Leading the way in edible oil refinery equipment and solutions.
Date:Feb 13th, 2023
The objective of refining edible vegetable oils is to produce a mild, tasteless, and edible product that meets food safety, customer, and quality requirements. The plant oils obtained through pressing or extraction contain substances and trace elements that are unfavorable for taste, stability, appearance, or further processing. These substances and trace elements may include seed particles, impurities, phospholipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and trace metals, pigments, wax, oxidation products of fatty acids, pollutants, and pesticide residues.
Refining is becoming increasingly important in removing volatile and non-volatile compounds, as well as pollutants (such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins, aflatoxins, or pesticide residues). Depending on the type of refining oil raw material, whether it is soft-seed oil or woody oil, there are two main refining methods, namely physical refining and chemical refining. Some oils, such as palm oil, can be refined by simple physical methods, such as dry degumming, bleaching, and deodorizing.
These two refining processes can be summarized in the following flowchart:
Each step of the refining process follows the HACCP principle to ultimately achieve refined vegetable oils and fats that comply with EU legal requirements, delivered directly to consumers as bottled oil or used as an ingredient in other foods. The refined oil produced by the following process ensures that no more than 2% of trans fatty acids (TFA) (based on fat) are formed in bottled oil. At the same time, the distribution of fatty acids in triglycerides remains basically unchanged.
Chemical Refining
Degumming
The first step in chemical refining is degumming. Its main purpose is to remove seed particles and impurities, while partially removing phospholipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and trace metals. The crude oil is treated with food-grade processing aids (acid) and/or water to hydrate most of the phospholipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and trace metals. The concentration of processing aids depends on the quality of the vegetable crude oil. The hydrated gums are removed from the oil by centrifugal force.
Neutralization
Alkaline neutralization can reduce the following components: free fatty acids, oxidation products of free fatty acids, residual proteins, phospholipids, carbohydrates, trace metals, and some pigments. This process involves a reaction with an alkaline solution. By this treatment, a second phase (soapstock) is formed, in which unwanted substances are dissolved. This phase is separated and removed by centrifugal force, followed by washing or filtration to eliminate residual phospholipids, soap, and precursor molecules. This process is mainly used for vegetable oils and is not common in tropical oils.
Bleaching
The purpose of bleaching is to reduce the content of pigments, such as carotenes and chlorophyll, as well as residual phospholipids, soap, trace metals, and oxidation products. These trace elements have a negative impact on the quality of further processing and the final product. These substances are removed by adsorption with activated clay and silica at a vacuum and about 100°C temperature. Fresh bleaching earth and filter aids are used in the refining process of vegetable oils and fats.
Our company specializes in providing advanced edible oil refining equipment and processes. If you're interested in establishing an edible oil refining factory or purchasing oil press machines, we're here to help. Our team has extensive experience in the field and can provide you with expert guidance and support to ensure that you achieve the best results possible. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or would like to learn more about our services.
Edible Oil Refining Solution Expert Team:
Justin Han
Email: company@dingmachinery.com
Whatsapp: +86-137 0392 6330
Address: 100M East from the crossings of Jinjiang Road and Huaiyang Road, Shangjie District, Zhengzhou City, China.
Refining is becoming increasingly important in removing volatile and non-volatile compounds, as well as pollutants (such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins, aflatoxins, or pesticide residues). Depending on the type of refining oil raw material, whether it is soft-seed oil or woody oil, there are two main refining methods, namely physical refining and chemical refining. Some oils, such as palm oil, can be refined by simple physical methods, such as dry degumming, bleaching, and deodorizing.
These two refining processes can be summarized in the following flowchart:
Each step of the refining process follows the HACCP principle to ultimately achieve refined vegetable oils and fats that comply with EU legal requirements, delivered directly to consumers as bottled oil or used as an ingredient in other foods. The refined oil produced by the following process ensures that no more than 2% of trans fatty acids (TFA) (based on fat) are formed in bottled oil. At the same time, the distribution of fatty acids in triglycerides remains basically unchanged.
Chemical Refining
Degumming
The first step in chemical refining is degumming. Its main purpose is to remove seed particles and impurities, while partially removing phospholipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and trace metals. The crude oil is treated with food-grade processing aids (acid) and/or water to hydrate most of the phospholipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and trace metals. The concentration of processing aids depends on the quality of the vegetable crude oil. The hydrated gums are removed from the oil by centrifugal force.
Neutralization
Alkaline neutralization can reduce the following components: free fatty acids, oxidation products of free fatty acids, residual proteins, phospholipids, carbohydrates, trace metals, and some pigments. This process involves a reaction with an alkaline solution. By this treatment, a second phase (soapstock) is formed, in which unwanted substances are dissolved. This phase is separated and removed by centrifugal force, followed by washing or filtration to eliminate residual phospholipids, soap, and precursor molecules. This process is mainly used for vegetable oils and is not common in tropical oils.
Bleaching
The purpose of bleaching is to reduce the content of pigments, such as carotenes and chlorophyll, as well as residual phospholipids, soap, trace metals, and oxidation products. These trace elements have a negative impact on the quality of further processing and the final product. These substances are removed by adsorption with activated clay and silica at a vacuum and about 100°C temperature. Fresh bleaching earth and filter aids are used in the refining process of vegetable oils and fats.
Our company specializes in providing advanced edible oil refining equipment and processes. If you're interested in establishing an edible oil refining factory or purchasing oil press machines, we're here to help. Our team has extensive experience in the field and can provide you with expert guidance and support to ensure that you achieve the best results possible. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or would like to learn more about our services.
Edible Oil Refining Solution Expert Team:
Justin Han
Email: company@dingmachinery.com
Whatsapp: +86-137 0392 6330
Address: 100M East from the crossings of Jinjiang Road and Huaiyang Road, Shangjie District, Zhengzhou City, China.
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