin drying

• Crude oil clarification.

• Lecithin de-oiling

• Summary

High Quality Lecithin Production 2


Basics of Lecithn

• Lecithin belongs to the phospholipids, one part of the molecule is hydrophilic the other part
hydrophobic
• Degumming =Removal of phospholipids (gums) from fats and oils
• Phospholipids are phosphorous containing organic substances
• The content of phospholipids are determined by analysing the phosphorous content in the oils and
fats
• Factor to convert phosphorous to phospholipids: 30
• Hydratable gums are removed by adding water
• The quantity of gums are depending on the extraction method of the oil from the seed;
only pressing leads to a low total gum content with high hydratable gum content

Fatty Acid
Glycerol

Fatty Acid O

O P O Fatty Acid

O-
Phospatidyl choline (lecithine)

3 High quality lecithin production


Composition of phospholipids

Soybean Oil Rapeseed Oil Sunflower Oil


Phosphor content [ppm] 400 - 1200 200 – 900 300 – 700
Phospholipids content [%] 1.0 – 2.9 0.5 – 2.3 0.8 – 1.8
PC (MW 784) 47 27 29 – 52
Phospholipids PI (MW 861) 24 17 11 – 22
distribution
[%] PE (MW 742) 20 17 17 – 26
PA (MW 699) 9 39 15 -30
• Hydratable phospholipids
• Phosphatidyl choline (PC)
• Phosphatodyl inositol (PI)
• Non-hydratable phospholipids
(calcium, magnesium and iron salts)
• Phosphatitic acid (PA)
• Phosphatidyl etholamine (PE)

Remark: Simplified model, not all PA and PE are NHP

High Quality Lecithin Production


Lecithin market

• Market price of soybean meal – Price in US$ per ton


300 – 500 US$ per ton 3500
• Market price of dried lecithin – 3000
600 – 1.200 US$ per ton
2500
• Market price for lecithin granulate 2000
– 2 – 10 US$ per kg
1500
• Growing interest for lecithin
granulates / powder in food 1000
industry 500
• Growing interestest in lecithin 0
from sunflower and rapeseed oil

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Lecithin Usage

• What is Lecithin used for

• Emulsifier for food products • Target quality of Lecithin


• Bread • Light Color – influenced strongly by solids in
• Margarine the crude oil
• Chocolate
• instant drinks • Low content of solids
• Technical use:
• Animal feed < 0.3%
• Emulsification, digestion and
binding of dust during production
• Fish Farming

• Non food applications / technical • Food products:


applications target < 0.1%
• Cosmetics
• Pesticides
• Paint industry etc.

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Lecithin recovery process overview

Seed Beans

Press-Cake Meal
Pressing Extraction Animal feed

Press oil
Miscella-Clarification
clarification Wet-Gums Crude-
Water degumming
Water-Degumming Lecithin-Drying
Lecithin
Oil
Crude-Lecithin
Lecithin
Refining Lecithin-Deoiling
Powder

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Water Degumming

• Removes only hydratable phosphatides


• Wet gums can be dried in a lecithin dryer and sold
as lecithin
• Refining of degummed oils causes lower oil losses
• Pre-caution for soap-stock splitting for yield
improvement of the alkaline neutralisation
• Improve storage and transportation stability of the
oil

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Water Degumming

• Process parameters: • Process achievements:


• Oil temperature: 75 - 90 °C • Residual phosphatides:
• Water addition: non-hydratables + max. 0,1 % hydratables
corresponding to the phosphatide content • Oil loss: max. 35 % oil in dried gums
• Hydration time: • Moisture:
with high shear mixing not required < 0.5 % without vacuum drying
with static mixers min. 30 minutes < 0.1 % with vacuum drying

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Loss calculation alkaline neutralisation

Loss formula for neutralization:


Total Loss= ffa + phosphatides+ moisture+ impurities+ 0,3 %
Loss=0,6 +1,25* Total Loss

Losses water degumming:


AI = 65 %= 35 % oil in gums
Typical quality for crude sunflower oil:
• ffa = 1 %
:
• P crude = 800 ppm= 2,4 %
• P water degummed= 100ppm=0,3 %
• Moisture = 0,2 %
• Impurities= 0,2 %

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Loss calculation

Neutralisation without water Neutralization combined with water


degumming degumming
TL = 1 +2,4+0,2+0,2 + 0,3= 4,3 % TL = 1 +0,3+0,2+0,2 + 0,3= 1,96 %
Losses = 0.6+ 1,25 * 4,3 = 5,97 % Losses = 3,05 %

Gum content in the gum discharge=


800 ppm P-100ppmP = 700 ppm P *
30 =2,1 % gums/35 %Oil content=
0,73 % oil loss + 2,1% gums =
Loss = 5,97 % Loss = 5,88 %

