Steam stripping of lard

Conclusion The rate of steam stripping of free fatty acids from lard can be evaluated in terms of a rate·constant K defined by Equations 5 and 6. Reproducible results were realized for many different batches of leaf and prime steam lards. The effects of temperature, total pressure, and steam rate were evaluated, thus making possible the calculation of stripping rate constants on a comparable basis. Comparable values of the rate constant K have been compared for conditions with and without the use of mechanical agitation with a flat‐blade mixing impeller. Use of the rotating mixing impeller showed substantial increases (30 to 50%) in the reaction rate constant, over those obtained with steam sparging without the mixer. Accordingly the use of this type mixer should result, in large savings of steam for stripping and for maintaining the necessary vacuum by the steam jet condenser.