Canola oil is a vegetable oil derived from Rapeseed that is low in erucic acid. It has a relatively low amount of saturated fat and a substantial amount of monounsaturated fat with roughly a 2:1 mono to polyunsaturated fats ratio.

Despite being GM oil, canola oil scores high for coronary health as it contains less saturated fat than any other oil. It is higher in the omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) which is important to intake in the diet.

Crude Groundnut Oil Composition

Particulars Parameters
Free Fatty Acid (as oleic acid) 0.4 – 1.2%
Iodine Value 105 - 120
Unsaponifiable Matters 0.5 – 1.2
Tocopherols 700 – 1200 PPM
Sulfur 3 – 25 PPM
Chlorophylls 5 – 50 PPM

Objectives of Refining

  • Removal of undesired products from crude oils.
  • Free fatty acids (FFA), Phospholipids (gums), Oxidized products, Metal ions, and Colour pigments.
  • Preservation of valuable vitamins. (Vitamin E or tocopherol – natural antioxidants)
  • Minimize oil losses
  • Protection the oil against degradation

Fatty Acid Composition

Refining of Canola Oil

Canola oil is refined by an alkali neutralization process in our canola oil plant which undergoes in following steps.

Alkali Refining

Canola oil is refined by the alkali neutralization process which undergoes in following steps.

  • GUMS Conditioning & Neutralization: Transformation of the non-hydratable phospholipids into their hydratable form by breaking down the metal/ phosphatide complexes with a strong acid followed by alkali treatment to neutralize the fatty acids and removal of soap by centrifuge.
  • Washing: Removal of residual soaps by treatment with hot water and separation with centrifugal separator
  • Drying: Removal of moisture under vacuum.

Bleaching of Canola Oil

“Bleaching” is a process of selective removal of pigments and impurities by the physical and chemical interaction of an adsorbent with an oil or fat to improve its quality undertaken in a canola oil plant.

This process refers to the art of removing:

  • Colour pigments
  • Dirt, Trace metals
  • Removal of polycyclic Aromatic compounds
  • Phospholipids

Mectech Advantage

  • Mectech's unique design of bleacher requires no mechanical agitation and bleaching is carried out under optimum conditions of moisture content to achieve perfect results.
  • This gives a saving of power consumption for the system.
  • Low bleaching earth consumption
  • Phospholipids

Deodorization of Canola Oil

Deodorization is a multi-step process comprising

  • De-aeration
  • Heating
  • Deodorization cum De-acidification
  • Cooling

Pre-treated oil is processed in our canola oil plant to remove the odour, fatty acids and other micro constituents. Deodorization is essentially a steam distillation process whereby volatile odoriferous components like free fatty acids and flavoured substances are stripped from the relatively non-volatile oil at temperatures below those damaging the oil.

Deodorization helps in eliminating many off-flavors and off-colors in the feed. Deacidification-cum-Deodorization is carried out at 230 – 250°C under a high vacuum of the order of 1.5 torr with sparging steam for about 60 minutes. This makes the oil free from odoriferous compounds and free fatty acids.

Specification of Refined Canola Oil

Particulars Parameters
Free Fatty Acid (as oleic acid) <0.05%
Moisture Below Measurable limit
Peroxide Value 0 In freshly refined oil

Mectech Advantage

  • The Most efficiently designed oil-to-oil heat exchanger fitted in the last tray of the Deodorizer ensures minimum heat energy requirement.
  • Elaborate and efficient design of the fatty acid scrubbing recovery system ensures virtually no carry-over fatty acid into the barometric condenser.
  • Most efficiently designed heating coil which prevents to charring of oil during the process.
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