SEPARATION OF FATTY-ACIDS TRIACYLGLYCEROL BY MEMBRANES

Separation of fatty acids from triacylglycerol by membrane separation technique has been studied. Mixtures of triacylglycerols and fatty aci ds were extracted with alcohol, and the alcohol extracts were treated for recovery of oil by membrane separation technique. The membranes us ed were of both cellulosic and noncellulosic types. Polyamide membrane s showed better selectivity toward fatty acid separation as compared t o cellulose acetate and polysulfone membranes. For groundnut oil/fatty acid/alcohol mixture and a polyamide membrane, the free fatty acid (F FA) concentration in the permeate was 86.82% at 0.7 MPa pressure when the feed had 61.71% FFA. A reasonable permeate flux of 67.36 lm(-2)h(- 1) was obtained. Results obtained have been useful in selecting membra ne material suitable for such applications.