ACHIEVEMENTS
The R &D activity in oils and fats was formally launched in 1945 making the present Lipid Science &Technology Division (formerly Oils &Fats Division) of this Institute as one of its oldest faculties. The division launched research on cottonseed oil processing, refining and by-product utilization on a large scale during 1950s.This was followed by pioneering research in fatty acids and fatty alcohols and value added products from castor oil during 1970s.
The Lipid Science &Technology Division has been transformed into more industry-friendly during golden to diamond jubilee period.The Division has done an admirable job of refocusing its R &D in upgradation of traditional processing methods and new technologies for downstream products of commercial importance using most modern approaches like biotechnology and membranes.The Division ushered in lipid biotech revolution very recently by developing enzymatic degumming technology for rice bran oil.The Division has filed 26 overseas and 23 Indian patents in addition to about 40 publications in prestigious journals. The Division has also taken up large number of projects with a contract value of more than Rs.30 crores during the last ten years and received about Rs.15 crores so far.
The highlights of the work carried out during the last ten years have been presented here.
Eco-friendly Synthetic Aviation
Environmental considerations and dwindling petroleum reserves are likely to see the emergence of oleochemicals as viable alternative feedstocks for synthetic lubricants.
With this in view,IICT entered into
collaborative agreement with the Indian Oil Corporation (R&D),Faridabad to develop a large number of ester lubricant candidates and their performance evaluation.They include esters of guerbet alcohols from heptaldehyde and esters of isomyristic,isostearic, trimethylolpropane,sebacic,polyricinoleic and poly 12-hydroxy stearic acids.Esters of dimer and C
Encouraged by these initial successes,the IICT and Indian Oil Corporation (R&D)took the initiative to formulate a multi-institutional program for the development of synthetic aviation lubricant from renewable feed stocks. consortium of six leading Indian agencies consisting of Indian Oil Corporation (R&D),IICT and Bangalore -based National Aerospace Laboratories, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Gas Turbine Research Establishment and Centre for Military Airworthiness &Certification was formed with IICT as the nodal agency with a proposed project cost of over Rs.17 crores.Initiated in December 2002,the project is sponsored by Centre for High Technology (CHT),Ministry of Petroleum &Natural Gas, Govt.of India to the extent of Rs.8.4 crores.CSIR,DRDO and participating organizations share rest of the project cost. The role of IICT in the project is to develop a pilot scale process for the preparation of base stock.
Rice Bran Oil
Survey for modernization of rice bran oil industry:Survey for modernization of rice bran oil industry:
Survey for modernization of rice bran oil industry:Survey for modernization of rice bran oil industry:Survey for modernization of rice bran oil industry:India has substantial reserves of non-traditional oil seeds and oil-bearing materials.Rice bran ranks first among these with a potential of about 12 to 14 lakh tons of edible oil.At present,merely half of this potential is realized;yet India is the largest producer of rice bran oil in the world.The IICT has undertaken a nationwide survey under the aegis of the Technology Mission on Oilseeds and Pulses to assess the current scenario in the Indian rice bran oil industry with reference to its technological status,capacity utilization,byproduct utilization,modernization needs of equipments environmental problems and HRD needs.Information was collected from 78 rice bran extraction and 35 rice bran oil processing units spread over the major rice bran processing states namely – Andhra Pradesh,,Haryana,Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh, Punjab,West Bengal,Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.Based on the data collected during the survey,the research activities of the Division related to rice bran oil have been re-modulated to solve the major problems faced by the industry.The major breakthrough in this direction is undoubtedly the launching of ENZYMATIC DEGUMMING PROCESS developed by the enthusiastic research group of the Lipid Science &Technology Division.Enzymatic degumming of rice bran oil: Rice brinis a valuable co-product of the rice milling industry and its oil content ranges from 12-25%depending upon the quality of the bran.Chemical refining of rice bran oil generally results in losses considerably higher than those encountered in other vegetable oils due to the presence of larger amounts of free fatty acids and non-triacylglycerolconstituents.
Refining losses can be considerably reduced by using physical refining.For successful implementation of physical refining,the most important pre-requisite is the efficient removal of gums.Many Indian oil-processing units have adopted physical refining without taking proper measures to lower the phosphorus content .The resultingdark coloured oil fetches less value in the market.Enzymatic process is the answer for the
entire problem as it catalyzes the conversion of non-hydratable
phospholipids into water-
Value-addition to the By-products of Rice Bran Oil Processing:
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Rice bran wax :Rice bran wax (3 to 6%of crude oil)is a by-product obtained during dewaxing process.A simple and efficient bench-scale process (patent filed)was developed for the upgradation and bleaching of crude rice bran wax.The upgraded wax may substitute the imported carnauba wax fully or partially.The process has been demonstrated to four industries.A Process for the hydrogenated wax was also developed and transferred to one industry.
