Soyabean oil is a refined form of vegetable oil, extracted from soya seeds, majorly used for the purpose of cooking.
The extraction process of soya bean oil from the seeds of the soya bean plant involves a series of steps, the process could be divided into two main types. The mechanical method, where the extraction is done using the screw press machine to squeeze oil out from seeds and kernels, the other way is the Chemical method that extracts oil with solvents.
A series of steps such as cleaning, extraction, purification, refining, etc., follow these processes to finally obtain a refined form of the soya bean oil.
Below we have listed all the processes in detail along with their possible way to approach the final product;
Raw material selection:
the first and foremost step towards obtaining a refined form of a healthy soybean cooking oil is to select the best in quality and highest order, healthy soyabean seeds.
By selecting the very best quality soya bean seeds we ensure safe and healthy production of the oil from our manufacturing units at every step(initial to final).
Cleaning:
the obtained soya bean seeds are then cleaned thoroughly for any unwanted impurities. Dried and then dehulled before sending for the extraction process. The hulls are removed as they tend to absorb oil and hence give a lower yield. The cleaning is done at the initial stages to ensure a hygienic procurement of soyabean oil.
Extraction:
The soybeans are first sliced into flakes, which are then added to a percolation extractor and submerged in a solvent, which is usually hexane. Due to its high yield, counterflow is employed as an extraction system.
The extracted flakes, which are used to make soy protein or livestock feed once the hexane is removed, only contain about 1% soybean oil. Evaporators are used to extract the hexane from the soybean oil. Hexane that has evaporated is collected and added back to the extraction procedure. The crude soybean oil without hexane is then further refined.
Purification:
the crude soya bean oil then obtained, contains ample of impurities(both oil-soluble and oil-insoluble), which are supposed to be removed. The insoluble impurities are removed by the means of filtration and the oil-soluble impurities are excluded from the oil by means of degumming(removal of phosphatides).
After the removal of impurities, the oil still needs to be processed further for the production of a refined form of the oil.
Refining:
In order to improve oil stability and purity, the refining technique involves removing impurities from the oil. Soya oil refining can be used to guarantee the procurement of the highest quality oils at a variety of lower costs.
After the process of refining, the final step is to send the freshly refined oil for packaging. The refined soyabean oil is packed in pouches, bottles, cans, and containers of different capacities.
The next and final step is to send the packed oil containers for sale in the markets.