To be put on sale, seed oil must undergo a refining process because the free fatty acid contained in the crude oil poses problems both during storage and during the subsequent use of the oil.
It must therefore be neutralized with an alkali that will then be eliminated later.
Deacidification occurs by adding an alkaline solution to the crude oil in a quantity sufficient to neutralize the free fatty acids: by subjecting the solution to cavitation, with the EMPOWERING DEVICE the free fats saponify and are removed once decanted.
Through this process, the content of free fatty acids can be reduced to 0.01%-0.03% and the phospholipid is equal to approximately 0.0015%.
Furthermore, cavitation allows the formation of surface foam that absorbs the impurities and pigments left by hydration and degumming in the oil, thus contributing to the oil refining process.
Once saponification has taken place, the oil is heated to 90°C and hot water is added for washing and final agitation.
The water will be removed by dehydration.
Several hot water washing cycles may be necessary depending on the quality of the oil.
Depending on the needs, the oil may or may not be subjected to a bleaching cycle which occurs by adding a specific bleaching agent (white clay, activated carbon) in variable quantities but between 2 and 4% of the volume of the oil.
The bleaching agent will be removed by filtration.
The bleached oil is subjected to deodorization: this process is carried out by steam distillation which consists in the elimination of odorous substances by means of hot water vapor.
At the end, when the temperature of the oil drops to around 60-80°C, the refined oil production process is considered complete.