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Triacontanol and polycosanol :Triacontanol and polycosanol are presently being marketed as plant growth stimulant and cholesterol reducing agent respectively.IICT has developed a bench-scale patented process for the recovery of these two products from crude rice bran wax and transferred the process to three industries. |
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Oyrzanol :The soap-stock generated during alkali refining is a good source for ã -oryzanol,a biologically active component used in foods and pharmaceuticals.A process was standardized on laboratory scale for the isolation of oryzanol in good yields (Two Patents granted). Lecithin and Lysolecithin :Lecithin and lysolecithin are the by-products of water and enzymatic degumming processes of rice bran oil.These products have a lot of potential in food and pharmaceuticals applications.A laboratory scale-process was developed for bleaching of these products. |
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Phytic acid and Inositol Phytic acid :Phytic acid is present to the extent of 3-10 in rice bran and is endowed with attractive biological properties.A bench-scale process was successfully developed for the extraction of phytic acid from deoiled rice bran.A laboratory scale process was also optimized for the preparation myo-inositol from phytic acid. |
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Biodiesel :Biodiesel is an ecofriendly fuel originating from renewable source.It is partly or totally replacing the petroleum based diesel.A bench scale process was developed for catalyst free esterification and transesterification of jatropha seed oil,other vegetable oils,acid oil etc.The crude product is further processed to obtain biodiesel meeting the ASTM specifications.Presently work has been initiated for the development of a green process for the preparation of biodiesel using solid catalysts and enzymes.A project sponsored by TMOP &M is being executed for the preparation of biodiesel from high FFA vegetable oils.IICT has contributed significantly in the preparation of the Planning Commission document on "Development of Bio-fuel particularly in the area of Products /Blending aspects of Biofuels ".The Director of the IICT is one of the members of the Sub-Committee on the "Products /Blending aspects of Biofuels ". |
Castor oil and its Derivatives:
The Lipid Science &Technology Division has given a new direction to the industry particularly in the preparation of various derivatives like hydrogenated castor oil,12-hydroxystearic acid,dimmer acid,undecenoic acid,sebacic acid and ethoxylated castor oil.Some of the highlights of the work are presented here.Some basic work has been initiated to synthesize third generation derivatives based on undecenoic acid,heptaldehyde etc.,for various applications in the areas of surfactants and lubricants.
Castor methyl esters:Standardization of process parameters for the preparation of castor oil methyl esters has been achieved on laboratory scale.It has been scaled-up to 7 kg castor oil /hr in continuous mode.
Undecenoic acid:A single tube reactor for carrying out pyrolysis of castor oil methyl esters (CME)was fabricated in IICT for modelling and simulation studies.Continuous pyrolysis runs have been carried out using 1.5 kg to 3 kg CME per hour and the experimental conditions have been re-standardized.The 2 tpd UDA commercial plant of M/s.Gujarat Oleochemicals Ltd.,at Ankleshwar was commissioned using the IICT technology. Heptanoic acid:Heptaldehyde is formed along with undecenoic acid on pyrolysis of castor oil methyl esters.Heptaldehyde has been oxidized to heptanoic acid in liquidphase employing oxygen as oxidizing agent in a bench-scale SS reactor in good yields,with and without catalyst.Esters of heptanoic acid are used commercially as lubricants. Sebacic acid: is used in the manufacture of commercially important plasticizers and lubricants.An efficient laboratory process has been developed for the preparation of sebacic acid from castor oil in excellent yields and purity.The process-upscaling work by batch and continuous processing modes is in progress with partial funding from TIFAC (DST). Ethoxylated castor oil:Ethoxylated castor oil is a nonionic surfactant and has many industrial applications.A laboratory scale process has been developed for the preparation of ethoxylated castor oil. Alkyl ricinoleates and Alkyl 12-hydroxy stearates:Alkyl ricinoleates and alkyl 12-hydroxy stearates are important ingredients in various cosmetics and toiletries.Anhydroxy stearates are important ingredients in various cosmetics and toiletries.Anefficient and simple enzymatic synthesis of these compounds has been achieved by transesterification of methyl ricinoleate /12-hydroxy stearate and alcohols (n-octyl decyl,undecenyl,dodecyl,cetyl,octadecyl and octadecenyl)in a solvent-free system using lipozyme (immobilized 1,3-specific,Mucor miehei lipase).Moderate to excellent yields of alkyl esters have been obtained without the estolide formation during the transesterification reaction.Soyabean Oil:
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Tocopherols and Sterols:The fatty acids distilled out during deodorization of vegetable oils (Deodorizer Distillate,DOD)is an important commercial source for natural tocopherols and phytosterols.A simple process has been developed for the isolation of tocopherols and sterols from both soybean and sunflower DOD.The process is ready for commercial exploitation.
