Question

What would have to happen to be done to a plant oil to transform it into a trans-fat

Answer 1

Trans fatty acids or trans fats are created when companies turn liquid oils into solid fats. Think shortening and hard margarine. ... In a nutshell, hydrogenation is a method by which vegetable oils are transmuted into solid fats only by mixing hydrogen atoms. Unsaturated fatty oils can be modified into a trans fat by adding hydrogen atoms. This is named hydrogenation. During hydrogenation, vegetable oils are responded with hydrogen gas at about 60ºC. A nickel catalyst is used to race up the reaction. The double bonds are converted to single bonds in the reaction. In this way unsaturated fats can be formed into saturated fats they are hardened.

Answer 2

The oil has to be subjected to a process called partial hydrogenation where hydrogen atoms are added to unsaturated fats such as oils. The process involves the use of heat in presence of hydrogen and certain metal catalysts which results in fats that are liquid at room temperature becoming solid. The change in physical state occurs because some unsaturated bonds become saturated i.e. fully hydrogenated and others are converted from cis arrangement to trans position creating straight solid molecules that pack together more solidly.