What equipment is used for sunflower oil refining

After extraction on the extraction line, the oil undergoes a refining process. It is used for removal of impurities and free fatty acids from oil, deprive the product of aromatic substances and give it necessary color. The refining process includes several stages in which different equipment is used.

Stages of sunflower oil refining technology 

Refining – is a multi-stage process of oil purification from impurities, tastes and smells. Purification is performed in several stages:

• Degumming. At the beginning sunflower oil is purified from impurities such as phosphatides and proteins. It is mixed with water and settled to remove hydrophilic impurities. In the separator, phosphatide flakes are separated from the degummed oil.
• Neutralization. Then, oil undergoes neutralization, during which it is treated with alkali and acid, which reduces the content of free fatty acids and ensures better product quality. The result of neutralization is the formation of soap stock, which is separated from the oil in separators.
• Bleaching. After neutralization, the product undergoes a bleaching stage, where adsorbents (bleaching clay) and acids are used. This stage helps to reduce the content of coloring substances in the composition of the oil.
• Winterization. This stage is intended for removing wax-like substances from the oil in the pressure leaf filters.
• Deodorization. The last stage is deodorization, which helps reduce the amount of odorants in oil. During this stage, oil is exposed to hot steam in a vacuum.

The process uses a vegetable oil refining-deodorizing line, which includes various equipment.

Deodorizer

The oil deodorizer is a special piece of equipment used to remove odorants (aromatic substances) from vegetable oils. The deodorizer is a vertical stainless steel apparatus with a bubbler and coils inside.

The oil enters the deodorizer and is heated. The bubbling device feeds hot steam inside, which saturates the oil with bubbles. The bubbles are mixed with odorants and removed from the deodorizer. After the process is completed, the oil is cooled using separate coils and heat exchangers.

Police filter

Police filters are used for additional purification of refined oil from small impurities – filter powder, rubble, rust. The police filter is used after passing the product through the deodorizer.

Police filters have the shape of a cylinder, in which there are inserts made of perforated steel with woven bags for oil filtration. The selectivity of filter bags vary from 5 to 25 μm.

Capacity equipment for oil

Capacity equipment is an integral part of lines for degumming and neutralization, deodorization of oil. Such equipment has various design features, due to which it is divided into the following types:

• tanks with coils inside provide maximum heat exchange between 2 mediums;
• double-wall tanks;
• tanks for heating raw materials with steam;
• tanks with mixing devices;
• tanks for operations under vacuum conditions;
• tanks for long-term liquid storage.

Tanks can be either vertical or horizontal, they are made of stainless steel or carbon steel.

Vertical filters of the brand ВНП (VPL)

Vertical pressure leaf ВНП (VPL) filters are designed for oil purification on bleaching and winterization lines. The filter ВНП (VPL) is a vertical vessel with a removable torospherical cover, which is mounted on a movable rod. Folding bolts allow hermetical closing of the filter. Vertical steel plates (leaves) with 5 layers of mesh are installed inside the filter:

• 1 layer of frame mesh;
• 2 layers of support mesh;
• 2 layers of filter mesh.

The filter mesh can be made of various materials and have different weavings to achieve the required results.

Horizontal filter ГНП (HPL)

Filters ГНП (HPL) – horizontal pressure plate filters – are used to purify vegetable oils on winterization and bleaching lines. It is a horizontal vessel with a removable cover and a bayonet shutter. There are vertical filter plates inside. As in the ВНП (VPL) filters, they consist of 5 layers of steel mesh, the material and weaving of which may differ.

High-quality equipment for the refining of vegetable oil can be ordered from the “TAN” company.