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Lecithin:Soybean oil gum, a co-product of oil processing is not being utilized effectively in the country for food,pharmaceutical and industrial applications.Laboratory scale processes were developed for preparing food grade,hydrogenated and hydroxylated lecithins.A simple method has been developed to further enrich phospholipids content of commercial lecithin.A novel enzymatic method has been developed on the laboratory scale to produce acetylated lecithin [Indian and US patents ].A very rapid method has also been developed for the preparation of hydroxylated lecithin employing microwave-irradiation methodology [Indian and US Patents ].Many novel phospholipids are being prepared using enzyme-assisted reactions from soybean oil gums for food and nutraceutical applications.
Membrane Separations:
Membrane separation sciences is one
of the newer separation techniques used in the industries.Though the use of
this technique in aqueous system is well known,information regarding its
uses in non-aqueous system is too sparse and there exist tremendous scopes
for developing some uses for non-aqueous system like in vegetable oil
processing.A state of the art membrane processing
laboratory was established with flame-proof motors and fittings.This
laboratory is unique in our country.A laboratory scale Nanofiltration/Reverse
Osmosis test rig and a Pilot scale Microfiltration/Ultrafiltration unit were
procured.A whole set of microfiltration and ultrafiltration ceramic
membranes for both the units were procured from M/s.Orelis,France.Apart from
that,two small test cells for using flat sheet membranes for both
microfiltration/ultrafiltration and nanofiltration/reverseosmosis for
feasibility studies were also procured.One spiral wound membrane module for
reverse osmosis studies was also procured.
IICT has developed a process for recycling/reuse of the wastewater coming out of a physical refining unit of a vegetable oil refinery and presently IICT is trying to upscale the process.It has also developed a similar process for dairy wastewater.The water quantity obtained after the membrane treatment was found to be very good and that can be recycled back to the process.IICT has also worked on degumming of vegetable oils and developed a process for membrane-degumming of oils like rice bran and soybean.As a part of a collaborative work IICT is currently working with CGCRI,Kolkata to develop indigenous membranes for the same.
Development of New Lipid-based Delivery Systems for Bioactivities
A number of novel liposomal gene transfer reagents for use in non-viral gene therapy were synthesized.The in vitro gene delivery efficacies of some of the new cationic lipids are superior to that of LipofectAmine,one of the world ’s most extensively used commercially available liposomal gene transfer kits.A number of publications in high impact factors journals and overseas patents have resulted from this important research carried out both independently by IICT and in collaborative research with CCMB,Hyderabad and CNRS, France.In addition,in our earlier research focus on membrane mimetic systems,a new method of sensing remarkably high exo-surface pH of cationic micelles and cationic liposomes based on an interface bound indazolizatin reaction were developed.The findings have also demonstrated that the interfacial pH of aqueous cationic micelles are likely to be orders of magnitude higher than that of cationic reversed micelles.The results have thrown significant new insights into the origin of unchanged activity profiles of lipses bound to cationic reversed micellar interface across a wide range of W o (the mole ratio of water and surfactant used to prepare the reversed micelles).Applying an interface-bound arene diazonium ion trapping technique originally developed by Professor Laurence S.Rosted,IICT has succeeded in obtaining the first snap -shot of the interfacial concentrations of water and sulfosuccinate head-groups in the most widely exploited reversed micellar system namely,AOT/isooctane/water across a wide range of W 0 .
Task Force Projects :
The division is also participating in the following four Task Projects of CSIR with a financial support of about Rs.6 crores.
Task Force on Green Technologies for Organic Chemicals (Nodal Agency -IICT)
Task Force on New Generation Fuels and Lubricants (Nodal Agency -IIP)
Task Force on Nature and Nature-like Bio-active Molecules (Nodal Agency -CFTRI)
Task Force on Positioning Nutraceuticals and Nutragenomics in Global Platform (Nodal Agency -CFTRI)