Obtaining refined soybean oil

Vegetable oils are natural products derived from various raw materials and used as
such in the diet.
In general, edible oils are characterized by light color, often predominantly
yellow, they have no taste, no smell and acidity expressed in oleic acid is less than 1%.
The paper is divided into two parts: technical documentation and technological
dimensions.
The introduction presents a brief history of the raw material from which the oil is
produced, soybeans, the major manufacturers worldwide and the European norms
that regulate product quality standards.
The first part continues with the raw materials and the technologies used in soybean oil
production.
The

technology

for

obtaining

crude

oil

include

the

following:

a. preparation of materials processing: cleaning, drying, and grinding;

b. hydrothermal treatment (roasting);
c. pressing the grind;
d. solvent extraction;
a. Preparation of seed for processing is aimed at bringing their optimum processing
parameters. At this stage the seeds are separated from impurities, dried up to a
maximum of 10% humidity, peeled and crushed by drum.
b. The hydrothermal treatment or wet roasting involves two stages: a stage where the
grind is moistened to a relative humidity of 13% and a second stage where the
grinds humidity is reduced to 6%. Roasting is performed in specially designed
roasters, the most common being Escher-Wyss Roaster with a fluid bed.
c. The pressing is the operation in which the oil is separated form the oleogenic
grind by external forces, resulting the crude oil and the broken. The most often
used press is TPU-225.
d. Solvent oil extraction is a typical mass transfer operation carried out by
solubilization oil into a solvent, in which the other components are insoluble.

Diffusion plays the major role in extraction. Diffusion may be molecular and
convective.
The crude oil thus obtained is refined. By refining, the crude oil is processed in terms
of quality and preservation in edible oil.
The main operations of oil refining are:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

degumming
neutralization
bleaching
winterizing
deodorizing

a. The degumming of oil purpose is the elimination of phosphatides,

proteins and carbohydrates. The best methods for eliminating phosphatides are the
hydration method, the acid method and the enzymatic method.
b. In neutralization, the remaining free fatty acids, phosphatides and other
components like the poetic grist, glycerins, carbohydrates, resins, metals and
pigments are eliminated. The neutralization of free fatty acids can be conducted
with various methods, depending on the acidity of the oil: alkaline, distillant or
esterification.
c. Bleaching eliminates the natural pigments (chlorophyll, carotene, xantifile), the
secondary pigments (melano-phosphidic complexes) formed in the broken and in
the oil. The bleaching can be done by two means: physical and chemical.
d. Winterisation is the process in which the waxes and the glycerides of unsaturated
fatty acids which crystalise at 15-200C and cause a clouding of the oil are
eliminated.
e. Deodorizing is the process that eliminates the unwanted odor and taste
components. Secondary deodorizing is also performed in other processes (alkaline
neutralisation, bleaching).
The second part contains the materials balance for each operation step, total
material balance, heat balance for operations involving heat transfer, sizeing of main
equipments and economic considerations.