What Is The Process Flow Of Small Edible Oil Refining Equipment?
The process flow of small edible oil refining equipment involves removing impurities such as colloid-soluble impurities, free fatty acids, pigments, odor substances, etc., in crude oil that affect the storage time and quality of finished oil. This is achieved through degumming, deacidification, decolorization, deodorization, and other processes to obtain edible oil products that meet national standards. The detailed process flow of small edible oil refining equipment is shown in the figure below:
1. Degumming section: remove colloid-soluble impurities such as phospholipids and proteins in crude oil.
Colloid-soluble impurities are hydrophilic. Hot water or phosphoric acid is added to the alkali refining pot to make the colloid-soluble impurities absorb water and swell, condense, separate, and remove. This process avoids emulsification during deacidification, thereby reducing the loss of auxiliary materials in subsequent processes. Additionally, undegummed oils cannot be physically refined and deodorized and cannot be deeply processed.
2. Deacidification section: mainly remove free fatty acids in crude oil.
The content of free fatty acids affects the quality, taste, and storage time of finished oil. Free fatty acids can be removed by chemical deacidification or physical deacidification.
(1) Chemical deacidification: Add alkali solution to the alkali refining pot to react with free fatty acids to produce soap stock for separation and removal.
(2) Physical deacidification: In the deodorization equipment, steam is used to precipitate free fatty acids.
3. Decolorization section: Remove pigments from crude oil to make it clearer and more transparent.
The pigment content in crude oil affects the color of finished oil and its appearance. White clay should be added to the decolorization tank in a vacuum state and at a temperature of about 105 degrees Celsius to absorb the pigment in the oil. Then the waste white clay should be filtered out.
4. Deodorization section: Remove odorous substances from crude oil.
Under the high temperature and vacuum conditions in the deodorization tank, steam heating is used to remove odorous substances in the oil and improve the quality of the finished oil.
