Fast and thermostable PLCs democatize access to high extrayield oil degumming, with zero CAPEX , regardless the size, location and complexity of refining plants

Monday, April 29, 2024

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM EDT

Co-Author(s)

MC

Maria Castelli

CSO
Keclon, Argentina

Presenting Author(s)

HM

HUGO MENZELLA

Director
Keclon
Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina

Co-Author(s)

sP

salvador Peiru

Sicentist
Keclon, Argentina
LA

Luciano Abriata

Scientist
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
RR

Rodoilfo Rasia

Professor
Fbioyf, Argentina

Abstract: The increasing demand pressures the vegetable oil industry to develop novel refining methods. Degumming with type C phospholipases (PLCs) is a green technology and provides extra oil. However, natural PLCs are not active under the harsh conditions used in oil refining plants, requiring additional unit operations. These upfront capital expenditures and the associated operational costs prevent the adoption of this method.

Here we present a process based on natural PLCs ontained from genome databases and synthetic PLCs obtained by Consensus Sequence Design, possessing superior thermal stability and catalytic properties. Using these enzymes, crude soybean oil degumming was completed at 80 °C in 30 minutes, the temperature and residence time imposed by the design of existing oil refining plants.

Remarkably, an extra yield of oil of 2 % was obtained using nearly half of the dose recommended for PLCs marketed today, saving not only upfront investments, but also reducing the operational cost of degumming. A techno-economic analysis indicates that, for medium size plants, the overall cost of soybean oil enzymatic degumming by 60 %. The process presented here facilitates the implementation of enzymatic technologies to oil producers, regardless of their processing capacity, bringing potential annual benefits in the billion-dollar range for the global economy.