Removal of cholesterol during milk fat fractionation by supercritical carbon dioxide

Milk fat contains compounds such as aroma substances which we may want to enrich, as well as compounds such as cholesterol which we may want to remove. The utilization of SC-CO2 extraction for enriching or removing such compounds has been studied on a pilot plant scale, with the most recent experiments focusing on the removal of cholesterol. It was found that more than 99% of milk fat cholesterol could be removed using an extraction system equipped with a silica gel column. The extraction was performed under a constant pressure of 320 bar and at a constant temperature of 52°C. The results show that the removal of cholesterol and milk fat fractionation based on the molecule size of triglycerides can be achieved simultaneously.