Edible Oil Degumming Process

Are you looking to maximize your oil refining efficiency and improve the quality of your final product? In an industrial oil refining plant, degumming is the critical first step.

Crude oil obtained from screw pressing or solvent extraction contains impurities like phospholipids, proteins, and sugars. These elements react with triglycerides to form colloids, commonly known as gum impurities. If left untreated, these gums compromise oil stability, increase oil loss during downstream refining, and darken the final oil color.

As a leading edible oil machinery manufacturer, Huatai Oil Machinery designs state-of-the-art oil refining plant degumming systems tailored to boost your factory’s yield and profitability.

Why is the Degumming Process Crucial for Edible Oil Refining?

Skipping or poorly executing the degumming process triggers a chain reaction of inefficiencies in your refinery line:

Increases Refine Loss: Non-degummed oil easily forms emulsified oil during the chemical deacidification (alkali refining) stage, drastically increasing neutral oil loss and chemical consumption.
Reduces Bleaching Efficiency: Residual gums coat the active sites of bleaching earth (adsorbent), driving up your production costs and lowering color-removal effectiveness.
Blocks Equipment: Gums char and carbonize under the high temperatures of the deodorization tower, causing severe equipment fouling and downtime.

Technical Principle: How Hydrated Degumming Works

While there are several methods (including acid refining, adsorption, and electropolymerization), hydrated degumming is the most widely adopted and cost-effective method in commercial edible oil production.

The Working Principle

Phospholipids and other gum impurities are naturally hydrophilic (water-attracting). The hydrated degumming process utilizes this characteristic through precise engineering:

Mixing & Hydration: Hot water or an electrolyte aqueous solution (such as food-grade phosphoric acid or salt) is precisely metered and aggressively blended into the heated crude oil using high-shear mixers.
Condensation & Aggregation: Over a specific reaction period, the gums absorb water, swell, and agglomerate into heavy colloidal particles.
Separation: Leveraging density differences, the heavy condensed gums settle out or are accelerated away via high-speed centrifugal disc separators.

Value-Added Tip: The extracted gums are rich in phospholipids and can be processed into valuable commercial lecithin for food additives, animal feed, or technical applications, creating an extra revenue stream for your plant.

Technical Parameters & Temperature Configurations

The efficiency of a hydrated degumming machine depends highly on precise temperature and water ratios. Our systems support three optimized operation modes based on your oil type:

Hydration Type	Operating Temperature	Water / Solution Ratio (W)	Best Applied For
Low-Temperature	$20^\circ\text{C} - 30^\circ\text{C}$	$W = (0.5 - 1) \times G$	Special small-scale artisanal oils
Medium-Temperature	$60^\circ\text{C} - 65^\circ\text{C}$	$W = (2 - 3) \times G$	Standard bulk oils (Soybean, Sunflower)
High-Temperature	$85^\circ\text{C} - 95^\circ\text{C}$	$W = (3 - 3.5) \times G$	High-gum crude oils / Continuous refining

(Note: $G$ represents the total weight of the gum impurities inside the crude oil.)

Tailored Refinery Solutions for Every Production Scale

Huatai’s degumming systems can be seamlessly integrated with deacidification, decolorization (bleaching), and deodorization machines to build a highly efficient oil purification production line. We classify our setups into three types depending on your daily production target:

Batch / Intermittent Type ( $1 - 10 \text{ TPD}$ ): Best for small-scale mills or specialty oils. Low initial investment, flexible operation, and small footprint.
Semi-Continuous Type ( $20 - 50 \text{ TPD}$ ): Ideal for medium-sized growing factories. Offers a balanced blend of automation and cost-efficiency.
Fully Continuous Type ( $> 50 \text{ TPD}$ ): Engineered for large-scale industrial oil plants. Features fully automated PLC/DCS control, minimal labor costs, and maximum thermal energy recovery.

Why Choose Huatai’s Oil Refining Plant Degumming Equipment?

With over 36 years of expertise in grain and oil machinery manufacturing, Henan Huatai Cereals and Oils Machinery Co., Ltd. delivers engineering excellence that guarantees market success.

High-Shear Intimate Mixing: Advanced disc mixers ensure chemical solutions disperse into micro-droplets, achieving comprehensive gum aggregation with zero blind spots.
Advanced Centrifugal Separation: High-speed disc stack centrifuges provide maximum separation force, lowering neutral oil content in soapstock/gums to an absolute minimum.
Premium Materials & Build Quality: All corrosive-contact zones feature premium SUS316L stainless steel, precisely welded and passivated to ensure decades of failure-free operation under high vacuum and heat.
Global EPC Service: From 3D plant layout design and custom machinery manufacturing to on-site installation, commissioning, and staff training, Huatai provides a true turn-key solution.

Get a Customized Oil Degumming Solution & Free Budget Analysis Today!

Are you planning to upgrade your existing refinery or build a new edible oil production plant? Contact Huatai’s engineering experts to get your tailored processing layout and competitive quote.

Email: info05@cnoilmachine.com
Phone/WhatsApp: +86 18337263319
Address: Xiangjiang Road, Industry Zone, Hua County, Henan Province, China