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Friday, 10 September 2021

Refining of Edible oil

 Edible oils are found in coconut, corn, cotton, olive, palm, nuts, soybeans, and sunflower. Furthermore, they contain gums and other impurities that are removed by reducing, weakening, and inserting candles. Let’s understand the process to refine them. 


Edible oil processing plant

  1. Degumming: The first stage of the vegetable oil refining process

Motivation is the first stage of refining vegetable oil that begins with the heating of crude oil. The feed is placed in a degumming container where the oil temperature rises slightly. Besides, the oil weight is reduced by removing Phospholipids / Gums from the raw vegetable oils. There are usually two different types of phospholipids present in crude oil depending on hydration levels:

  • Hydratable or Water Degumming

  • Allergic or Acid Degumming


  1. Neutralizing: Phase Two of the Vegetable Oil Refining Process

Neutrality or simply Neutralizing is the second step to refine the vegetable oil after finishing. In this process, the feedstock is transferred to Neutralizers where the ambient temperature is maintained at 55 C to 70 C depending on the quality of the crude oil. Further, the oil is constantly disturbed to maintain consistency.


The main purpose of energy reduction is to remove the Free Fatty Acids present in crude vegetable oils. In chemical refining, alkali is used to reduce FFA and to remove oil acidity.

The main purpose of the Neutrality Process is to replenish FFA with an alkaline solution and reduce the soaps in the water phase. In the edible oil industry, caustic soda is used in the treatment of FFA's. Sometimes potassium hydroxide can also be used by other processors. 


FFA is a stearic acid that breaks down into a triglyceride molecule leaving diglyceride in fats.

The free fatty acid is derived from the H + carboxyl group. This H + of the active stearic acid group reacts with the OH- caustic soda (NaOH) group to produce soap and water.



Wahal Engineers offers a wide range of suitable additives for acid and sodium hydroxide, as well as Flash mix for clay distribution:






  1. High Shear In-Line Mixers

  • Aeration is free

  • Easily restored to an existing plant

  • Ready for ongoing processes

  • Availability of ultra sanitary models

  • Availability of multistage units, thus offering a high degree of cutting, resulting in refined particle size and faster processing times





  1. Wahal Engineer Flash Mix

  • Designed for rapid dispersion of powders into liquids

  • Reduced cleaning requirements

  • Small operator input is required

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