Krill oil refinery for purification of krill oil extract

摘要

Disclosed is a chromatographic process complex for the refining of krill oil extract including desalting, removal of impurities such as trimethylamine oxide (TMAO), and the production of krill oil products including desalted krill oil extract, polar lipid products having polar lipid contents greater than 50 wt-% on a dry or solvent free basis, neutral lipid streams for biodiesel production and astaxanthin. The refinery includes a continuous desalting zone, a fixed bed polar lipid extraction zone to adsorb neutral lipids and astaxanthin to provide a polar lipid extract stream comprising solvent and polar lipids and being essentially free of neutral lipids and astaxanthin, and an astaxanthin separation zone to recover essentially pure astaxanthin and provide a neutral lipid stream. The enriched products of the krill oil refinery are essentially free of TMAO and salt and provide products which can be used as dietary supplements and as medicinal additives.