Detailed Project Report on Lecithin (Soya Based)

LECITHIN (SOYA BASED)

[EIRI/EDPR/1426] (J.C.: 203)

INTRODUCTION

Lecithin is the popular and commercial name for a naturally occurring mixture of phosphatides (also called phospholipids or, more recently by biochemists, phosphoglycerides), which varies in color from light tan to dark reddish brown and in consistency from a fluid to a plastic solid. Lecithin is the gummy material contained in crude vegetable oils and removed by degumming. Soybeans are by far the most important source of commercial lecithin and lecithin is the most important by-product of the soy oil processing industry because of its many applications in foods and industrial products. The three main phosphatides in this complex mixture called "commercial soy lecithin" are phosphatidyl choline (also called "pure" or "chemical" lecithin to distinguish it from the natural mixture), phosphatidyl ethanolamine (popularly called "cephalin"), and phosphatidyl inositols (also called inositol phosphatides). Commercial soy lecithin also typically contains roughly 30-35% unrefined soy oil. Indeed lecithin is one of the most complex and versatile substances derived from the soybean.

Etymology and Nomenclature. The word "lecithin" is derived from the Greek term lekithos meaning "egg yolk." In 1846 Gobley isolated lecithin from egg yolk and in 1850 gave it its present name. In the late 1800s it was also spelled "lecithine" in English, a spelling that is still used (conveniently) in German to refer to the pure or chemical lecithin. In present-day English, the term "lecithin" has two different meanings, which can be confusing. To most food processors and chemists it refers to the natural complex mixture of phosphatides, but to most regular chemists, biochemists, and pharmacists it is a trivial term for the chemically pure phosphatide, phosphatidyl choline. In this chapter we will consistently use the term "lecithin" in its broader sense, to refer to the natural complex. The commercial term "soybean phosphatides" may be used to denote the oil-free lecithin complex.

Manufacture Lecithin is obtained in the process of degumming crude soy oil, usually at the refinery of the company making commercial lecithin rather than at the oil mill. Crude soy oil contains an average of 1.8% (range 1.2-3.2%;) hydratable compounds, primarily lecithin phosphatides. Roughly 1% of live steam or warm water is added to the crude soy oil at about 70*C, in a batch or continuous process. The emulsion is then agitated or stirred for 10-60 minutes as the phosphatides hydrate and agglomerate, forming a heavy oil-insoluble sludge, which is separated from the oil by use of a centrifuge. The sludge coming from the degumming centrifuge, a lecithin and water emulsion containing 25-50% water, may then be bleached once or twice, typically with hydrogen peroxide, to reduce its color from brown or beige to light yellow. Fluidizing additives such as soy oil, fatty acids, or calcium chloride can then be added?? to reduce the viscosity to that of honey and prevent the end product, on cooling, from being a highly plastic solid. Finally the product is film or batch dried to reduce the moisture to about 1% . Whether bleached or not, the finished commercial product is called "unrefined lecithin" or "natural lecithin;" it contains 65-70% phosphatides and 30-35% crude soy oil. The oil in unrefined lecithin can be removed by extraction with acetone (phosphatides are insoluble in acetone) to give a dry granular product called "refined lecithin."

Varieties of Lecithin and Their Composition. All varieties of soy lecithin can be classified into three broad types: unrefined or natural (including bleached varieties), refined, and chemically modified. Unrefined or natural lecithin comes in six basic varieties, long defined by specifications of the National Soybean Processors Association: plastic or fluid, each either unbleached, bleached, or double bleached. (Because fluid lecithins are easier to handle and dissolve more rapidly in various solvents, only small amounts of plastic grades are now produced.) Refined lecithin (which has had the oil removed using acetone) comes in three basic varieties: custom blended natural, oil free phosphatides (as is or custom blended), and alcohol-fractionated oil-free phosphatides (as is or custom blended). These latter special refined grades, which may contain 60-99.7% phosphatidyl choline, are used mostly for pharmaceutical applications and research. Chemically modified lecithin products, altered through selective chemical treatment, improve lecithin's compatibility to certain systems. Szuhaj , using another method of classification, has noted that in addition to the six basic types of natural or unrefined lecithin, there are six types of upgraded lecithin products, including clarified lecithins (filtered), fluidized lecithins, compounded lecithins, hydroxylated lecithin, deoiled lecithin (granular), and fractionated lecithin. Recent composition figures for both unrefined (natural) and refined (deoiled) lecithin are given in Figure 28.1. Interestingly, earlier publications showed these two products to contain significantly higher percentages of the three major phosphatides and no glycolipids.

COST ESTIMATION

Plant Capacity                                             5.00 Ton./Day
Land & Building (Area 5000 sq.mt.)        Rs. 5.78 Cr
Plant & Machinery                                       Rs. 1.54 Cr         
W.C. for 2 Month                                         Rs. 2.50 Cr           
Total Capital Investment                             Rs.10.31 Cr.              
Rate of Return                                             68%   
Break Even Point                                        29%

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHEMICAL FORMULA OF LECITHIN

USES AND APPLICATIONS

PROPERTIES OF CHARACTERSTICS

SPECIFICATIONS OF LECITHINS

B.I.S SPECIFICATION

MARKET SURVEY

UNIMILLS EXPANDS PRODUCT PORTFOLIO WITH ACQUISITION OF LECITHIN FACILITY

MANUFACTURERS/SUPPLIERS OF SOYA LECITHIN

MANUFACTURE OF LECITHIN

FLOW SHEET FOR DEGUMMING SOYABEAN OIL AND LECITHIN PRODUCTION

RAW MATERIAL CALCULATION

OTHER RELATED INFRMATIONS

EXAMPLE 2

COMPRESSED LECITHIN PREPARATIONS

ENZYMATIC MODIFICATION OF LECITHIN

LECITHIN ADDITIVE FOR COATINGS

CONSULTANTS FOR SETTINGUP LECITHIN PLANT          

COMPLETE PLANT SUPPLIERS FOR SETTINGUP LECITHIN PLANT                     

SUPPLIERS OF PLANT AND MACHINERY          

MANUFACTURERS/SUPPLIERS OF RAW MATERIALS          

APPENDIX – A:

01. PLANT ECONOMICS

02. LAND & BUILDING

03. PLANT AND MACHINERY

04. OTHER FIXED ASSESTS

05. FIXED CAPITAL

06. RAW MATERIAL

07. SALARY AND WAGES

08. UTILITIES AND OVERHEADS

09. TOTAL WORKING CAPITAL

10. TOTAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT

11. COST OF PRODUCTION

12. TURN OVER/ANNUM

13. BREAK EVEN POINT

14. RESOURCES FOR FINANCE

15. INSTALMENT PAYABLE IN 5 YEARS

16. DEPRECIATION CHART FOR 5 YEARS

17. PROFIT ANALYSIS FOR 5 YEARS

18. PROJECTED BALANCE SHEET FOR (5 YEARS)