ABSTRACT
Lipids are a diverse group of biological substances made up primarily, or exclusively, of nonpolar groups. Non-food uses of lipids are expected to gain predominance in areas where stiff regulations require expensive clean-up and disposals. The widespread use of plant-derived lipids will ultimately depend on how well they perform in a wide range of temperature, pressure, metal surface, in presence of other functional fluids and existing technology. Simple lipids are commonly found as storage fats/oils and they bear no charged groups. The different fatty acids discussed above can exist in a free state or as esters – most abundantly with a commonly found alcohol in lipid structure, namely glycerol. Chromatography of lipids using a glass column filled with a suitable stationary phase is a common and useful method for fractionation of lipid classes either on an analytical or a semi-preparative scale.
