Mectech Vegetable Oil Refining Plant Brings Efficiency & Greater Returns

In its crude form, the oil is permeated with impurities, that must be eliminated not only to make it edible, but also to enhance the color, texture and taste and prevent rancidity. The multi stage process that eliminates these impurities & attracts consumers with taste and acceptability to earn greater returns is called refining. The crude oil must necessarily undergo the refining process to remove the inherently harmful elements for human consumption including free fatty acids (FFA), gums, sediments, odoriferous and coloring materials present to make the oil edible. 

Some of the impurities present in the Oil are: 

Gums: These phospholipids are of two types: hydratable and non-hydratable. The Hydratable gums are eliminated during degumming process.  

Hydrolysis Products of Oils:  Diglycerides and monoglycerides and free fatty acids are produced during hydrolysis and are removed during neutralization . 

Proteineous Matter, Carbohydrates, Resins: Are eliminated during neutralization step. 

Pigments : Coloring Matter including  chlorophyll (green colour) carotene (red colour), anthophyll (yellow colour) and gossypol (orange colour) impart distinctive  colour to the oil and need to be  removed. 

Odorous Chemicals: Occurring in small quantities, their presence makes the product detestable by imparting pungent and even unacceptable odour. These volatile substances are removed during deodorization. 

Waxes:  Waxes are characterized as  high melting esters of fatty alcohol with long chain fatty acids  are eliminated through  dewaxing . 

MECTECH undertakes the multiple steps needed – often in combination at all the stages. After undergoing the process of neutralization, bleaching and deodorization, the oil is made safe and fit for human intake. Through inimitable innovation and customization, value adds optimization into each process to enhance the processes and returns. 

The various steps undertaken for refining vegetable oils are:  

  

Degumming / Neutralization 

The process of eliminating the embedded phospholipids in order to enhance its physical stability and facilitate further refining is called degumming. Phospholipids turn the oil lead dark and even off -flavor. Free fatty acids, pigments and other impurities are also partially removed by degumming. 

  

Mectech has revolutionized the degumming processes by incremental enhancements. These processes are customized according to the methods of processing, chemicals used and the content of phosphatides in the crude vegetable oil.  

  

Continuous Bleaching 

“Bleaching” is  the  selective elimination  of pigments and impurities through interacting it  physically  and chemically with  an adsorbent in order  to enhance  its quality. It eliminates various impurities like Color pigments, Dirt, Trace metals, Removal of polycyclic Aromatic compounds, Phospholipids. 

  

MECTECH's customized design of bleacher eliminates the need for mechanical agitation. Hence bleaching is accomplished under optimum conditions of moisture content to achieve perfect results ensuring power consumption saving for the entire system. 

With the absence of mechanically agitated bleacher, the quality of oil improves due to lack leakages from gland system. It also eliminates maintenance costs arising out of  wear and tear as the  Mectech bleacher is maintenance free. 

Mectech’s customized bleacher also ensures that the bleaching earth remains under suspension thus avoiding dead areas, resulting  in lower consumption of bleaching earth. Moreover, due to the  bleaching process being  executed  under controlled parameters, better and consistent quality of resultant oil is guaranteed, that is crucial to its marketability.  

Deodorization 

In this vacuum stripping process, a given amount of a stripping agent (usually steam) is passed for a given period of time through hot oil at a low pressure. The physical process removes various volatile components. The customized Mectech designed oil-to-oil heat exchanger fitted in the last tray of Deodorizer is optimally efficient to ensure minimum heat energy requirement. The elaborate and efficient design of fatty acid scrubbing recovery system ensures virtually no transfer of fatty acid into barometric condenser. The most custom designed heating coil by Mectech prevents charring of oil during the process.