Yield gain 0,09 %


Profit:
300 t/d = 100.000 t/a x 0.09 % x 800 € = 72,000 €/a
1000 t/d= 330.000 t/a x 0,09 % X 800 € = 237,600 €/a

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Lecithin recovery process overview

Seed Beans

Press-Cake Meal
Pressing Extraction Animal feed

Press oil
Miscella-Clarification
clarification Wet-Gums
Lecithin drying Crude-
Water-Degumming Lecithin-Drying
Lecithin
Oil
Crude-Lecithin
Lecithin
Refining Lecithin-De-oiling
Powder

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Lecithin Drying

Effective Lecithin drying is necessary for:


• Storage stability
• Transportation cost

Best Practice Lecithin Drying


Important Factors :
• Temperature (∆ t low)
• Solid content in the lecithin in the dryer
• Design of the dryer (horizontal/vertical)
• Oil content
• Purity of the condensate
• High flexibility in terms of throughput capacity
• Low residence time in the dryer ( approx. 1 min)

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Design of Lecithin Dryer
Short Path distillation

• Horizontal dryer and conical backward design :


 One floor installation Is used for products , which agglomerate
to hard particles
example: lecithin form rape or sunflower seed,
particles are draught back to the feed side with milder
temperature less burning of particles
 cheaper installation (one floor) easy maintained
 Wider range of throughput capacity
 Gap between the rotor and inner shell can be adjusted as
set up for different types of lecithin

• Vertical dryer :
 Can be used for soy bean lecithin as this lecithin does not
intent to built hard particles
 Cheaper apparatus

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Lecithin-Drying

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Lecithin recovery process overview

Seed Beans

Press-Cake Meal
Pressing Extraction Animal feed

Press oil Oil


Miscella-Clarification
clarification clarification
Wet-Gums Crude-
Water-Degumming Lecithin-Drying
Lecithin
Oil
Crude-Lecithin
Lecithin
Refining Lecithin-Deoiling
Powder

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Crude oil clarification / filtration

When it is needed to produce a high quality lecithin it is a condition that


the oil must be clarified before degumming. That means that all the
solid impurities must be removed prior the degumming process, like:
• Fibers
• Proteins

This can be mane in several ways:


1. Hydrozyclon
2. Crude oil filtration
3. Clarification of the crude oil with separators
4. Miscella clarification

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Influence Parameters on Clarification

• Amount of Particles
• Particle Size
• Particle size is the main limit for the clarification / filtration technology
• Particle Size distribution analyse should be done

15 - 50 µm – Limit of Hydrocyclon
5 µm – Limit of Crude Oil Clarification/Filtration
2 µm – Limit of Miscella Clarification
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Crude Oil Filtration

Filter aid

Crude oil

Filtrated
Filter oil
cake

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Crude Oil Filtration

• Use of filter aid


• A second filter or big intermediate tanks necessary
• Big installation area
• Specific manpower for operation and filter cleaning
• Needs steam for blowing the filter
• Oil losses in the spent filter aid
• Reposition for the filtering clothes
• Disposal of the filter cake

Risk= filter leakage


• In case of filter leakage the separators for degumming will have erosion
problems
• Filter aid and particles from the crude oil will contaminate the gum discharge

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Crude oil clarification

Soya
flakes

Clarified oil
Hexane
Meal

EXTRACTION DESSOLVENTIZING DESTILLATION CLARIFICATION

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Crude oil clarification

• Continuous process
• No significant oil losses
Clarified oil
• Without additional effluent stream Crude oil
• Solids can be added to the
meal or returned to extractor
• Equivalent result as filtration
(Hexane insoluble in dried
lecithin typically 0.05 to 0.1 %) Impurities

• Low space requirement of the


installation
• No additional manpower required
• No oil losses in the filter aid

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Miscella clarification

Soya
flakes

Hexane
Meal
Clarified oil

DESTILLATION +
EXTRACTION DESSOLVENTIZING
CLARIFICATION

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Miscella clarification

Inert gas panel N2


Clarified
Miscella miscella

Impurities
Model used by:

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Miscella clarification

• No oil losses due to integration in extraction process


• No effluents
• No filter aid
• More efficient than crude oil filtration
(typically < 0.05% hexane insoluble in the dried lecithin)
• Low space requirement of the installation
• Now additional manpower required

• Additional advantage:
• Keeps the hexane distillation clean
(no cleaning during the year)
• Keeps steam economy constant
(no increase of vapor pressure to compensate fouling)
• Lighter Color of lecithin (Most important for lecithin quality)

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Lecithin recovery process overview

