CONTINUOUS PHYSICAL REFINING PLANT

COST-EFFECTIVE, ROBUST DESIGN

At Oiltek Sdn Bhd, we know every edible oil refiner has individual needs. So, we offer our refining plants in a range of designs.

Our Continuous Physical Refining Plant provides least cost physical refining for medium to high volume processor.

Ease of operation means your plant runs under optimal conditions for greatest productivity. And our generous equipment sizing and robust specification give reliable operation day after day, year after year.

OILTEK CONTINUOUS PHYSICAL REFINING PROCESS

Crude edible oils contain a variety of undesirable impurities comprising :

• Naturally occuring compounds (e.g. phosphatides, pigments)

• Contaminants (e.g. metals)

• Degradation products (e.g. peroxides, aldehydes, ketones, fatty acids, fixed pigments)

Phosphatides and metals may be present as problematic gums.

Transforming these oils into quality food products requires a manifold approach. Our Continuous Physical Refining Plant integrates three specialised processes to produce a pure, stable, refined edible oil that is bright and lightly coloured and free of odour and taste.

Dry Degumming

Incoming crude oil from storage is continually heated to degumming temperature by outgoing refined oil, or by preheater during start-up. Food grade acid is constantly dosed and mixed with the oil.

The oil-acid mixture flows to a degumming vessel. There, on contact with the acid, gums in the oil decompose to liberate phosphatides and metals, which are removed during adsorption bleaching.

Adsorption Bleaching

Degummed oil continues to a slurry tank under vacuum. Bleaching earth is concurrently metered to the slurry tank to form a slurry of oil and earth.

This slurry flows through a two-stage bleacher vessel. In the first stage, the slurry is heated to bleaching temperature. In the second stage, the bleaching reaction proceed and impurities, such as metals, phosphatides, pigments and peroxides are trapped on the earth or decompose.

The slurry is continually discharge from the bleacher through the bleaching earth and polishing filters, which separate the earth and its trapped impurities from the oil.

Deodorisation

Bleached oil is further de-aerated. It is then heated to deodorising temperature in two steps, firstly by outgoing refined oil, or start-up heater, and secondly by high-pressure steam generator. The oil flows under high vacuum through two vessels:

• The flash vessel, where around 1/3 of fatty acids evaporate from the oil

• The deodoriser, which features an integrated pocked-column tower. Here, impurities such as aldehydes, ketones and fatty acids are stripped from the oil by steam and remaining carotenoid pigments decompose.

The oil is continually discharge from the deodoriser and cooled in three steps by bleeched oil, incoming crude oil and cooling water. Antioxidant may be dosed and then the refined oil sent to storage.

Fatty acids leaving the deodoriser in the vacuum vapour mixture are condensed in a scrubber into fatty acid distillate for other applications.

DESIGNED FOR LOW COST OPERATION

Oiltek's Continuous Physical Refining Plants have design features that increase your return on investment while delivering the quality you need :

For medium to large processors, continuous refining is cost effective

Degumming with our dynamic mixer at 85ºC increases contact between the crude oil and the degumming acid and increases degumming efficiency.

Our Products
Palm Biodiesel Plat  |  Dry Fractionation   |   Neutralization   |   Interesterification Plant   |   Process Equipment   |   
Continuous Physical Refining Plant   |   Split Column Physical Refining Plant   |   
Chemetator   |   Hydrogenation