Ultrasonic analysis of edible fats and oils

Low intensity ultrasound is a powerful analytical technique for investigating the physico-chemical properties of many biological and non-biological materials. In this article its application for the characterization of edible fats and oils is assessed. Ultrasound can be used to determine the dynamic rheology and composition of oils, the oil content and droplet size of emulsions and the solid fat content of partially crystalline emulsions. It is capable of rapid and precise measurements, is non-destructive and non-invasive, can be used on-line or off-line and is relatively inexpensive. Ultrasonic techniques will therefore prove a useful addition to the existing analytical techniques used to characterize fats and oils.     

Use of Raman spectroscopy for analyzing edible vegetable oils

Vegetable oils provide high nutritional value in the human diet. Specifically, extra virgin olive oil is one of the main ingredients of the Mediterranean diet, which is among the healthiest of eating practices. This article reviews the use of Raman spectroscopy for analyzing edible vegetable oils including olive oil. Although the spectra for edible vegetable oils are similar, they exhibit some differences which, however small, enable their discrimination. Thus, Raman spectra allow one to determine the degree of unsaturation of oils. This property is correlated with the iodine value but much faster and simpler to obtain. The degree of unsaturation can be used to classify and authenticate oils, which is especially useful with high-quality oils. In fact, adulteration with mixtures of more inexpensive oils can be easily detected by Raman spectroscopy. This technique additionally allows some minor components present in unsaponifiable matter to be identified. Fats in general and vegetable oils in particular, are prone to oxidation. Thus, double bonds in them are oxidized to form triglycerides. Vegetable oils are widely used for frying and Raman spectroscopy allows for their oxidative stability against heating at the usual frying temperatures to be assessed.     

The kinetic characteristics of natural antioxidants in vegetable oils

The total content and activity of natural antioxidants of the phenol type in coconut, palm, corn, and rice oils were measured by the chemiluminescent method. The existence of antioxidants of two types in palm and rice oils was shown. The synergistic action of citric acid in the presence of tocopherol was observed for the example of coconut oil.     

Aspects of ultrasonically assisted transesterification of various vegetable oils with methanol

The batch transesterification of vegetable oil with methanol, in the presence of potassium hydroxide as catalyst, by means of low frequency ultrasound (40 kHz) was studied with the aim of gaining more knowledge on intimate reaction mechanism. The concentration of fatty acid methyl esters, of mono-, di- and triglycerides of the actual reaction mixture were determined at short reaction time by HPLC. The effect of ultrasounds on the lipids transesterification correlated with triglyceride structures is discussed. It was found that under ultrasonic activation the rate-determining reaction switches from DG-->MG (classical mechanic agitation) to MG+ROH-->Gly+ME (ultrasonically driven transesterification).     

On the relaxation of volume and shear viscosities in vegetable oils

Longitudinal and shear ultrasonic measurements were performed on castor, tung, soyabean and cottonseed oils in the frequency ranges 50 kHz–30 MHz and 10–150 MHz using reverberation, pulse and impedance techniques respectively. In castor and tung oils relaxation spectra for both volume and shear viscosities are broad and identical in shape. In soyabean and cottonseed oils both volume and shear viscosities undergo single relaxation but the volume relaxation time is about 10 times larger than the shear. It is suggested that shear relaxation results from molecular orientation and volume relaxation from rearrangement of molecular packing.     

Ultrasound assisted PTC catalyzed saponification of vegetable oils using aqueous alkali

A few vegetable oils were saponified using aqueous KOH and different PTCs at room temperature in the presence of ultrasound. The extent of saponification was studied using the saponification value as a reference. Optimizations of various parameters such as time, selection of PTC, quantity of PTC, quantity of KOH and quantity of water were carried out using soyabean oil as a sample oil under sonication with stirring. To study the effect of ultrasound, the saponification was also carried out at 35 +/- 2 degrees C under different conditions, namely stirring, sonication, stirring and sonication, and heating at 100 degrees C. It was found that the heterogeneous liquid-liquid phase saponification of different vegetable oils using aq. KOH/CTAB was remarkably accelerated at 35 +/- 2 degrees C in the presence of ultrasound along with stirring.     