Seed Beans

Press-Cake Meal
Pressing Extraction Animal feed

Press oil
Miscella-Clarification
clarification Wet-Gums Crude-
Water-Degumming Lecithin-Drying
Lecithin
Oil
Crude-Lecithin
Lecithin
Refining Lecithin-De-Oiling
Lecithin De-Oiling
Powder

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Lecithin-De-Oiling and Powder Production

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Overview Lecithin De-Oiling

Main Process Side process Utilities


Storage and Pre-
treatment of crude Distillation Cooling/chiller
lecithin

De-oiling Rectification Instrument air

Grinding Vent washing Nitrogen Generation

Drying

Grinding

Packing

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Lecithin De-Oiling

Acetone

Decanter Decanter

De-oiled
Lecithin
Lecithin

Acetone / Oil
Miscella

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De-Oiling

The de-oiling is done in a two stage counter current


extraction using decanter the removal the oil/acetone mixture from
the lecithin. M
2 M
Extraction temperature : 25 °C 5 M
M
Aceton
7
8 3 6
1 Crude Lecithin is mixed with the
M M
8 Acetone /traces of oil containing 1 4
discharge of the second decanter

2 By means of a decanter centrifuge the oil containing acetone phase


3 is separated, and pumped to a storage tank
6 the acetone /oil mixer to the acetone recovery

3 The lecithin discharge of the first decanter is mixed with “fresh “acetone
4 ( from the acetone rectification) and conveyed to the second decanter,

7 the lecithin discharge is pumped to the lecithin grinding,

8 the oil acetone phase back the first decanter

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Storage and Pre-Treatment the Dried Lecithin

• The intermediate storage capacity


should be big enough for 48-72 h
storage time, each vessel must be
equipped with heating and cooling
system plus effective agitator
• During the filling of the vessel,
hydrogen peroxide is mixed with the
lecithin for disinfection
• Storage temperature 60 °C

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Granulation

• The de-oiled lecithin from the discharge of the


decanter needs to be grind to enlarge the surface
• Only from grinded lecithin acetone can be
removed

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Drying

• The drying of the lecithin is


done in two steps .
• Due to hazardous area caused
by the acetone, the first drying Trockner 1

is under nitrogen atmosphere


Trockner 2
• Drying temperature 80-100°C
• The acetone is condensed by
means of ammonia and
recovered

• In the second dryer the acetone content is below the explosion point therefor
regular air can be used .

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Grinding

• In the next step, the dried granulates are grinded to


powder by a fine impact mill.
• Due to the high dust content this process stage
needs to be
nitrogen purged under hazardous area regulation
• The high energy input leads to a high increase of the
gas circulation temperature therefore a cooling
system needs to be foreseen

• To protect the mill a metal protector is


installed upfront to the mill

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Packing

• Can be done in 25 kg plastic bags

• As the lecithin is hydroscope, the packing


area must fulfill following ambient:
- max. 25 °C temperature
- max. relative humidity of 50-60 °C

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Distillation of Acetone from Oil

• The distillation of acetone from oil is done in


a two stage falling film evaporator
• The oil can be mixed to the crude oil
• The acetone is condensed and convey to the
rectification stage

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Rectification

• For the reuse of the acetone in the in the lecithin


de-oiling stage the acetone need to be purified
from water
• Even the dried lectin still contains water, which
would accumulate in the recycled acetone
• Max. acceptable water contend of the acetone for
de-oiling : ca. 0,5%
• Therefore a rectification of acetone from water is
permitted .

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Vent Washing

• The vent need to be washed to prevent the


environmental from acetone vapours
• .the vent washing is done in 2 stages, as the wash
water temperature is responsible for effective
washing
• The first washing is done with cooled process
water, the second stage with ice water

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Cooling

 Cooling is necessary for many stages of the de-oiling


process:
 For the removal of the acetone of the first drying step
of the lecithin
 Ice water (2 °C) ) for the vent washing, condensation,..

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Summary

• Lecithin is used for a lot of application in the food and feed industry. As a side effect the
quality of the lecithin especially in case of food use comes more into focus.
• Water degumming is well known since many decades for yield improvement of the
edible oil refinery and for better storage stability of the oil
• The by-product of the water degumming = wet gums are a valuable product. For selling
the water needs to be removed by a lecithin dryer, which need to be designed for best
quality lecithin
• To get a lecithin after the dryer with light color the impurities upfront to the water
degumming needs to be removed by
filtration
clarification
GEA propose the miscella clarification as the clarification effect is the best and the
availability in the oil extraction distillation is higher
• The de-oiling of the dried lecithin is the next step in the lecithin treatment but is also
quite cost intensive. Therefore it is only feasible for higher capacities and or special
markets.

High Quality Lecithin Production 40


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