Phase relations pertaining to the solvent winterization of cottonseed and peanut oils in acetone

Summary and Conclusions Systematic physical chemical data on the solventwinterization behavior of cottonseed and peanut oils with acetone have been obtained which should serve as a basis for selecting the conditions necessary for the effective solvent winterization of these oils in acetone. Cottonseed and peanut oils are only partially miscible with acetone below certain temperatures which have been determined. In peanut oil this phenomenon may interfere with the winterization process within a certain range of concentrations. For cottonseed oil however the separation into two liquid phases does not occur until some 5°C. below the temperature required for adequate winterization. Complete data for a 3-hour holding-time have been obtained for three cottonseed oils ranging in iodine value from 106.1 to 116.4. Tables and graphs have been constructed to show the effect of oil-solvent ratio, chilling temperature, holding-time, agitation, and iodine value of the original oil on the percentage of solid removed and on the degree of winterization and iodine value of the winterized oil. Similar data have been obtained for a refined peanut oil insofar as possible without interference from separation into two liquid phases. It seems probable that if acetone were used as the winterization solvent for peanut oil, the separation into two liquid layers and the sensitivity of this phenomenon to moisture might be a source of processing difficulties especially if filtration instead of centrifugation were used to separate the solid from the supernatant. Resigned: September 2, 1949. Resigned: August 13, 1948. Resigned: January 28, 1949. One of the laboratories of the Bureau of Agricultural and Industrial Chemistry, Agricultural Research Administration, U. S. Department of Agriculture.