MACAÚBA AS A SOURCE FOR NEW INDUSTRIAL FATS: DEVELOPMENT OF LIPID BASES BY CHEMICAL INTERESTERIFICATION

According to FAO, food production must increase by 70% to feed the population in 2050. Agricultural production in developed countries would need to be doubled to meet this demand, implying a significant increase in the production of essential commodities. There is an urgent need for new species so that global demands for vegetable oils can be met in the face of the technical and environmental challenges that already domesticated species present. Macaúba (Acrocomia aculeata), a highly productive oil palm, is concentrated in the Southeast and Central-West regions of Brazil, being considered a strategic and sustainable crop. The objective of this work was the development of new fats containing macaúba pulp oil (MPO) and its blends with fully hydrogenated macaúba pulp oil (FHMPO), through chemical interesterification process. Mass proportions of 100/0, 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, 40/60, 50/50/, 60/40, 70/30, 80/20, 90/10, and 0/100 of MPO/FHMPO were used. The blends were interesterified under the following conditions: 20 minutes of reaction, 0.4% sodium methoxide catalyst, stirring at 500 rpm, at 100°C. The original and modified lipid fractions were characterized according to triacylglycerol composition, solid fat profiles, thermal behavior and consistency. After interesterification, the formation of new groups of triacylglycerols with intermediate molecular weight and a decrease in groups with lower and higher molecular weights was observed, in addition to a decrease in the initial crystallization and final melting temperatures, with the formation of characteristic peaks of intermediate melting point triacylglycerols. Additionally, solid fat content and yield values decreased across the entire range of application temperatures. Therefore, it was possible to obtain formulations with great strategic relevance for the food industry. This work is associated with two patent deposits: BR10202002666/BR1320240035541, National Institute of Industrial Property, Brazil.