JP6194831B2 - Method for crystallization of lipids containing fatty acids or glycerin fatty acid esters - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for crystallizing a lipid comprising one or more selected from fatty acids or glycerin fatty acid esters using a crystallization apparatus having an effect of promoting the solidification of various fatty acids and glycerin fatty acid esters by a simple method, and the crystallization method thereof The present invention relates to a method for producing a fractionated lipid, wherein the fraction is fractionated into a high melting point fraction and a low melting point fraction.

  Glycerin fatty acid esters including triglycerides are used in various lipid products ranging from lipid processed foods to cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Among these products, especially those that require solidification of the lipid by cooling, when preparing the final product by solidifying the molten lipid, solidify it efficiently in a short time to obtain the target quality It is demanded.

  Patent Document 1 has a problem that lipids contained in margarine and the like are not completely solidified in a cooling kneader and solidification of lipids proceeds during storage, resulting in roughness and deterioration in quality. Stipulates the composition of lipids used as a means for solving this problem. However, a lipid obtained through a special reaction process is necessary and lacks versatility.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a technique in which an ester of a fatty acid having 20 or more carbon atoms is added as a lipid solidification accelerator in order to obtain a solidified lipid suitable for margarine. However, the amount used is as high as several percent with respect to lipids, and it does not mention the effect of actively promoting the solidification rate.

Patent Document 3 relates to a solidification accelerator for fatty acid or glycerin fatty acid ester by the present applicant. In a lipid crystallization process, particles having a single layer such as talc or a layered structure laminated by noncovalent bonding are added and mixed as a solidification accelerator. This is a method for improving the crystallization speed. Although this method is excellent in the effect of promoting solidification, a step of removing the used solidification accelerator from the fractionated high melting point is essential, and a simplified crystallization method has been demanded.

JP 2008-161176 A JP 2000-116322 A Japanese Patent No. 5376100

  The object of the present invention is a step of crystallizing a fatty acid or glycerin fatty acid ester and separating it into a high melting point fraction and a low melting point fraction by pressing and / or filtration, particularly a step of fractionating a lipid composition for food or cosmetics. Is to provide a simple crystallization method using a crystallization apparatus having a solidification promoting effect for improving the crystallization speed, and a fractionation method using the same.

  As a result of diligent search in view of the above-mentioned background art, the present inventors have found that the solidification accelerator particles having a solidification promoting effect are present on the surface of one or more of the crystallization tank inner wall, the crystallization stirring blade, and the baffle plate. It has been found that the solidification start time can be shortened by cooling and crystallizing a melt of a glycerin fatty acid ester such as triglyceride using a crystallizer fixed in part or in whole. As a result of further intensive studies, the present inventors have found that the crystallizer exhibits the same effect not only on glycerin fatty acid esters but also on fatty acids, thereby completing the present invention.

That is, the present invention
(1) In the step of crystallizing a fatty acid or glycerin fatty acid ester-containing lipid and separating it into a high melting point fraction and a low melting point fraction by pressing and / or filtration, it has a single layer or a layered structure laminated by non-covalent bonds One or more kinds of solidification accelerator particles selected from the following (a) to (e) are part or all of one or more surfaces of any one of a crystallization tank inner wall, a crystallization stirring blade, and a baffle plate A crystallization method for fatty acid or glycerin fatty acid ester, characterized in that crystallization is carried out using a crystallizer fixed to the surface.
(A) A layered silicate mineral in which the octahedral layer has a three-octahedron structure among the tetrahedral layer (T) and the octahedral layer (O) to be formed.
(B) Of the tetrahedron layer (T) and octahedron layer (O) constituting the octahedron layer, the octahedron layer has a two-octahedron structure and is composed of TO 1: 1 or TOTO 2: 1: 1 unit layer structure. A silicate mineral that has been surface-hydrophobized.
(C) Single or layered carbons.
(D) Aromatic carboxylic acid or alkali metal salt thereof (e) Theobromine (2) The method for crystallization of fatty acid or glycerin fatty acid ester according to (1), wherein the monolayer or layered carbon is graphite.
(3) It is a graphite sheet or a graphite felt in which a part or all of one or more surfaces of the inner wall of the crystallization tank, the stirring blade for crystallization, and the baffle plate are fixed by graphite. ). The method for crystallizing the fatty acid or glycerin fatty acid ester.
(4) Crystallization using the crystallization apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), followed by fractionation into a high melting point fraction and a low melting point fraction by pressing and / or filtration. A method for fractionating fatty acids or glycerin fatty acid esters.
It is.

