Catalysts for selective hydrogenation of soybean oil. I. An experimental method for evaluating selectivity

The undesirable flavor reversion properties of soybean oils may be counteracted by selective hydrogenation of the linolenate components. Screening of catalysts for this purpose was accomplished by a standardized laboratory hydrogenation of a refined, bleached soybean oil under atmospheric pressure. A mathematical derivation utilizes analytical chromatographic data to determine linolenate/linoleate reaction rates as a selectivity index S_L for a given catalyst. Presented at the AOCS Meeting, Toronto, 1962.