What Makes Soybean Oil Extraction Efficient and Effective?

Soybean oil contains about 20% oil, which is relatively low compared to other oilseeds. Additionally, the residual oil rate in pressing is relatively high. For large-scale soybean oil processing plants, this leads to wasted oil resources, and the residual oil affects the quality of soybean meal, causing difficulties in subsequent processing. Therefore, soybean oil processing plants often use extraction equipment to produce soybean oil.

Since the oil content in soybeans is low, a single extraction process is sufficient to efficiently extract the oil. The residual oil in extracted soybean meal is extremely low, making it suitable for applications in soybean protein extraction, animal feed, and other industries. The oil foot obtained through refining can also be used to extract lecithin for pharmaceutical applications. These products are more valuable than soybean oil itself, making soybean oil a byproduct of production. This is one reason why extracted soybean oil tends to be priced lower than other edible oils in the market.

Oil Processing Equipment Needed for Soybean Oil Extraction

Before extraction, the raw material must undergo pre-treatment, including cleaning, de-stoning, crushing, flaking, and steaming. The purpose of pre-treatment is to remove impurities, break the cell structure, and regulate moisture and temperature to enhance oil extraction efficiency. At this stage, vibrating cleaning screens, de-stoners, crushers, flaking machines, steam cookers, and complete soybean oil extraction equipment are required.

During extraction, the oilseeds come into full contact with the solvent, which extracts the oil from the material, forming a mixture. By utilizing differences in boiling points between oil and solvent, the mixed oil undergoes evaporation and stripping, where the solvent vaporizes and separates from the oil. The solvent vapor is then channeled into a condenser for recovery and recycling. After separation from the solvent, crude extracted soybean oil is obtained.

Crude oil contains mechanical impurities as well as phospholipids, proteins, free fatty acids, pigments, and odor compounds. These impurities contribute to rancidity, oxidation, and degradation, affecting oil color, flavor, and safety. Simple filtration is insufficient for removal, so refining equipment is necessary to purify the oil and enhance its quality.

Soybean oil refining includes key processes such as degumming, deacidification, dehydration, decolorization, deodorization, and dewaxing—commonly known as the "six refining steps." After undergoing this refining process, edible oil meets national standards for sale in the market or can be blended with other edible oils to create mixed oil products. Choosing the right extraction equipment and a reputable manufacturer is crucial to ensuring reliable production. Potential buyers are encouraged to visit Huatai Oil Machinery for inspection and selection.