For years vegetable and edible oil refineries have been using spectrophotometers, colorimeters and turbidimeters in the lab to analyze process samples. Samples must be pulled from the process, brought into the lab, and then tested to ensure proper product specification. Real-time measurements eliminate the delay in getting results and thus avoiding costly rework of product inadvertently processed out of spec.
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These measurements can be made inline, real-time with optek process colorimeters and turbidimeters. Monitoring processes such as winterization, bleaching, hydrogenation, and finished oil quality can be greatly improved with the use of these inline colorimeters and turbidimeters. Out of spec product is immediately detected allowing you to make proper process adjustments quickly, avoiding costly product reworking.
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Vegetable Oil Refining Benefits |
- Improve Vegetable and Edible Oil Quality
- Reduce Bleaching Clay Usage
- Conserve Nickel Catalyst
- Continuous Process Control
- Eliminate Human Interpretation Errors
- Exact Dosage of Used Supplements
- Timely Intervention at Process Changes
- Reduced Product Loss
- Higher Product Yields
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| Process Color Measurements for Quality Control |
Process color measurements are important both after the bleaching and filtration process and as a final quality check after deodorization just prior to tank storage. Optek dual channel colorimeter’s output can be correlated to a number of color scales including AOCS,APHA and Hazen. Inline measurements provide process control of the refining and bleaching processes.
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| Control of Chlorophyll Concentration |
The concentration of chlorophyll varies in oilseeds. Large amounts of chlorophyll reduce the shelf life of vegetable and other edible oils. Oils with higher concentrations of chlorophyll generally require an extra processing step where the oil is heated to break down the chlorophyll. Monitoring oil in the pipeline before it is sent to the bleaching process allows you to divert high chlorophyll concentrated oil through the extra heating process while low chlorophyll concentrated oil moves into the bleaching process. Optek dual channel colorimeters are capable of measuring chlorophyll concentrations < 30 ppb (parts per billion), all real-time and inline with high precision and repeatability.
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| Bleaching and Filtration |
The bleaching process can be optimized very effectively using optek turbidimeters. Monitoring the oil as it enters the slurry tank allows you to control the amount of bleaching clay being added into the slurry. By implementing a turbidimeter on the filtrate stream of the bleaching filters, the filtration process can be automatically set to a recycle mode until the desired clarity is achieved. Additionally, filtrate monitoring will immediately detect filter breaks and track filter performance – an excellent tool for quality assurance and quality control.
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| Hydrogenation |
Hydrogenation of oils is done to give the finished oil a higher melting temperature and better oxidation stability, improving the product’s resistance to spoilage. Generally, nickel-based catalysts are used in this process. Once the hydrogenation is complete, the nickel catalysts must be filtered off. Filtering off the catalyst can be controlled by an optek turbidimeter capable of detecting very low catalyst concentrations, thus reducing the loss of nickel catalyst and optimizing the filtration process while ensuring final product quality.
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| Vegetable Oil Refining Summary |
Using optek inline colorimeters and turbidimeters throughout the vegetable and edible oil processing minimizes sampling and timely lab testing, while recording measurements inline and in real-time. Operating costs are greatly reduced due to reduced losses, downtime, and reworking. Optek inline measurements can improve filtration throughput, reduce re-circulation time and reduce usage of filtration agents like bleaching clay and nickel catalyst.
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