Green ultrasound-assisted extraction of carotenoids from pomegranate wastes using vegetable oils

The objective of this work was to develop a new process for pomegranate peels application in food industries based on ultrasound-assisted extraction of carotenoids using different vegetable oils as solvents. In this way, an oil enriched with antioxidants is produced. Sunflower oil and soy oil were used as alternative solvents and the effects of various parameters on extraction yield were studied. Extraction temperature, solid/oil ratio, amplitude level, and extraction time were the factors investigated with respect to extraction yield. Comparative studies between ultrasound-assisted and conventional solvent extraction were carried out in terms of processing procedure and total carotenoids content. The efficient extraction period for achieving maximum yield of pomegranate peel carotenoids was about 30 min. The optimum operating conditions were found to be: extraction temperature, 51.5 °C; peels/solvent ratio, 0.10; amplitude level, 58.8%; solvent, sunflower oil. A second-order kinetic model was successfully developed for describing the mechanism of ultrasound extraction under different processing parameters.     

Visible Raman spectroscopy for the discrimination of olive oils from different vegetable oils and the detection of adulteration

We have investigated the potential of Raman spectroscopy with excitation in the visible spectral range (VIS Raman) as a tool for the classification of different vegetable oils and the quantification of adulteration of virgin olive oil as an example. For the classification, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied, where 96% of the spectral variation was characterized by the first two components. A significant similarity between sunflower oil and extra‐virgin olive oil was found using this approach. Therefore, sunflower oil is a potential candidate for adulteration in most commercially available olive oils. Beside the classification of the different vegetable oils, we have successfully applied Raman spectroscopy in combination with partial least‐squares (PLS) regression analysis for very fast monitoring of adulteration of extra‐virgin olive oil with sunflower oil. Different mixtures of extra‐virgin olive oil with three different sunflower oil types were prepared between 5 and 100% (v/v) in 5% increments of sunflower oil. While in the present context the adulteration usually refers to the addition of reasonable amounts of the adulterant (given the similarity with the basic product), we show that the technique proposed can also be used for trace analysis of the adulterant. Without using techniques like surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), a quantitative detection limit down to 500 ppm (0.05%) could be achieved, a limit irrelevant for adulteration in commercial terms but significant for trace analysis. The qualitative detection limit even was at considerably lower concentration values. Based on PCA, a clear discrimination between pure extra‐virgin olive oil and olive oil adulterated with sunflower oil was achieved. The adulterant content was successfully determined using PLS regression with a high correlation coefficient and small root mean‐square error for both prediction and validation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improved extraction of vegetable oils under high-intensity ultrasound and/or microwaves

Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) techniques have been employed as complementary techniques to extract oils from vegetable sources, viz, soybean germ and a cultivated marine microalga rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Ultrasound (US) devices developed by ourselves, working at several frequencies (19, 25, 40 and 300 kHz), were used for US-based protocols, while a multimode microwave (MW) oven (operating with both open and closed vessels) was used for MAE. Combined treatments were also studied, such as simultaneous double sonication (at 19 and 25 kHz) and simultaneous US/MW irradiation, achieved by inserting a non-metallic horn in a MW oven. Extraction times and yields were compared with those resulting from conventional procedures. With soybean germ the best yield was obtained with a ‘cavitating tube’ prototype (19 kHz, 80 W), featuring a thin titanium cylinder instead of a conventional horn. Double sonication, carried out by inserting an immersion horn (25 kHz) in the same tube, improved the yield only slightly but halved the extraction time. Almost comparable yields were achieved by closed-vessel MAE and simultaneous US/MW irradiation. Compared with conventional methods, extraction times were reduced by up to 10-fold and yields increased by 50–500%. In the case of marine microalgae, UAE worked best, as the disruption by US of the tough algal cell wall considerably improved the extraction yield from 4.8% in soxhlet to 25.9%. Our results indicate that US and MW, either alone or combined, can greatly improve the extraction of bioactive substances, achieving higher efficiency and shorter reaction times at low or moderate costs, with minimal added toxicity.     

