Question

Seed oils are often dehydrogenated and added back into processed foods as partly unsaturated fatty acids. In comparison with the original oil, the new fatty acids have additional double carbon-carbon bonds, replacing what were once single bonds. This process could also be described as ________.

(a) isomerization.
(b) oxidation.
(c) reduction.
(d) protonation

Answer 1

The process described is hydrogenation, which converts unsaturated fatty acids into saturated fatty acids by adding hydrogen atoms to the double bonds. Hydrogenation is commonly used in the food industry to solidify oils and increase their shelf life.

Step-by-step explanation:

The process described in the question is known as hydrogenation. Hydrogenation is a chemical reaction where hydrogen atoms are added to unsaturated compounds, such as the double carbon-carbon bonds in fatty acids. This process converts the unsaturated fatty acids into saturated fatty acids by replacing the double bonds with single bonds.

Hydrogenation is commonly used in the food industry to solidify oils and increase their shelf life. It is used to convert vegetable oils into semisolid products like margarine and shortening. During hydrogenation, the double bonds of the cis-conformation in the hydrocarbon chain may also be converted to the trans-conformation, resulting in the formation of trans fats.