  According to the present invention, the solidification accelerator particles having a specific structure are immobilized on a part or all of one or more surfaces of any one of the inner wall of the crystallization tank, the stirring blade for crystallization, and the baffle plate. Solidification of various fatty acids or glycerin fatty acid esters can be promoted by a simple method of crystallizing a fatty acid or glycerin fatty acid ester melt using the existing crystallizer. As a result, it is possible to improve the crystallization speed when fractionating lipids containing these into a high melting point fraction and a low melting point fraction, and to improve the productivity of fractionation. In addition, since the high melting point fraction fractionated according to the present invention does not contain a solidification accelerator, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to remove the solidification accelerator after fractionation.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail.

(fatty acid)
The fatty acid of the present invention is a monovalent carboxylic acid having one carboxyl group at the end of the hydrocarbon chain. Fatty acids having an arbitrary chain length can be used, and various fatty acids such as saturated fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids containing polyunsaturated fatty acids, fatty acids having hydroxyl groups, and fatty acids having branched chains are targeted.

  These fatty acids are mainly used as food fragrances or cosmetic raw materials, and those having a melting point of less than 100 ° C. are preferred. More preferably, a linear saturated fatty acid having 8 to 36 carbon atoms such as caprylic acid, capric acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, margaric acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, behenic acid, lignoceric acid, palmitoleic acid, olein Specific examples include unsaturated fatty acids such as acids, and many of these can be obtained as hydrolysates of natural fats.

(Glycerin fatty acid ester)
The glycerin fatty acid ester of the present invention is obtained by esterifying various fatty acids to glycerin or polyglycerin obtained by polymerizing two or more molecules of glycerin. Bonded fatty acids having any chain length can be used, and various fatty acids such as saturated fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids including polyunsaturated fatty acids, fatty acids having hydroxyl groups, and fatty acids having branched chains are targeted. . Glycerin fatty acid esters are those in which 1 to 3 molecules of these fatty acids are ester-linked per molecule of glycerol, preferably 2 to 3 molecules, more preferably the same 3 molecules of ester bonds. In the present invention, triglyceride in which 3 molecules of fatty acid are bonded to 1 molecule of glycerin is optimal.

  These glycerin fatty acid esters are mainly used as food or cosmetic raw materials and as emulsifiers for various uses, and those having a melting point of less than 100 ° C. are preferred. More preferably, rapeseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower seed oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, rice bran oil, corn oil, safflower oil, olive oil, kapok oil, sesame oil, evening primrose oil, palm oil, shea butter, mainly composed of triglyceride , Monkey oil, cocoa butter, palm oil, palm kernel oil, cocoa butter, sesame oil, peanut oil, and other animal oils such as milk fat, beef tallow, lard, fish oil, etc. Specific examples thereof include those obtained by subjecting these animal and plant oils and fats to a transesterification treatment in an arbitrary combination of two or more.

(Layered structure)
The solidification accelerator of the present invention needs to have a single layer or a layered structure laminated by non-covalent bonding. The term “non-covalent bond” as used herein is a comparison by electrostatic interaction or van der Waals force interaction that exists in the gap between these layers of 0.5 to 10 mm, preferably about 0.5 to 5 mm (talc is 2.8 mm). Specific bond, specifically, ionic bond, metal bond, hydrogen bond, and hydrophobic bond can be exemplified. Each layer has a layer thickness of about 1 to 20 mm (talc is 6.5 mm) depending on the constituent atoms, and is configured by a covalent bond.

