Full Analysis of Batch Type Sunflower Oil Refining Equipment

For small and medium-sized sunflower oil producers, choosing refining equipment that balances cost, flexibility and quality is critical for starting and growing your business. That’s why Henan Glory’s batch-type sunflower oil refining equipment is ideal for you—it offers flexibility, simple operation and lower initial investment, efficiently turning crude sunflower oil into high-quality refined oil. Let’s dive into details of this batch type sunflower oil refining equipment.

How does batch type sunflower oil refining equipment complete the sunflower oil refining process?

Degumming: Its core role is to remove phospholipids (gums) from crude oil—this prevents emulsification during subsequent processing and avoids oil spoilage. To achieve this, crude oil is first mixed with water or phosphoric acid to hydrate the gums; the hydrated gums are then separated from the oil via centrifugation. The equipment needed for this section includes a degumming tank, and a centrifuge or decanter.

Neutralization: This section focuses on eliminating free fatty acids (FFAs) in crude oil, as FFAs cause undesirable flavors and shorten the oil’s shelf life. The process involves treating the oil with a caustic soda (NaOH) solution; the FFAs react with the alkali to form soapstock, which is then separated from the oil. Key equipment here includes a neutralizing tank, caustic soda solution tank, mixer, and a centrifuge or settling tanks.

Decolorization: It addresses pigment-related issues (e.g., chlorophyll, carotenoids) that affect the sunflower oil’s appearance and quality. The oil is heated under vacuum first, then mixed with bleaching earth or activated carbon—these adsorbents trap the pigments. After adsorption, the spent adsorbents are filtered out. The required equipment includes a bleaching tower, clay feeding tank, and a plate filter.

Deodorization: Its goal is to remove volatile compounds (such as aldehydes and ketones) that cause off-flavors and odors, thereby improving the oil’s taste and smell. The process uses steam distillation: the oil is heated under vacuum, and steam is injected to strip away the odor-causing compounds. This section relies on a deodorizer tower, vacuum system, and steam injector.

Batch type sunflower oil refining equipment

Dewaxing (optional): This step is mainly for markets in cold climates, as it removes waxes that make sunflower oil cloudy at low temperatures. The oil is cooled slowly to allow waxes to crystallize, and the crystallized waxes are then filtered out. Equipment needed includes a crystallizer, maturing tank, and a drum vacuum filter.

Dewaxing machine for sunflower oil refining

Polishing & filtering: It further improves the oil’s clarity by removing residual suspended particles. The oil undergoes a final filtration process using polishing filters or vacuum filtration systems.

Storage & packaging: After refining, the oil needs to be stored safely before distribution. First, the refined oil is stored in tanks; when ready for market, it is packaged into bottles, drums, or bulk containers.

What are the characteristics of batch type sunflower oil refining equipment?

This batch type sunflower oil refining equipment is mainly applicable to production scenarios with a capacity of ≤20TPD, and its advantages and disadvantages are distinct.

Advantages:

1)Low investment cost, friendly to small-scale operations.

2)Simple and flexible operation, suitable for frequent replacement of multiple crude oil varieties.

Disadvantages:

1)Low oil yield with high loss.

2)Low work efficiency.

3)Unstable product quality, greatly affected by the operator's technical level.

In addition to batch type sunflower oil refining equipment, Henan Glory can also provide you with semi-continuous or fully continuous sunflower oil refining equipment with a processing capacity of up to 1,000TPD. If you are planning to purchase sunflower oil refining equipment or build your own edible oil refinery, please feel free to contact us.