A novel process for preparation of fatty acid oil mixture in solid form

- A novel process for the precipitation of fatty acids in solid form is developed.
- Reaction of oil with a metal base results in formation of powder using acetonitrile as anti-solvent.
- Nature of solvent and metal base concentration affect the residual acetonitrile.
- Solvent, anti-solvent and metal base were optimized to produce stable, flowable solid.
- Solvent, anti-solvent and base were optimized to reduce acetonitrile below detection.

The present study describes a novel and scalable process for preparation of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in solid form. The process involves multiple steps consisting of combining the oil with a metal base in alcohol to form a solution, followed by addition of reaction mixture to acetonitrile (anti-solvent) to form a slurry and further separating the solid through filtration. This process results in formation of a flowable solid with yield of 44-76% depending on the procedure employed. The fatty acid profile of the calcium and magnesium salts was stable after one year of storage in ambient conditions. The type of solvent and anti-solvent employed in such process has tremendous effect on the resulting solid texture, which could range from complete gum to a workable, filterable solid. It was also demonstrated that increasing the concentration of base in alcohol reduces the amount of residual acetonitrile in the solid.