Abstract
High voltage atmospheric cold plasma (HVACP) treatment generates
reactive gas species that induce inter and intramolecular reactions in
soybean oil. The goal of this study is to analyze the effect of HVACP
treatment on the chemical structure of soybean oil in a hydrogen gas
environment at atmospheric pressure. HVACP was used to treat soybean oil
(15g), for up to 6h by triplicate. Plasma generated reactive gas species
interact with the sample producing three distinct fractions identified
as a liquid, gel, and solid. Fatty acid profile, FTIR, 1H-NMR/13C-NMR,
GPC, thermal properties and peroxide value, were used to characterize
the chemical structure. Results indicated a lower content of
polyunsaturated fatty acids, increased content of saturated fatty acids,
and the presence of isomers. An insoluble portion was observed in the
solid fraction and increase with treatment time up to 42% in the 6h
treated samples. Plasma species may cause two main reactions:
polymerization and hydrogenation.