Sunflower Oil
Its high proportion of valuable linoleic acid has steadily increased the importance of sunflower oil in recent decades. As a result, bigger and bigger sunflower fields are appearing in Western Europe generally, as well as in the countries in which it is traditionally grown, such as Russia, Argentina, Rumania, Hungary or Turkey. The kernel makes up about 70 percent of the seed – with an oil content of about 55 percent, the linoleic acid content is heavily dependent on climatic conditions.
Cold-refining using separators from GEA Westfalia Separator is a tried and tested method of obtaining sunflower oil. This process combines neutralization and dewaxing to guarantee a high-quality end product.
In order to obtain a high-quality sunflower oil, the crude oil must have waxes as well as gums removed. In the finished product, these waxes would crystallize at low temperatures and make the oil turbid. In order to guarantee stability to cold (e. g. for storage in a refrigerator), the waxes are removed in the refining process. Cold-refining has the advantage that dewaxing can be combined with neutralization of the free fatty acids. Before coldrefining starts, however, decanters and separators from GEA Westfalia Separator have already performed important steps in pre-treating the crude oil.
Process line for recovering and refining sunflower oil using the example of cold-refining
A decanter is used to remove coarse solids from the pressed oil. In turn, a separator is responsible for separating the hydrated gums from the water degumming process. Cold-refining is then started. Following neutralization of the free fatty acids and crystallization of the waxes, another separator is charged with separating the soapstock and waxes from the crude oil. Once the heated crude oil has been washed, the wash water is separated by a further separator. In the final process steps, the sunflower oil is then vacuum-dried, bleached and deodorized.