Edible Oil Refinery Plant
What is edible oil refining? We know that crude vegetable oil or animal oil contains a lot of impurities like waxes, gums, coloring matter etc. and therefore the oil is not viable for human consumption. It needs to go through a refining process before it is made available for consumption. The process through which the impurities in the oil are taken out and refined is known as oil refining.
An edible oil refinery plant does the exact same job. The whole plant is a combination of a lot of processes that make the crude oil edible and refined before making it to the market for human consumption. It is also essential to ensure that while the purifying process is running, a bare minimum amount of contaminants and odour producing agents are added.
The whole process is quite a lengthy one and it involves a lot of steps:
1. Water DegummingThis is the first step in the edible oil refining process. The crude oil is known to contain Hydratable Phosphatides which are oil-insoluble when hydrated. Therefore they need to be separated and it is usually done by centrifuging.
2. Enzymatic Degumming
Next comes enzymatic degumming where enzymes are used to convert phospholipids into hydrated phospholipids. These phospholipids are very harmful and result in huge amount of oil losses. As a result, this is a very important step.
3. Alkali Refining
Right after enzymatic degumming, it is crucial to convert the fatty acids into water soluble components. A traditional method is used where the fatty acids and oils are treated with alkali refining. This also makes the carbohydrates, phospholipids, and proteins water soluble.
4. Bleaching
Bleaching needs to be done after the previous processes have been successfully carried out. Through bleaching, traces of iron, soaps, phospholipids and carotenes that have been produced by during the previous processes are removed. It also helps in removing coloring components and hydrogen peroxides.
5. De-waxing and Winterization
De-waxing is needed to separate the waxes or esters of long fatty acids and alcohols that remain in the oil. During winter, or in other times of low temperatures, the waxes present in the oil tend to crystallize and this gives a hazy appearance to the oil. Not all oils contain these waxes. These are many present in sunflower oil and rice bran oil.
6. Deodorization
After de-waxing, the oil is made to go through a process called deodorization where the all the odour causing components such as aldehydes and ketones from the oil are removed.
7. Physical Refining
Physical refining of the oil is then done where all the free fatty acids are removed by steam distillation.
8. Fractionation
This involves modifying the melting properties of oils and fats, increasing their stabilities and improving their functions. It is done through batch crystallization of oil.
9. Acid Oil Plant
The last step in the whole process is Acid Oil Plant which ensures a continuous operation. It mainly resists against corrosion caused by concentrated chemicals.
The bad quality oil from soap stocks is treated.
Conclusion
The edible oil refinery plant is mainly used in oil industries such as Sunflower Oil, Soya bean oil, Rice bran oil, and all other sorts of cooking oils. Before choosing a certain plant, a few factors need to be considered:- Eco-friendliness
- Economic implications of the plant
- Lowest water discharge
- Strong brand recognition