(Solidification accelerator)
The solidification accelerator for lipid composition of the present invention further comprises one or more selected from the following (a) to (e).
(A) Of the tetrahedral layer (T) and the octahedral layer (O) to be formed, the octahedral layer is a three-octahedral structure and is a layered silicate mineral.
Here, the layered silicate mineral is a group having a cleavage property among clay minerals, and examples thereof include layered silicate minerals such as talc, kaolin, smectite, and mica. A tetrahedral layer is a specific surface (basal plane) in which oxygen atoms bonded to each other centered on cations such as Si4 +, Al3 +, and Fe3 + form a tetrahedron and form a hexagonal-like mesh pattern on a plane or pseudo-plane. ) Is a sheet that is connected by sharing oxygen atoms. On the other hand, in the octahedral layer, oxygen atoms bonded to each other centered on trivalent cations such as Al3 + and Fe3 + form an octahedron, and these are connected in a sheet form so that the occupation ratio of the octahedron becomes 2/3. Two octahedral structures and oxygen atoms bonded to each other centered on divalent cations such as Mg2 + and Fe2 + form octahedrons. Similar to the tetrahedrons that make up the layer, there is a basal plane.

A layered silicate mineral consisting of a tetrahedral layer (T) and a trioctahedral layer (O) consists of a unit layer structure of TOT 2: 1, TO 1: 1, or TOTO 2: 1: 1. Specifically, talc, serpentine, trioctahedral smectite, trioctahedral vermiculite, trioctahedral mica represented by phlogopite and biotite, and trioctahedral chlorite. Moreover, you may perform the surface hydrophobic process mentioned later to this.
These have a tetrahedral layer on at least one side of the unit layer, and the surface composed of the basal surface of each tetrahedron, such as talc, that is, the basal surface is hydrophobic and has no distortion. preferable.

(B) Of the tetrahedron layer (T) and octahedron layer (O) constituting the octahedron layer, the octahedron layer has a two-octahedron structure and is composed of TO 1: 1 or TOTO 2: 1: 1 unit layer structure. Silicate mineral with surface hydrophobic treatment.
That is, among the layered silicate minerals composed of a tetrahedral layer (T) and a dioctahedral layer (O), those having a unit layer structure of TO 1: 1 or TOTO 2: 1: 1 The effect of this invention is acquired by processing. Typical examples include kaolin and dioctahedral chlorite, and these surfaces are subjected to hydrophobic treatment. Various methods can be used for the hydrophobic treatment, but a method such as surface modification with a silane coupling agent is preferred.

(C) single or layered carbons,
The carbon atoms are arranged in layers, and examples include graphene, graphite, single-layered or multi-walled carbon nanotubes and fullerenes.

(D) Aromatic carboxylic acids or alkali metal salts thereof Aromatic carboxylic acids are those having a benzene ring and one or more carboxyl groups, and having one carboxyl group, such as benzoic acid, salicylic acid, gallic acid, silica. Examples of the cinnamate having two carboxyl groups include ortho- / iso (meth)-/ tere (para) -phthalic acid and melittic acid. Moreover, these sodium salts, potassium salts, etc. can be mentioned as the alkali metal salt. Preferably, it is an aromatic carboxylic acid having 2 or more carboxyl groups or an alkali metal salt thereof.

(E) Theobromine Theobromine is a methylated derivative of xanthine, which is a kind of purine base, and is a main alkaloid contained in cacao. Like the aromatic carboxylic acid or alkali metal salt thereof, dimers are easily formed, and a crystal structure in which these dimers are laminated in layers via hydrogen bonds is obtained.

  In the present invention, among these, in particular, a non-strained surface surrounded by covalent bonds between atoms has a high proportion of the ground surface or a surface corresponding thereto, and these surfaces are one-dimensional or coplanar on the same plane. Talc, graphite, carbon nanotubes, and terephthalic acid, which extend in the two-dimensional direction, can be preferably used. There is no restriction on the use of these particles, they may be used alone or as a mixture, and as long as the total area of the basal surface is not significantly reduced, they may be used as a preparation obtained by mixing excipients and the like. . As a method for immobilizing a part or all of one or more surfaces of the inner wall of the crystallization tank, the crystallization stirring blade, and the baffle plate, any of the crystallization tank inner wall, the crystallization stirring blade, and the baffle plate A graphite sheet or graphite felt that can be easily attached and fixed to one or more surfaces is preferably used.

