Fat products traditionally belong to the basic products that form the diet of the majority of the population. Currently, the oil and fat industry of the country is facing a very serious problem in the production of solid oil and fat products (margarine, spreads, cooking fats). According to the Technological Regulation on the Safety of Food Fat-and-Oil Products of the Customs Union from 1 January 2018, the content of trans-isomers in fat-and-oil products must not exceed 2%, i.e. comply with the international standard. Otherwise, our companies will not be able to sell their products even on the domestic market, and our country will be forced to import these products. 

- Our monitoring of the quality of oil and fat products sold in the trade network of Almaty shows that the content of trans-isomers in them exceeds 10-15 times the permissible norms. The daily consumption of low-quality products harmful to health poses a huge risk to the health of the majority of the population of the country. The Almaty enterprise on margarine and cooking fats production (Maslo-del LLP) currently uses applied nickel catalysts of "Pricat", Nysosel 222, SP-10, etc. These highly dispersible catalysts exhibit high activity, but there are problems with the high content of trans-isomers (20-40%) in hydrogenation products and the need to remove nickel from the products. Nickel and its salts have been found to have toxic effects on the kidneys, heart, reproduction, and immunity. More recent studies have shown that nickel and its salts are carcinogenic by reacting with DNA and binding to its phosphate groups. Therefore, the development and production of catalysts sharply reducing the content of trans-isomers in hydrogenation products is a very urgent task for our country - said Ph.D., assistant professor of Physical Chemistry, Catalysis and Petrochemistry Department of Kazakh National University Toshtay Kainaubek. 

At present, there is no universally accepted opinion on the impact of trans-isomer fatty acids on the human body. However, modern medicine has data that high content of trans-fatty acids in food can lead to a number of serious diseases such as coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, various vascular diseases, some types of cancer, various metabolic disorders, immune deterioration. 

Given the huge amount of accumulated data on the harmful effects of trans-isomer fatty acids on a variety of human systems and organs, laws to restrict their use in foodstuffs are being passed in many countries around the world. Recently, the mass fraction of trans-isomer fatty acids have a very significant meaning for consumers. Many countries, including Switzerland, Austria, Iceland, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark have set an upper limit of 2 g per 100 g of fat, i.e. no more than 2% of total fat.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has, since January 1, 2006, required that manufacturers indicate the content of trans fats on the packaging. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the intake of hydrogenated fats should not exceed 1 % of the daily energy requirement. And in 2011 it was recommended to limit the content of partially hydrogenated oils in food products. The WHO Office for Europe has called for a total ban on industrial hydrogenated oils in food as part of the European Food and Nutrition Action Plan 2015-2020. 

To solve the problem of trans-isomers, KazNU scientists are developing pilot production of low-percentage platinum catalysts for the hydrogenation of vegetable oils.

According to scientists, the problem of developing new generation catalysts capable of high activity and selectivity to conduct processes of hydrogenation with obtaining salomas with low content of trans-isomers is engaged by researchers in many countries. The basic approach that unites all these studies is the transition from nickel catalysts to catalysts with the noble metal of the platinum group. 

- The palladium catalyst developed by us (patent RK#30102) as compared to nickel catalyst significantly reduces the content of trans-isomers in salomas which was confirmed by the results of pilot tests of a palladium catalyst in Maslodel LLP. However, on the palladium catalyst, the reduction of trans-isomers content is achieved mainly by reducing the temperature of the hydrogenation process. On the basis of experimental research of various metals of VIII group (Pd, Pt, Rh, Ru) spread on various carriers (oxides, salts, modified natural minerals) it was defined that selectivity determining process on cis-trans-isomerization is the nature of active metal. Platinum catalysts exhibit the highest cis-trans-isomerization selectivity. Based on these experimental findings, we have developed low-percentage applied platinum catalysts that are highly selective and allow for a dramatic reduction of trans-isomers in salomas (up to 3-6%). In contrast to the BASF catalyst, we have selected a wide range of cheaper carriers that do not require additional processing. Patent RK No 32608 on invention application No 2016/0495.1 dated 08.06.2016 has been obtained, as well as 2 utility model patents No 4919 and 4930 on catalyst and method of hydrogenation of vegetable oils, - says Ali Auezov, Ph.D. in Chemistry, Head of Laboratory of Scientific and Technological Park of KazNU.

Replacement of a nickel catalyst with low-percent applied platinum catalysts developed by scientists of Kazakh National University will allow producing oil products of high quality and eliminate drawbacks typical for nickel catalysts, namely

- Reduce the temperature of the process by a factor of 2 to 3 (to 70-110oC);

- to use repeatedly (3-4 times) for hydrogenation of vegetable oils without increasing the content of trans-isomers in the fat

- To abolish the re-bleaching process;

- Eliminate the possibility of the catalyst getting into the food product;

- Dramatically reduce the content of trans-isomers in oil products (less than 2%, which meets the requirements of the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union on the safety of food products).

- the complete absence of carcinogenic nickel compounds in the resulting food products;

- Possibility to regulate the melting point and hardness within a wide range;

- improvement of organoleptic properties of hydrogenated oils;

- The replacement of nickel-based catalysts with platinum-based catalysts does not require production reconstruction.

With the entry into force of the Technological Regulations of the Customs Union on the safety of food products producers of oil and fat products will be forced to switch to a more advanced hydrogenation catalyst offered by us, or to refuse the process of hydrogenation and go to the transesterification of vegetable oils. But in this case, we should admit the absence of production of enzyme catalysts for the transesterification process in CIS countries (including Russia), the necessity of their import and their high cost (about 30 000 Tenge/kg).

The end result of this project directly concerns the health of the citizens of our country and contains a pronounced social aspect. We expect that the detrimental component for human health in the products of domestic producers called trans-isomers will be reduced to an acceptable safe level as a result of the introduction of our technology. We believe that this will have a multiplicative effect on healthcare, the food industry, science, and a number of other areas.