The raw materials of soybean lecithin granules and capsules are soybean crude oil obtained after soybean treatment (soybean oil and lecithin are mixed together at this time). The traditional process is acetone extraction, and Ai Enxi uses the patented technology of ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND Company in the United States-low temperature ultrafiltration process.
acetone extraction process: the crude soybean oil is dissolved in an organic solvent-acetone, because soybean oil can be dissolved in acetone, but lecithin is insoluble in acetone, so acetone is continuously added to the crude soybean oil as a deoiling solvent for repeated deoiling. With the repeated addition of acetone, the content of soybean oil in crude oil is also decreasing, so that soybean lecithin with different concentrations is produced. The soybean lecithin with low concentration becomes capsules, and the soybean lecithin with high concentration crystallizes into particles. This method is called acetone extraction.
When soybean crude oil is deoiled to an oil content of about 4% (soybean lecithin content is about 6%), this lecithin is a raw material for producing soybean lecithin soft capsule because of its high content and high fluidity. When the oil content is below 3% (lecithin content is above 97%), the granular soybean lecithin is obtained.
This process makes organic solvent remain in both lecithin capsules and lecithin particles.
Low-temperature ultrafiltration process: Using pure physical method, at low temperature, crude soybean oil is passed through a molecular sieve with extremely high density under the pressure of 8 atmospheres. Because the molecules of lecithin are larger than those of soybean oil, soybean oil passes through the sieve under the pressure, while lecithin remains and condenses directly into particles at low temperature. Acetone is not added in the processing process, so the acetone residue is eliminated, so the biological activity and taste are greatly improved due to the protection of low temperature. (See the patent description on the website of the US Trademark and Patent Office for details.)