(Immobilization method)
In the present invention, as a method of immobilizing one or more surfaces of the inner wall of the crystallization tank, the stirring blade for crystallization, or the baffle plate, a single layer or non-covalent bond having a solidification promoting effect on the surface is used. There is no particular limitation as long as it holds solidification accelerator particles having a layered structure to be laminated. For example, a method of fixing solidification accelerator particles uniformly on the inner wall of the crystallization tank or the surface of the stirring blade using adhesive resins, a solidification accelerator such as graphite sheet or graphite felt is used. A material that has been processed into a sheet or cloth and has a single layer with a solidification promoting effect on the surface or a layered structure that is laminated by non-covalent bonding, is one of the inner wall of the crystallization tank, the stirring blade, or the baffle plate Examples thereof include a method of adhering to the surface of the portion or more with an adhesive resin and a method of fixing with a bolt nut or screw.
Immobilization of one or more surfaces of the inner wall of the crystallization tank, the stirring blade for crystallization, and the baffle plate may be a part or all of them, but preferably the crystallization tank It is preferable that the crystallizer is fixed to all of the side walls or the entire surface of the stirring blade or the entire surface of the baffle plate, most preferably all of the inner wall of the crystallization tank, the entire surface of the stirring blade and the entire baffle plate. . The stirring blade is used for the purpose of stirring the crystallization soot, and a liquid flow is generated in the soot by the rotation of the stirring blade connected to the stirrer. The shape of the stirring blade is not particularly limited as long as it can achieve the purpose of stirring, such as a flat paddle blade or a propeller blade. Moreover, a baffle plate is a plate attached to the inner tank wall of a stirring tank by welding etc., and may be used in order to improve stirring efficiency.

(Addition amount and particle size)
The solidification accelerator particles fixed on the surface of one or more of the inner wall of the crystallization tank, the crystallization stirring blade, and the baffle plate are composed of a fatty acid or a molecule constituting the lipid composition of the base surface. It is thought that the solidification promoting effect is expressed by the interaction with the fatty acid ester, and the effect can be obtained even with a small amount of immobilization, but the larger the amount of immobilization and the smaller the solidification accelerator particle diameter, the total area of the base surface Increases, and a great effect can be obtained. However, since the effect varies greatly depending on the type, shape, aspect ratio, etc., it is necessary to select the type of solidification accelerator, the particle diameter, and the amount of immobilization according to the expected effect.

(Fat-soluble solidification accelerator)
In the present invention, an excellent solidification promoting effect can be obtained without adding a fat-soluble solidification accelerator such as a high melting point fatty acid, a high melting point fatty acid ester, and a medium melting point stable crystal powder having a solidification promoting effect on fatty acids and fatty acid esters. However, such a fat-soluble solidification accelerator can be added. When a fat-soluble solidification accelerator is added, the fat-soluble solidification accelerator is concentrated in the fraction having a high melting point, and it may be necessary to remove the fat-soluble solidification accelerator again in a later step. Preferably not.

(Liquid poorly soluble additive)
In the present invention, it is possible to use a sparingly soluble solid in combination with the lipid composition to be separated. Examples thereof include gum arabic, agar, xanthan gum, cellulose and derivatives thereof, chitin, chitosan, various dextrins, and starch. And processed starch, polysaccharides such as inulin, salts such as salt, potassium chloride, calcium chloride, sodium citrate, magnesium sulfate, animal and plant proteins derived from soybeans, wheat, milk, eggs, etc. and hydrolysates thereof. it can. However, if the amount of these solids added to the solidification accelerator is too large, the substantial total surface area of the base surface significantly decreases due to association with the solidification accelerator. It is preferable to keep it at a minimum, more preferably equal or less, and even more preferably 1/10 or less.

(Fat-soluble additive)
In the present invention, it is also possible to use a fat-soluble additive in combination with the above lipid composition, for example, an emulsifier such as lecithin, sucrose fatty acid ester, sorbitan fatty acid ester, glycerin fatty acid ester other than the object of solidification promotion , Coloring agents, flavoring agents, preservatives, antioxidants and the like may be used alone or in combination. These additives can be used in any amount, but only when the effect of the additive itself impedes the effect of the above-mentioned solidification promoter, for example, 0.1% or less in terms of weight with respect to the total amount of the lipid composition to be solidified. As such, it is better to reduce the amount used.

