Tocopherol is a widely used and essential nutrient, with applications in industries such as health care, cosmetics, and food, where it is highly valued as an antioxidant. Producing stable and pure tocopherol through synthetic methods is feasible and a common, mature approach, particularly suitable for animal feed and low-cost mass-market cosmetics. With the increasing demand for natural products and shifts in consumer preferences, especially in the food and beverage, and dietary supplement sectors, the demand for natural tocopherol is on the rise.
Natural tocopherol is commonly sourced from deodorized distillates of soybean oil, sunflower seed oil, palm oil, rapeseed oil, or other vegetable oils. Utilizing these distillates, which are by-products of vegetable oil refining, offers cost advantages and sustainability, as they are derived from the refining process. Molecular distillation is an effective process for treating these distillates. Also known as short-path distillation, it reduces the residence time of materials and minimizes the extent of thermal degradation of the raw materials.
Two primary challenges face the production of high-quality tocopherol from plant oil deodorizer distillates:
· Tocopherol is a high-boiling point compound.
· The deodorized distillate contains various compounds and requires a precise separation process to obtain high concentrations of tocopherol.
Vegetable oil deodorization distillate consists of free fatty acids, monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, tocopherols, sterols, and some impurities. After undergoing optional pretreatment processes such as esterification, neutralization, and washing, it can then proceed to the short-path distillation process to obtain concentrated tocopherols.
Short-path distillation is a continuous vacuum distillation process. A scraper inside the cylindrical evaporator刮油成薄膜on the heated walls of the evaporator. Components with lower boiling points evaporate from this highly turbulent film. Due to the lower operating temperatures, short-path distillation prevents the thermal degradation of tocopherols. The mild operating conditions prevent the formation of undesirable by-products that can shorten shelf life and reduce efficacy.
Advantages of Short-Path Distillation:
· Distillation can be performed continuously under a vacuum condition of 0.001 mbar.
Material dwell time is short.
High evaporation rate
· Low processing temperature
· The evaporator walls have less scaling.
· Compact design
Based on the composition of the raw materials, a multi-stage distillation process may be required.
VTA boasts over 40 years of experience in designing process solutions for生育酚 concentrates for a multitude of international clients. We assist our clients in designing appropriate purification processes, conducting trials in our state-of-the-art lab to evaluate distillation conditions, and from factory design, supply, installation, and debugging to after-sales service, we provide comprehensive support throughout the entire process.
We offer equipment suitable for various scales, from small laboratory equipment to pilot plant and industrial-scale units. One of our successful cases in tocopherol purification was the delivery of a six-stage tocopherol purification plant to a client in China, consisting of one membrane evaporator and five short-path evaporators.
We can also offer distillation contract manufacturing in any batch size you require.
Let's tackle your next distillation challenge together!
About Us - VTA
VTA is a partner for high-end thermal separation tasks and offers a range of products from small standardized lab equipment to customized, skid-mounted industrial-scale facilities. Testing, engineering design, and manufacturing are all carried out at its headquarters in Germany. As a service, VTA provides contract distillation and rectification services at various contract manufacturing facilities.
VTA provides刮膜蒸馏和短程蒸馏 equipment, as well as process development services, for industrial applications involving high boiling point and thermally sensitive products.
Technical Aspect:
Film / Membrane Distillation
· Short-path Distillation
· Horizontal Film Evaporation
· Film Drying
Distillation
Equipment & Services:
· Turnkey package equipment
Evaporator Components
· Laboratory and pilot equipment
· Quartz glass evaporator
· Process Development
· Contract Distillation Services
