What is the chemical process of refining edible oil?

In the chemical process of refining edible oil, three chemicals, phosphoric acid, sodium hydroxide, and white clay, are generally used to achieve degumming, deacidification, and decolorization of the refining edible oil. DOING GROUP, as a professional edible oil refining plant supplier, will introduce the process using these chemicals to refine edible oil.

The operation site of edible oil refining plants

1. Degumming:

The first step in the chemical process of refining edible oil is degumming, which eliminates phospholipids from crude oil. Add 85% or 75% food grade phosphoric acid to make the colloidal impurities absorb water, condense and separate from the oil.

DOING GROUP edible oil refining plant adopts a thermal oil heating system, which can better control the temperature of the degumming chemical refining process, improve chemical refining efficiency, and save time.

2. Deacidification:

Next, a neutralization reaction occurs by adding an alkaline solution (sodium hydroxide) to remove free fatty acids (FFA) from the edible oil. FFA can negatively affect the flavor, stability, and shelf life of the oil. The soapstock is then separated from the oil by centrifugation or settling.

The edible oil refining procees of our plants

DOING GROUP has designed 3 different types of edible oil chemical refining plants for different processing capacity requirements, batch type (1-20tpd), semi-continuous type (5-30tpd) and fully continuous type (above 30tpd). The degumming and deacidification of the batch type and semi-continuous type are carried out in the refining pot, while the full continuous type is carried out in the centrifuge.

3. Decolorization:

The third step in the chemical process of refining edible oil aims to remove pigments and other impurities that can affect the oil's appearance and stability. The oil is mixed with white clay, the white clay adsorbent acts as a sponge, absorbing impurities and color compounds. After thorough mixing, the oil is filtered to remove the adsorbent and the adsorbed impurities.

4. Deodorization:

Deodorization is a crucial step in cooking oil refining, but this step does not use any chemicals. DOING GROUP edible oil refining plant takes features of the different volatilization points of odor molecules and oil, the odor molecules are removed by adding hot steam to strip them. Our deodorization tank/tower is made of food-grade stainless steel to prevent the tank from deforming or decomposing harmful substances to the human body due to high temperatures, making it safe and reliable.

The project cases of DOING edible oil refining plants

The above is a brief introduction to the chemical refining process of edible oil using DOING GROUP edible oil refining plant. If you want to know more details about the chemical refining process or our edible oil refining machine, please feel free to leave us a message and we will answer you as soon as possible.

DOING GROUP has been engaged in the production and sales of edible oil refining plants for more than 10 years. We have mature technology and experienced teams that can customize the edible oil refining solution that best suits you.