208 K.K. Rajah The fractionation of edible oils and fats was practised as early as the mid-nineteenth century when oleomargarine was made from fractionated bovine tallow ch. This early manufacture of margarine was based on the invention of the French mist, Hippolyte Mege Mouries (in 1869). He first obtained fresh tallow by careful rendering. The purified fat was then submitted to a slow crystallisation process at abo 25-30.C(Andersen and williams, 1965). The grainy coarse product which resulted was hydraulically pressed and yielded about 60% of a soft semi-fluid yellow fraction, oleo margarine, and about 40% of a hard white fat, oleo-stearine, The softer fraction had approximately the same melting point as milk fat and could be easily plasticised. Mouries also believed that the soft part consisted of margarine and olein, the acylglycerols of margaric and oleic acids respectively, and the crystalline material mainly of the acylglycerols of stearic acid. Hence the name oleomargarine for his new butter-like The advantages of fractionation were first appreciated in Europe by the importers of coconut oil from Sri Lanka(Rossell, 1985). Warm fluid oil which was filled into long wooden barrels called Ceylon Pipes cooled slowly as it sailed towards the cooler European climate and, perhaps aided also by the gentle agitation of the ship's movement, crystallised and separated into fractions. This partly crystallised fat was evalu ated by the recipient fat companies who found that the stearin fraction could be used to advantage in the couveture and coatings industry. When commercial scale fractionation first commenced, the process of cooling place in large wooden vats, agitation being a manual operation using paddle m crystalline suspension was separated by filtration through cloth. The stearin was then collected, wrapped in cloth, and squeezed in tower presses to increase the olein yield However, the fractionation of fats soon declined and in the years following World War I it virtually ceased. Meanwhile, although the consumption of margarine rose and with it the demand for the hard base stock, this need was satisfied by the then fast developing hydrogenation industry using the process invented by Senderens and Sabatier in 1902 Hardened, or hydrogenated fats, mixed with liquid vegetable oils and non-fractionated bovine tallow enabled the formulation of the base stock for margarine, and remains so as ye know it even today. During that period the small quantities, i. e. 2-5%o, of wax or stearin recovered from the winterisation of salad oils such as sunflower oil and cottonseed oil were also processed into the margarine oil blend The revival of fat fractionation finally came during the mid-1960s, following the remarkable upsurge in palm oil production, particularly in Malaysia. It provided the impetus to many to review the principles, processes and techniques on the subject. It also oused the interest of the international dairy industry, and they too studied the technol ogy to seek new opportunities for milk fat. The principle of the fractionation process can be described schematically as shown in Fig. 8.1 Three major commercial processes are available for the fractionation of fats. These combine the crystallisation(Saxer and Fischer, 1983)and separation processes (1) Dry fractionation. The crystallisation stage can be either rapid or slow and crystals are separated through direct filtration i. e. without the use of additives (2) Detergent fractionation. Crystallisation is generally rapid and an aqueous solution208 K. K. Rajah The fractionation of edible oils and fats was practised as early as the mid-nineteenth century when oleomargarine was made from fractionated bovine tallow. This early manufacture of margarine was based on the invention of the French chemist, Hippolyte Mege Mouries (in 1869). He first obtained fresh tallow by careful rendering. The purified fat was then submitted to a slow crystallisation process at about 25-30°C (Andersen and Williams, 1965). The grainy coarse product which resulted was hydraulically pressed and yielded about 60% of a soft semi-fluid yellow fraction, oleo￾margarine, and about 40% of a hard white fat, oleo-stearine. The softer fraction had approximately the same melting point as milk fat and could be easily plasticised. Mouries also believed that the soft part consisted of margarine and olein, the acylglycerols of margaric and oleic acids respectively, and the crystalline material mainly of the acylglycerols of stearic acid. Hence the name oleomargarine for his new butter-like product. The advantages of fractionation were first appreciated in Europe by the importers of coconut oil from Sri Lanka (Rossell, 1985). Warm fluid oil which was filled into long wooden barrels called ‘Ceylon Pipes’ cooled slowly as it sailed towards the cooler European climate and, perhaps aided also by the gentle agitation of the ship’s movement, crystallised and separated into fractions. This partly crystallised fat was evalu￾ated by the recipient fat companies who found that the stearin fraction could be used to advantage in the couveture and coatings industry. When commercial scale fractionation first commenced, the process of cooling took place in large wooden vats, agitation being a manual operation using paddles. The crystalline suspension was separated by filtration through cloth. The stearin was then collected, wrapped in cloth, and squeezed in tower presses to increase the olein yield. However, the fractionation of fats soon declined and in the years following World War I it virtually ceased. Meanwhile, although the consumption of margarine rose and with it the demand for the hard base stock, this need was satisfied by the then fast developing hydrogenation industry using the process invented by Senderens and Sabatier in 1902. Hardened, or hydrogenated fats, mixed with liquid vegetable oils and non-fractionated bovine tallow enabled the formulation of the base stock for margarine, and remains so as we know it even today. During that period the small quantities, i.e. 2-5%, of wax or stearin recovered from the winterisation of salad oils such as sunflower oil and cottonseed oil were also processed into the margarine oil blend. The revival of fat fractionation finally came during the mid-l960s, following the remarkable upsurge in palm oil production, particularly in Malaysia. It provided the impetus to many to review the principles, processes and techniques on the subject. It also aroused the interest of the international dairy industry, and they too studied the technol￾ogy to seek new opportunities for milk fat. The principle of the fractionation process can be described schematically as shown in Fig. 8.1. Three major commercial processes are available for the fractionation of fats. These combine the crystallisation (Saxer and Fischer, 1983) and separation processes: (1) (2) Dry fractionation. The crystallisation stage can be either rapid or slow and crystals are separated through direct filtration i.e. without the use of additives. Detergent fractionation. Crystallisation is generally rapid and an aqueous solution