Plastic fats tallow

ABHERENT. Any substance that prevents adhesion of a material to itself or to another material. It may be in the form of a dry powder (a silicate such as talc, mica, or diatomaceous earth) a suspension (bentonite-water) a solution (soap-water) or a soft solid (stearic acid, tallow waxes). Abherents are used as dusting agents and mold washes in the adhesives, rubber, and plastics industries. Fats and oils are used as abherents in the baking industry. Fluorocarbon resin coatings on metals are widely used on cooking utensils. 

Research on soybean oil and tallow is directed toward the manufacture of materials which will find application in lubricating oils, plasticizers, surface coatings, and cosmetics. Genetic engineering techniques are being used for tailored cleavage of oils and fats. In conjunction with various chemical catalytic systems, it is planned to produce novel materials of higher market value. 

Fat fractionation as we know it today has its origins in the late nineteenth century with the invention of margarine in 1869. The secret was the careful crystallization of freshly rendered edible tallow at temperatures between 25°C and 30°C [2]. The resultant grainy mass was then hydraulically pressed to obtain a crude 60 40 separation of a soft fraction (olein) and a hard fraction (stearin). This has remained the basic principle of the modern process. The softer fraction had physical properties similar to those of anhydrous milkfat (AMF) and was easily rendered into a plastic product that could be used in place of butter. 

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