Sesame oil extraction using supercritical fluid technology is cleaner, less nutrient-damaging, and less likely to produce benzopyrene than traditional methods. The technology can be used in a variety of industries, including food, pharmaceuticals, and the environment, and has great potential for future development.
Do you know about supercritical sesame oil? It’s not hard to find it in the grocery store these days. Of course, if you’re a poor person like me, you can’t afford to buy supercritical sesame oil, which is more expensive than conventional sesame oil. Nevertheless, supercritical sesame oil is selling steadily and the market is expanding. Why is it that supercritical sesame oil continues to sell despite its high price? Let’s find out.
Before we dive into supercritical sesame oil, it’s important to understand what supercritical fluids are. A supercritical fluid is literally a fluid that has crossed a critical point. In other words, it’s another phase that exists outside of solids, liquids, and gases. A critical point is the point at which a substance no longer stays in a certain state and takes on new physical properties. The reason why these supercritical phases are unfamiliar to most people is that they require extremely high temperatures and pressures to maintain. Water becomes supercritical at 374 degrees Celsius and 220 atmospheres, and carbon dioxide at 31 degrees Celsius and 74 atmospheres. Maintaining this phase is no small feat, so what is it about the supercritical phase that makes it worth the effort?
A supercritical fluid is a substance that diffuses as fast as a gas, is as permeable as a liquid, and can act as an excellent solvent to dissolve other substances. Their applications are endless: they can be used to extract sesame oil, extract caffeine from coffee, and even restore damaged ancient manuscripts. The study of supercritical fluids began in the 1960s, when they were mainly used in industries such as petroleum refining. Over time, however, their potential for use in a variety of industries, including food, pharmaceuticals, and environmental restoration, has been increasingly recognized. In particular, supercritical carbon dioxide has been recognized as a safe material for extracting food products, such as sesame oil, because it has little toxicity or chemical reactivity. Let’s take a look at how supercritical fluids are used in the extraction of sesame oil, one of the most popular oils.
As mentioned above, supercritical fluids have the permeability of gases, but they are also excellent solvents. Traditionally, sesame oil is made by roasting and pressing sesame seeds at high temperatures to “squeeze” the oil out of the seeds. This method has two major drawbacks. The first is that the residue left over from squeezing the oil is not recyclable, and the second is that the roasting process burns the sesame seeds. The dark color and bitter taste of conventional sesame oil is the result of burnt sesame seeds.
However, sesame oil extraction using supercritical fluids solves both of these problems. Because the supercritical fluid removes the oil from the sesame seeds while preserving their shape, the sesame seeds remain intact after extraction and can be reused elsewhere. In addition, since no roasting is required, the sesame oil is extracted clear and unburnt, with less damage to the nutrients. This is why sesame oil made with supercritical fluid is so popular with consumers, as it has a purer, deeper flavor and aroma, and higher nutritional value than regular sesame oil.
In particular, one of the biggest benefits of supercritical sesame oil is that it poses little risk of producing benzopyrene, a known carcinogen. While conventional sesame oil can potentially produce benzopyrene from roasting the sesame seeds at high temperatures, the supercritical method bypasses this process and is therefore safer. Of course, if you don’t use high temperatures above a certain level, the benzopyrene content is safe as it doesn’t exceed the threshold set by the KFDA, but some commercial sesame oils have been reported to exceed the threshold. This is why supercritical sesame oil is preferred by health-conscious consumers, as it provides a safe and clean way to extract sesame oil.
Supercritical fluid technology is not just for extracting sesame oil. It’s also used in the process of decaffeinating coffee, and it plays an important role in specialized fields such as the restoration of ancient manuscripts. When it comes to removing wax from old documents or paintings, supercritical fluids are gaining traction as a way to delicately remove only what is needed without damaging the document. As you can see, supercritical fluids are being actively researched in a variety of industries and have many more applications in the future.
However, technology utilizing supercritical fluids is still in its infancy, and there are some limitations due to the high cost and equipment required to maintain high temperatures and pressures. Nevertheless, as the technology advances, supercritical fluids are expected to be used in more fields. In the modern world, with increasing demands for environmental protection and sustainable production, supercritical fluid technology is gaining traction as an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical solvents. It is clear that this technology has a lot of potential for further development.