(Use for separation)
The solidification promoting method of the present invention can also be used to improve productivity and the like when producing a fractionated lipid by fractionating a lipid composition into a high melting point fraction and a low melting point fraction. The fractionated lipid refers to a lipid composition containing a fatty acid or a glycerin fatty acid ester, which is obtained by separating and fractionating individual constituent lipids based on a difference in melting point or a solubility in a solvent. There is no restriction | limiting in particular about the fractionation method to apply, The solvent fractionation method using solvents, such as hexane and acetone, the dry-type fractionation method which does not use these solvents at all, etc. can be utilized arbitrarily. The solidification accelerator fixed on the surface of one or more of the inner wall of the crystallization tank, the stirring blade for crystallization, and the baffle plate of the present invention does not desorb or desorb from the surface during the fractionation step. Most preferably, if there is partial detachment or desorption, the fractionated high melting point part is melted only by lipids by operation such as heating, and the solidification accelerator desorbed or desorbed by a method such as filtration or centrifugation Can be removed. As an immobilization product without desorption or desorption, the graphite sheet or graphite felt can be preferably used.

(Evaluation of solidification promotion effect)
The solidification promoting effect of the lipid composition according to the present invention can be evaluated mainly based on DSC measurement. DSC is an abbreviation for Differential Scanning Calorimetry, which measures the solidification temperature, melting point, glass transition point, etc. by measuring the difference in calorie between the sample and the reference material. This is the method. There are two types of heat flux differential scanning calorimetry (heat flux DSC) and input compensated differential scanning calorimetry (input compensation DSC). In the present invention, the temperature of the sample portion composed of the sample and the reference material is constant. The heat flux DSC measurement is performed, in which the input difference of the thermal energy per unit time applied to the sample and the reference material is measured as a function of temperature so that the temperature of the sample and the reference material becomes equal. In DSC measurement, the presence or absence of a solidification promoting effect is determined from the rising temperature of the exothermic peak (solidification start temperature) and the exothermic peak top temperature when the sample is cooled at a constant speed or constant temperature. In the evaluation, in order to avoid the influence of the so-called “memory effect” of the lipid, the temperature was kept at a temperature sufficiently higher than the melting point of the whole lipid, preferably about 15 ° C. higher than the melting point of the highest melting point lipid component for 10 minutes. Thereafter, cooling is performed.

  Next, although an Example, a comparative example, etc. are given and this invention is demonstrated further more concretely, these Examples do not restrict | limit this invention. In the following description, “part” means “part by weight”.

[Example 1]
10 mg of purified palm middle melting point fraction (Fuji Oil Co., Ltd., melting point 26 ° C.) 10 mg completely melted at 80 ° C. or higher was weighed into an aluminum pan for DSC measurement, and graphite felt (TRUSCO sputter felt, product number 28CF- 11) The surface fiber piece 0.1mg was added, and the evaluation by DSC measurement (Shimadzu Corporation heat flux DSC measuring device; DSC-60 use, same hereafter) was performed on the following temperature conditions.
<Evaluation temperature conditions>
DSC measurement; initial temperature 80 ° C (10 minutes), cooling rate 1 ° C / min, final temperature 0 ° C

[Reference Example 1]
One hundred parts of talc powder (trade name: talc MS, manufactured by Nippon Talc Co., Ltd., median diameter: 14 μm) is added to 100 parts of the purified palm middle melting point fraction (Fuji Oil Co., Ltd., melting point 26 ° C.) completely melted at 80 ° C. or higher. Addition and mixing were performed, and 10 mg of the obtained mixed solution was weighed into an aluminum pan for DSC measurement, and evaluation by DSC was performed under the same conditions as in Example 1.

[Comparative Example 1]
In Example 1, 10 mg of a purified palm middle melting point fraction (manufactured by Fuji Oil Co., Ltd., melting point: 26 ° C.) was weighed into an aluminum pan for DSC measurement, and by DSC under the same conditions as in Example 1 without adding a graphite felt piece. Evaluation was performed.

Table 1 shows the evaluation results by DSC of Example 1, Reference Example 1, and Comparative Example 1.
Table 1

The high temperature side peak by DSC is an exothermic peak accompanying crystallization of a high melting point component mainly composed of tripalmitin (PPP) in the melting point portion of palm, but the graphite felt fiber piece addition Example 1 is a comparison without addition Compared with Example 1, the solidification start temperature was shifted to the high temperature side, and a solidification promoting effect was clearly observed. In Example 1, the effect of promoting solidification tended to be slightly lower than that of Reference Example 1 in which talc powder was added, but this was considered to be because the surface area per unit weight was larger in powder form than in fibrous felt.

