Hermann Pardun

Hermann Heinrich Theodor Pardun (born April 14, 1908 in Münster ; † August 5, 2009 in Kleve ) was a German food chemist and food technologist who was especially important in fat science .

Life

Pardun studies chemistry at the University of Münster , with the minor subjects physics, mathematics, geology and botany. In 1930 he placed the “2. Chemical Association Exams ”. He loses an eye while studying due to an accident in the laboratory. In 1932 he received his doctorate “Magna cum laude” with a thesis on the activation of heavy metal sulphides, after which he went to Hans Paul Kaufmann at the Institute for Pharmacy and Chemical Technology at the University of Münster, where he worked on problems of fat chemistry.

From 1936 he was head of the development laboratory of the Hamburg company Noblee und Thörl. Due to the self-sufficiency of the Nazi regime, he developed processes for the production of synthetic fatty acids, which led to around 20 patents. In 1948 Pardun joined Unilever's central laboratory ; here he works mainly on improving oilseed extraction. Eventually he becomes deputy head of the Unilever central laboratory in Hamburg-Dahrenfeld.

In 1954 Unilever offered him the position of head of the laboratory for quality assurance in a margarine factory in Kleve. Pardun expanded the laboratory to include a development laboratory, which subsequently took on some of the development work for other factories in the Unilever Group. Pardun mainly researched an improved extraction of oils from oilseeds , various lecithins (e.g. from rapeseed compared to soy) and their emulsifying properties. He has also worked on the fractionation of palm oil , which became a major raw material source for the European margarine industry in the 1950s. The high-melting fractions of palm oil could be used as a substitute for the more expensive cocoa butter .

Pardun retired in 1973. Even after that, he headed the “Analysis and Standard Methods” specialist group of the German Society for Fat Science until 1975. In 1976 he published the monograph "Analysis of dietary fats", which emerged from an extensive chapter "Analysis of fats and fat products" in the "Handbuch der Lebensmittelchemie". In 1988 he presented another monograph, "The Plant Lecithins". In total, Pardun presented around 60 publications.

Reference to the German Society for Fat Science and the Hermann Pardun Prize

In 1936 Pardun was one of the founders of the German Society for Fat Science (DGF, founding name: German Society for Fat Research) together with Hans Paul Kaufmann . In 1982 the DGF awarded Pardun the "Normann Medal". In his acceptance speech, he gave an overview of his work over the 50 years since he had worked with Hans Paul Kaufmann. In the same year he was made an honorary member of the DGF.

On the occasion of his 100th birthday, the DGF founded the Hermann Pardun Prize in 2008 for the best scientific work on oils or fats by young scientists.

Awards

• 1973: Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class
• 2012: Decision of the council of the city of Kleve on July 4, 2012 to name a new street in the industrial area as "Hermann-Pardun-Straße"

Publications (selection)

• Analysis of dietary fats. (= Basics and advances in food analysis and food technology. Volume 16). Parey, Berlin / Hamburg 1976, ISBN 3-489-78814-1 . (Complete revision and continuation of: Werner Wachs: Oils and Fats. Part 1)
• H. Pardun: 50 years of technology based on vegetable oils and fats - a field report. In: Fette Seifen Anstrichm. Volume 85, 1983, pp. 1-18.
• H. Pardun: Plant Lecithins: Valuable Active Ingredients and Auxiliaries? In: Fette Seife Anstrichm. Volume 91, 1989, pp. 45-58.
• The plant lecithins: extraction, properties, processing and use of plant phosphatide preparations. Verlag für Chemische Industrie Ziolkowsky, Augsburg 1988, ISBN 3-87846-128-3 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Hermann Pardun in the catalog of the German National Library
• W. Sturm: 101st birthday of Dr. Hermann Pardun from the Federal Association of Food Chemists in the Public Sector (BLC).
• Eurofedlipid Wiki: Hermann Pardun ( Memento from August 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
• Willem van Nieuwenhuyzen: Hermann Pardun (1908–2009): Who was this German oil and lecithin pioneer, and how did his inventions change the lecithin world? (In the "Giants of the Past" series of the American Oil Chemists' Society)
• Overview of the prices of the German Society for Fat Science