Hydrogenation process, artwork

Hydrogenation process. Computer artwork showing the hydrogenation process used to convert unsaturated fats to saturated fats. The unsaturated vegetable oil (yellow) enters at right and is mixed with a metal catalyst (grey) to form a slurry. This slurry is fed into an agitator (centre) where pressurised hydrogen (red) is bubbled through it. The hydrogen forms bonds with carbon atoms in the fat, saturating it. This is an exothermic (heat generating) reaction. The saturated oil (orange) is removed from the agitator to a tank (centre left), where the catalyst is removed from it and recycled. The pure saturated fat is moved to the tank at far left. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature, whereas saturated fats are solid. Saturated fats have a longer shelf life. Partial hydrogenation leads to the formation of trans fats.