Edible Oil

Cooking oil is essential in the global market and India specifically takes 65% to 75% of the palm and soybean oil. Refining entails separating oil from seeds and repurifying the oil to make it ready for use.

Process Stages in Edible Oil Refinery

• Degumming: Eliminates undesirable matter like phosphatides from vegetable oils, including sunflower and soybean to hinder rancidity.
• Neutralization: It employs alkali to neutralize free fatty acids to produce soap stock that can precipitate.
• Bleaching: Reduces the color and contaminants through the use of clay absorbents to enhance the quality of the oil.
• Deodorization: High-temperature and vacuum steam distillation help reduce odors and other volatile constituents.
• Winterization: A treatment that coagulates and separates solid particles in the oil is chiefly applied to cottonseed and sunflower oils.

Role of Steam Boilers in Edible Oil Refineries

Boilers offer important steam and heat for deodorization processes thus removing undesired materials such as color, smell, and water. They allow steam vacuum distillation to keep the oils fresh and utilize economizers that increase energy efficiency.