Incorporating different vegetable oils into an aqueous dispersion of hybrid organic nanoparticles

Quantum dots (QDs) are routinely employed for bioimaging applications and detection of pathogens and toxins. Their use as surrogates to study the fate and transport of non-fluorescent nanoparticles is limited due to high cost, detection of limit issues, and lack of sufficient data related to health effects. Systematic studies on the impact of QDs on environment and health may facilitate its safe use for environmental applications. This review summarizes the studies conducted with QDs with a focus on environmental applications and provides toxicity data important to human health.     

Analysis of biodiesel and frying vegetable oils by means of FTIR photoacoustic spectroscopy

Fourier Transform Infrared Photoacoustic Spectroscopy was used to determine the mid-infrared vibrational modes of biodiesel and vegetable oils. Our results indicate that this method can contribute significantly to the biodiesel wash process during the sample preparation. Besides, by analyzing the spectra of vegetable oils used to fry snacks we could to monitor the degradation in function of the fried time.     

Impact of ultrasonic treatment process on pour point of vegetable oils based liquid insulation

This study presents an application of ultrasonic technology in the high voltage liquid insulation domain towards the reduction of pour point of vegetable oil samples for the utilization of vegetable oils as liquid insulation in cold climate areas on power transformers. Pour point reduction has been achieved by processing the vegetable oil samples by using ultrasonic treatment process with 100 W and 30 kHz ultrasonic waves for various exposure times of 15, 30, 45 and 60 min. Edible vegetable oils such as sunflower oil, palm oil, sesame oil and non edible vegetable oils such as honge oil, neem oil and punna oil are considered as two categories of vegetable oils for this experimental investigation. Ultrasonic treatment process results in the reduction of pour point of vegetable oils to meet out the standard value of pour point for liquid insulation as per IEEE Standard C57.147, 2018. A significant reduction in pour point temperature of vegetable oil samples have been obtained with an increased exposure time. The obtained variations in pour point after exposure with ultrasonic waves may be due to the possible changes in crystallization kinetics of fatty acids components of vegetable oil samples due to energy input of ultrasonic waves. The experimental results have given a way towards the positive encouragement and development with ultrasonic treatment for achieving low pour point vegetable oils as liquid insulation in power transformers for applications on cold climatic areas.     

Evaluation of the thermal diffusivity of vegetable oils during frying by Thermal Lens Spectrometry

In this work we report on the use of the Thermal Lens method to verify the evolution of the thermal diffusivity of sunflower and soybean vegetable oils utilized in preparation of twenty five snacks portions. Our results show that the thermal diffusivity for sunflower oil does not change between 1 and 25 portions of fried snacks. By another hand, the soybean thermal diffusivity exhibits a little decrease for higher portion of fried snacks, indicating that for this oil the triglyceride level is reduced as a degradation process.     

Pilot unit for permanent transesterification of vegetable oils in supercritical methanol or ethanol media

Synthesis of methyl and ethyl esters of fatty acids via transesterification of vegetable oils in supercritical methanol and ethanol is carried out on a pilot installation with a continuous flow reactor. The corresponding procedures are described, and the results are analyzed. The effect of preliminary ultrasonic treatment of the initial mixture on the product yield is studied, and the correlation between the stability of the obtained emulsions and the composition of the initial mixture, as well as the intensity of the ultrasonic treatment, are determined. The isobaric heat capacity of the supercritical alcohol (methanol, ethanol) — vegetable oil mixtures is measured.     

Ultrasonic biomedical technology; marketing versus clinical reality

Clinical ultrasound imaging is the most frequently used imaging modality in the world accounting for almost 25% of all imaging studies performed. Hence, manufacturers of commercial ultrasound equipment are committing significant engineering resources to advance the technology behind the modality and to improve the diagnostic capabilities of ultrasound imaging. Consequently, new imaging technologies are constantly being introduced to the market under a host of different trademarked names. Hence, this paper will review many of the recent advances in ultrasound imaging and try to differentiate between developments aimed at marketing and those providing real clinical improvements. In particular, we will describe the technologies behind concepts such as coded ultrasound imaging, real time spatial compounding, tissue harmonic imaging, extended field of view imaging as well as 3D and 4D (i.e., real time 3D) imaging. Some of the latest advances in blood flow imaging e.g., B-flow, advanced dynamic flow (ADF) and automatic optimization methods will also be described.     

