Process for continuous separation of active principles from vegetable oils using membrane bioreactors

Abstract

The invention relates to a process and an installation for separation of active principles from vegetable oils. According to the invention, the process comprises the enzymatic hydrolysis of a vegetable oil mixture having a minimum content of 1 % squalene with an enzymatic solution of lipase obtained from Candida Rugosa and a surface­active emulsifying agent in a ratio of 1 :1 as compared with the oil, the resulting mixture being subjected to separation into a fraction rich in glycerine and non­saponifiable matters and a fraction with high concentration of saponifiable matters and active principles which is further admixed with an extraction solvent, and the homogeneous mixture is subjected to separation, to result in a permeate that mostly contains squalene which is finally purified by distillation, the process stages being performed continuously and automatically. The installation, as claimed by the invention, consists of a subassembly (A) comprising some vegetable oil and enzymatic solution storage vessels (1 and 3), respectively, a hydrolysis reactor (5) and an enzymatic membrane bioreactor (8) provided with hydrophilic affinity ultrafiltration membranes for separating the enzymatic hydrolysis mixture, and a subassembly (B) for fractionation of the mixture of hydrolysis products and squalene which comprises a membrane bioreactor (1 8) provided with hydrophobic affinity ultrafiltration membranes for separating the active principles, a distillation column (20) for advanced squalene purification and some automation units (1 0 and 22) that ensure the continuity of the process stages.