The process from crude palm oil to refined palm oil
Palm oil is one of the most widely used vegetable oils in the world, which is widely used in many fields such as food, cosmetics and biofuels. In order to improve its quality and applicability, crude palm oil usually needs refining process. This paper will briefly introduce the key steps from crude palm oil to refined palm oil(palm oil refinery).
First of all, crude palm oil is obtained by pressing palm fruit. Although this oil can be used, it usually contains impurities and free fatty acids, which will affect its taste, color and shelf life. Therefore, the primary task of refining process is to remove these unnecessary components.
The refining process usually includes the following steps:
1. Degumming: This is the first step of refining, aiming at removing phospholipids and other colloidal substances. By heating and adding water or acid, these impurities can be condensed and precipitated, so as to be removed.
2. Deacidification: This step aims to remove free fatty acids, which will lead to deterioration of oil products. Usually, the free fatty acids are converted into soap by alkali neutralization, and then removed by centrifugal separation.
3. Decolorization: The color of crude palm oil is dark, and the pigment can be removed by adsorbents (such as activated clay), making the oil more transparent and light-colored.
4. Deodorization: In order to improve the odor, steam distillation will be carried out in the refining process to remove volatile odor substances. This step ensures that the smell of the final product is fresher.
5. Separation: In some cases, in order to obtain specific oil characteristics, it may be necessary to carry out separation process. By controlling the temperature and cooling rate, the solid fat can be separated from the liquid to obtain different melting points and textures.
After these steps, crude palm oil is transformed into refined palm oil, and its quality is significantly improved, which is more suitable for cooking, food processing and other industrial applications. The refined palm oil is not only more attractive in color and smell, but also has a longer shelf life.
In a word, the process from crude palm oil to refined palm oil is a series of complex and delicate processes, which ensure the safety, stability and diversity of products to meet the different needs of the market.