Progress in Supercritical Fluid Technology for Fats and Oils Processing

Abstract Supercritical CO 2 (SC‐CO 2 ) processing of fats and oils has been widely investigated since SC‐CO 2 offers an environmentally friendly alternative with added advantages such as moderate operating conditions and solvent‐free extracts and residues. From a processing perspective, a unique advantage of SC‐CO 2 processing lies in its versatility, which results from the ability to modify solvent properties by changing operating conditions (temperature and pressure) or by the addition of cosolvents. A good understanding of the fundamentals of solubility behavior of lipid components in SC‐CO 2 as affected by operating conditions and solute properties is required to realize its full potential in fats and oils processing. The operational flexibility offered by supercritical fluid technology enables the processor to fine‐tune solvent properties and to develop novel processes by the integration of unit operations of extraction, fractionation, reaction, and particle formation to meet the process objectives. These unit operations have been effectively utilized for the extraction and refining of oils, concentration of bioactive components from oils or oil by‐products, modification of the physical properties of fats and oils, production of oleochemicals and design of delivery systems for numerous applications.