Soybean oil is the furthermost consumed edible oil in the world. Many companies in the world manufacture this edible oil. As we consume tons of soybean oil over the year, we all should know the soybean oil refining process.
The demand for soybean oil is so high. It has 20% fat and enriched with a lot of protein. In this oil, we can get soya protein, which is the best substitute for animal protein. That’s why vegetarians use this oil as an alternative for animal protein.
Step by Step Soybean Oil Refining Process:
Many processes are using for refining soybean oil over the world. To produce soybean oil, firstly, soybean seeds are cracked for further process. Most manufacturers collect crude oil, which was extracted from soybean seeds. Then they start it to convert to fresh soybean oil.
We are discussing the popular and reliable one which is called Caustic Refining Process:
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1. Degumming:
This is the first step of the soybean oil refining process. The collected crude oil contains a lot of dirt, impurities, and several types of gums, which are mainly phosphatides. These impurities are removed firstly in the degumming section of refining.
There are three types of degumming processes used in this section. These are Water degumming, acid degumming, and enzymatic degumming. In this step, they generally used a tremendous amount of water.
By using these three steps, lit of things are removed. We are giving all of those details to you:
- In the degumming process, hydratable, non-hydratable material is removed.
- Most of the carbohydrates and some proteins partially removed in this process of refining the oil.
- Some hydratable non- glyceridic lipids like phospholipids are partially removed or reduced in this degumming process.
- If phosphoric acid is generated in this step, Chlorophyll is reduced by degumming.
After this first step, that means the degumming process, some impurities are still available in that oil. These are:
- Dirt
- Free Fatty Acids
- Pigments
- Flash Point
- Moisture and Volatiles
- Partial Glycerides
- Phosphatides
- Oxidation Products
- Trace Metals
- Unsaponifiable Matter
These impurities are going to be removed in the next steps.
2. Neutralization of Alkali Refining:
It is the second and of the most important steps of refining soybean oil. In this step, all types of free fatty acids are removed. Crude soybean oil is neutralized by using sodium hydroxide. In this step, some sodium soaps are generated automatically, which can be used for industrial purposes.
Among a lot of things, free fatty acid is mostly dangerous thing that is reduced here. Beside this FFA or free fatty acids, neutralization or alkali refining, the residual phospholipids which also contain significant impurities in crude soybean oil. Crude soybean oil has a bad color.
In this step, producers solve the color problem. Color is a significant issue when you are producing edible oil. If you provide a black, dirty looking edible oil in the market, no one going to buy your oil a and all the efforts that you have given will be failed. Another important thing is also refined in this process. That thing is Proteinaceous materials. Mainly these are the things that are refined in this step.
3. Bleaching:
The main reason for this bleaching process is to refine the color pigments contained in the vegetable oil. Mainly the neutralized and refined oil is heated up in a huge temperature and then apply bleaching clays that actually absorb the color pigments in this oil.
The other impurities can be removed by doing this step. In this step, the conjugated acids are formed, and all of the peroxides are destroyed well. Carotenoids are also extracted in this step. It’s also a great impurity which should be removed. Chlorophyll and its decomposition products, which are poorly mixed in oil by naturally, are also removed in this step.
Some gossypols like pigments are also be removed. In this step, crude soybean oil is primarily processed for being consumable edible oil. Another thing is refined in this step. What are some toxic agents such as polycyclic aromatic, hydrocarbons,etc.? These are the things actually done in the bleaching step. Next step is deodorization.
4. Deodorization:
After doing all filtration and refining, bleached oil is a store for a certain time in a compassionate way. Because the oil in this time is susceptible. An essential quality control process is done in this process.
It’s a steam distillation process in which a huge quantity of steam or vapor is injected in the soybean oil. By injecting steam or vapor in the soybean oil, a lot of impurities have vanished, and it makes the oil odor-free. In this step, the tocopherol content of the oil is considerably reduced.
High temperature is used in this step. It is generally higher than 250°C. Mainly the formation of geometrical isomers happen in this step in sensitive acids. This deodorization forms the linear and cyclic dimmers or polymers. It’s a very important task of refining the soybean oil. The deodorization process reduces or removes a lot of chemicals and impurities.
Mainly the free fatty acids (FFA), peroxide decomposition products, color bodies, and their decomposition products are fully removed by deodorizing the soybean oil. Sterols and sterol esters and mostly important tocopherols are also reduced in this step. The pesticide residues and mycotoxins are entirely removed in this step. In this step, the crude oil is absolutely ready for being consumed.
Conclusion:
Bangladeshi manufacturers don’t produce a huge quantity of soybean oil. Only a few companies (like Bashundhara, Advance chemical Industry) are here who are refining soybean oil. They meet only 8-10% of the whole demand for edible oil in Bangladesh. Mainly it a very complex process.
That’s why producers are demotivated to manufacture soybean oil in Bangladesh. But the good news is now a lot of entrepreneurs are showing interest in manufacturing soybean oil for the development of our economy as well as our country.
In this article, we discussed the soybean oil refining process in a natural way, which might be very helpful for them who want to start a new soybean oil manufacturing business.