HETEROGENEOUS HYDROGENATION OF VEGETABLE-OILS - A LITERATURE-REVIEW

Hardening of vegetable oils is reviewed from an engineering point of v iew. The present review focuses on kinetics of the hydrogenation and r elevant transport and adsorption steps. It aims to contribute to accel erate new research to improve substantially on selectivities in genera l and a decrease of trans fatty acid content in particular. From a com prehensive literature review, we concluded the absence of reliable, me chanistically based kinetic rate expression, Moreover, transport limit ations, both intraparticle and interfacial, cannot be excluded from th e vast majority of available experimental data, Therefore, future rese arch should focus on the development of intrinsic kinetic rate express ions, which may subsequently contribute to develop new and improved hy drogenation catalysts.