Avaliação da influência do teor de óleo na goma na viscosidade final da lecitina de soja de uma unidade produtora dos Campos Gerais

Abstract

Soybean has historically presented itself as a valuable legume because of its health benefits and derivative products, being one of the main productions and exports of Brazil and Campos Gerais. Among these products stands out the soy complex formed by oil and bran, which can include lecithin. Lecithin is a natural product with amber color and high viscosity, is widely used by the food and pharmaceutical industries due to its emulsifier and dispersant properties. Lecithin is manufactured by drying the gum obtained from the crude oil degumming process, where it is hydrated and centrifuged, originating the gum. Gum hydration and the lecithin drying are critical steps that directly affect the quality of the final product. Viscosity is an important parameter, as it affects the use of lecithin and affects its handling and transport, leading to large losses. To adjust this parameter degummed oil and vegetable fatty acids are added to the lecithin. The presented work seeks to relate viscosity to the quality and specifications of the raw material used, reflected by the oil present in the gum, for this, the standardized methods by the American Oil Chemistry Society were used. Gum oil, dry base gum oil, lecithin final viscosity and lecithin moisture data were compared. The data obtained showed great variability among themselves, but the influence of oil on gum on the final viscosity of lecithin was observed, revealing that they are inversely proportional, the higher the percentage of gum oil, the lower the viscosity, whereas the moisture didn’t show any great impact. The amount of oil in the gum varies as much by the quality of the soybean used in the processing as by the process parameters, and the adjustment with the addition of degummed oil proves to be a good alternative.