[Example 2]
3600 g of purified palm middle melting point fraction (manufactured by Fuji Oil Co., Ltd., melting point 26 ° C.) that was completely melted by holding at 80 ° C. or higher for 15 minutes was weighed into a stainless steel vat with an inner diameter of 200 mm, and a stirring blade (stainless paddle blade A graphite felt of the same size as the outer frame (manufactured by TRUSCO, product number 28CF-11, thickness 2.8 mm) was fixed to one side of the outer frame 100 × 150 mm and the inner frame 80 × 106 mm with bolts and nuts at a total of eight locations on the outer frame. And crystallizing with stirring at 30 rpm. In this crystallizer, no baffle plate is installed. For cooling, only the bottom surface of the stainless bat was brought into contact with a 25 ° C. water bath for cooling, and the high melting point fraction of the middle melting point of the palm was crystallized. The crystallization turbidity station was collected after a certain time from the start of crystallization, immediately filtered by suction under reduced pressure of 0.5 atm, and the resulting lipid composition on the filtrate side was subjected to composition analysis by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The crystallization speed of the high melting point component mainly composed of PPP was evaluated.

[Comparative Example 2]

In Example 2, crystallization was performed in the same manner as in Example 2 using a stirring blade (stainless steel paddle blade, outer frame 100 × 150 mm, inner frame 80 × 106 mm) without fixing graphite felt to the stirring blade. In the same manner as in Example 2, the crystallization rate of the high melting point component mainly composed of PPP was evaluated.

Table 2 shows the evaluation results of Example 2 and Comparative Example 2.
Table 2 Time course of PPP content on the filtrate side

As shown in Table 2, when the decrease rate of the PPP content with time is compared, Example 2 using the graphite felt fixed blade is clearly faster than Comparative Example 2 using the stainless steel blade, and contains PPP. The rate at which the amount dropped to 0.5% required 16 hours in Comparative Example 2 compared to 10 hours in Example 2. The decrease in the filtrate-side PPP content is large because the refractory component mainly composed of PPP is concentrated on the crystal fraction side as crystallization progresses on the crystal fraction side. This is because is removed as a crystal fraction.

  According to the present invention, in the step of crystallizing a lipid containing a fatty acid or glycerin fatty acid ester and separating it into a high melting point fraction and a low melting point fraction by pressing and / or filtration, particularly a lipid composition for food or cosmetics is separated. In this step, it is possible to provide a crystallization method using a crystallization apparatus having a solidification accelerating effect that improves a simple crystallization speed, and a fractionation method using the crystallization method.

Claims (4)

In the step of crystallizing a lipid containing a fatty acid or a glycerin fatty acid ester and separating it into a high melting point fraction and a low melting point fraction by pressing and / or filtration, the following ( One or more types of solidification accelerator particles selected from a) to (e) are immobilized on a part or all of one or more surfaces of the crystallization tank inner wall, the crystallization stirring blade, and the baffle plate. A method for crystallization of fatty acid or glycerin fatty acid ester, characterized in that crystallization is carried out using a crystallizing apparatus.
(A) A layered silicate mineral in which the octahedral layer has a three-octahedron structure among the tetrahedral layer (T) and the octahedral layer (O) to be formed.
(B) Of the tetrahedron layer (T) and octahedron layer (O) constituting the octahedron layer, the octahedron layer has a two-octahedron structure and is composed of TO 1: 1 or TOTO 2: 1: 1 unit layer structure. A silicate mineral that has been surface-hydrophobized.
(C) Single or layered carbons.
(D) Aromatic carboxylic acid or alkali metal salt thereof (e) Theobromine The crystallization method of fatty acid or glycerin fatty acid ester according to claim 1, wherein the single-layered or layered carbon is graphite. The graphite sheet or graphite felt is fixed to graphite at one or more of one or more surfaces of the inner wall of the crystallization tank, the stirring blade for crystallization, and the baffle plate. Of crystallization of fatty acid or glycerin fatty acid ester. It crystallizes using the crystallizer of any one of Claims 1-3, and is fractionated into a high melting point fraction and a low melting point fraction by pressing and / or filtration after that. Method for fractionating fatty acid or glycerin fatty acid ester.