Traditionally produced partially hydrogenated oils (PHO’s) are no longer considered safe by FDA as a food ingredient due to their high content of trans-fatty acids (TFA). The food industry uses PHO’s in many snacks and processed foods to increase shelf-life and improve functional properties such as spreadability or mouthfeel. High Voltage Atmospheric Cold Plasma (HVACP) has been investigated as a novel technology to produce PHO’s without the formation of TFA. Experiments conducted at room temperature on 10 mL samples of commercial soybean oil in a dielectric barrier discharge system using 80-90kV and hydrogen gas achieved a significant reduction in iodine value and achieved IV values comparable to a traditionally produced PHO with no TFA present. The saturated fatty acids in HVACP treated oil increase from 20.7% to 32.3%, monounsaturated fatty acids increase from 21.6% to 26.2%, and polyunsaturated fatty acids decrease from 57.7% to 41.5%, with a 12h treatment. It is suspected that molecules separate into atoms (atomic hydrogen and hydrogen radicals) within the electric field, collide with double bonds soybean oil saturated fat. However, reactive gas species may also produce shifts of the double bond location within the hydrocarbon chain, as a new component was detected in the fatty acid profile distinctly different from those observed in traditional oil hydrogenation. In this presentation, optical emission spectroscopy, NMR, and GC-MS data will be presented to explain differences between traditional oil hydrogenation and HVACP oil hydrogenation. The advantages of the HVACP technology are low temperature, atmospheric pressure, catalyst-free and low energy process. This technology is relevant to long-term sustainability of U.S. agriculture, and food systems by increasing demand for U.S. soybeans.

Hydrogenation of soybean oil without trans-fatty acids using high voltage atmospheric cold plasma (HVACP)

254th National Meeting (2017)

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