High oleic oils by selective hydrogenation of soybean oil

High oleic (monoene) oils were obtained from soybean oil by selective hydrogenation with copper catalysts. A mixture of nickel and copper chromite catalyst had activity suitable for producing the high monoene oils. A new catalyst (copper-on-Cab-O-Sil) prepared in the Laboratory was more active than commercial copper catalysts. Hydrogenated oils contained 61–72% monoenoic and 14–24% dienoic acids, and there was essentially no increase in stearic acid. Thetrans-isomer content of these oils varied between 17% to 32%. Double bonds in the monoene were distributed along the molecule from C₆ to C₁₅, but were located preferentially in the C₉ position for thecis-monoene and in the C₁₀ and C₁₁ positions for thetrans-monoene. When the iodine value of these high monoene oils was about 90–95, they remained liquid above 28 C. Citric acid treatment reduced the copper content of hydrogenated oils to a level that was comparable to that of the original soybean oil. Presented at the AOCS Meeting, Chicago, October 1967. Food and Agricultural Organization representative from Rumania. No. Utiliz. Res. Dev. Div., ARS, USDA.