Synthesis,droplet combustion,and sooting characteristics of biodiesel produced from waste vegetable oils

In light of the potential of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME, i.e. biodiesel) as a renewable energy source, an innovative acid catalyzed process was developed for the synthesis of biodiesel from waste vegetable oils. The synthesized biodiesels were analytically characterized for their major components, molar fraction and molecular weight of each component, the average molecular weight, and the heat of combustion. Their droplet combustion characteristics in terms of the burning rate, flame size, and sooting tendency were subsequently determined in a high-temperature, freely-falling droplet apparatus. Results show that the biodiesel droplet has higher burning rate, and that biodiesel in general has a lower propensity to soot because its molecular oxygen content promotes the oxidation of the soot precursors.     

一阶导数光谱法测定食品植物油中桐油掺混的研究

A method of first derivative spectrophotometry for qualitative and quantitative analysis of tung oil adulterated in vegetable oils, including peanut oil, bean oil, rape seed oil, tea seed oil, palm oil and mixed vegetable oil, was established. The spectrum of tung oil features three valleys at 291.3, 278.3 and 266.4nm, and three peaks at 284.1, 271.5 and 260.7nm. At 291.3nm, the coefficient (deltaE(1%)1cm/deltalambda) was -1.03 x 10(3). When the concentration of tung oil adulterated in vegetable oils was downed to 0.1%, the above specialities still remain and the changes in wavelengths were not more than 0.7nm. The detection limit of the concentration of tung oil adulterated in vegetable oils was lower than 0.1%.     

Ultrasonic differentiation of normal versus malignant breast epithelial cells in monolayer cultures

Normal and malignant mammary epithelial cells were studied using laboratory measurements, wavelet analysis, and numerical simulations of monolayer cell cultures to determine whether microscopic breast cancer can be detected in vitro with high-frequency ultrasound. Pulse-echo waveforms were acquired by immersing a broadband, unfocused 50-MHz transducer in the growth media of cell culture well plates and collecting the first reflection from the well bottoms. The simulations included a multilayer pulse-reflection model and a model of two-dimensional arrays of spherical cells and nuclei. The results show that normal and malignant cells produce time-domain signals and spectral features that are significantly different.     

超声变幅杆的超声精密加工

本文探讨了超声变幅杆的精密加工．作者研制了双刀反间进给超声车削装置和单刀正向进给超声车削装置，采用了具有频率跟踪系统的晶体营型超声波发生器．超声车削设备连续140min工作时，频率漂移量只有29HZ，最高温度只有38℃．试验结果表明，加工精度可达IT7－ITS，表面粗糙度几可达0．4－0．8m，加工效率提高15倍，有效地解决了超声变幅杆的精密加工难题．     

Ultrasonic cavitation induced water in vegetable oil emulsion droplets--a simple and easy technique to synthesize manganese zinc ferrite nanocrystals with improved magnetization

In the present investigation, synthesis of manganese zinc ferrite (Mn_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄) nanoparticles with narrow size distribution have been prepared using ultrasound assisted emulsion (consisting of rapeseed oil as an oil phase and aqueous solution of Mn²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Fe²⁺ acetates) and evaporation processes. The as-prepared ferrite was nanocrystalline. In order to remove the small amount of oil present on the surface of the ferrite, it was subjected to heat treatment at 300 °C for 3 h. Both the as-prepared and heat treated ferrites have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (IR), TGA/DTA, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) techniques. As-prepared ferrite is of 20 nm, whereas the heat treated ferrite shows the size of 33 nm. In addition, magnetic properties of the as-prepared as well as the heat treated ferrites have also been carried out and the results of which show that the spontaneous magnetization (σ_s) of the heat treated sample (24.1 emu/g) is significantly higher than that of the as-synthesized sample (1.81 emu/g). The key features of this method are avoiding (a) the cumbersome conditions that exist in the conventional methods; (b) usage of necessary additive components (stabilizers or surfactants, precipitants) and (c) calcination requirements. In addition, rapeseed oil as an oil phase has been used for the first time, replacing the toxic and troublesome organic nonpolar solvents. As a whole, this simple straightforward sonochemical approach results in more phase pure system with improved magnetization.