Phytosterol Enrichment of Rice Bran Oil by a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Fractionation Technique

Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC–CO 2 ) fractionation technique was evaluated as an alternative process for reducing the free‐fatty‐acid (FFA) content and minimizing the phytosterol loss of rice bran oil (RBO) during the process. The effects of pressure (20.5 to 32.0 MPa) and temperature (45 to 80 °C) for isothermal operation of the column on the composition of the resultant fractions were examined. Low‐pressure and high‐temperature conditions were found to be favorable for minimizing triglycerides (TG) and phytosterol losses during the FFA removal from crude RBO. Rice bran oil fractions with < 1% FFA, about 95% TG, and 0.35% free sterol with 1.8% oryzanol content could be obtained utilizing the described SC–CO 2 fractionation technique.