A Guide to the Equipment for Crude Palm Oil Refinery

If you’re exploring palm oil refinery solutions, you’re likely seeking efficient, cost-effective methods for producing high-quality RBD (Refined, Bleached, and Deodorized) palm oil. Understanding the equipment used in crude palm oil refinery is crucial—whether you’re planning a new facility, upgrading existing palm oil refinery equipment, or optimizing production.

The palm oil refinery process typically includes degumming, deacidification, decolorization, and deodorization. Depending on your production goals, you can choose from batch-type, semi-continuous, or full-continuous refinery types. Each refinery type uses specific equipment tailored to different capacities and quality needs.

1. Batch-Type Refinery Equipment

Batch refinery is a semi-automated type in which each stage—degumming, deacidification, decolorization, and deodorization—is performed sequentially in separate vessels. This batch type of crude palm oil refining is specifically designed for small-scale operations (1–20 tons/day), as it offers excellent flexibility and a cost-efficient initial investment.

Key Palm Oil Refinery Equipment:

Degumming Tank: It is used to remove phospholipids (gums) by adding water or acid (e.g., phosphoric acid) under heated conditions.

Deacidification Tank: An alkali (e.g., NaOH) is added to the tank to neutralize free fatty acids (FFA), forming soapstock.

Decolorizing Tank: It is filled with an activated clay to adsorb pigments and impurities.

Plate Filter: It removes spent bleaching earth from the oil and requires manual operation to discharge the filter cake.

Deodorizing Tank: It uses high-vacuum steam stripping to remove volatile odors at temperatures of 240–260°C.

Batch type palm oil refinery equipment

This configuration is ideally suited for small-scale palm oil refinery mills, startups, and those who require flexibility to process different oil seeds, as well as for those seeking a lower initial investment.

2. Semi-Continuous Refinery Equipment

Semi-continuous refinery combines batch and continuous types, in which some steps (e.g., degumming, deacidification) are batch-operated, while others (e.g., decolorizing, deodorizing) are continuously operated. It is suitable for medium-scale mills with a production capacity of 20–50 tons/day.

Key Palm Oil Refinery Equipment:

Degumming & Neutralization Tank: It is a combined vessel designed for adding acid or water and conducting alkali neutralization.

Centrifuge: It separates soapstock from neutralized oil highly efficiently.

Leaf Filter: It is an automated filtration device that uses filter leaves for efficient clay removal.

Deodorization Tower: It enables continuous steam stripping with internal automated packing.

Semi-continuous palm oil refinery equipment

This type is ideal for medium-scale palm oil refinery mills seeking to increase production capacity and mills that are aiming to reduce labor costs through partial automation.

3. Full-Continuous Refinery Equipment

Fully continuous refining is a fully automated, high-capacity type (50+ tons/day) in which all stages operate simultaneously without interruption. It is ideal for large-scale industrial production with strict quality control.

Key Palm Oil Refinery Equipment:

Pre-Heater & Heat Exchanger Equipment: They recover heat from the deodorized oil to preheat the incoming crude oil, significantly improving energy efficiency.

Degumming & Neutralization Equipment:

Pre-Mixer: Combines oil with acid/water or alkali for rapid reaction.

Centrifugal Separator: It continuously removes gums and soapstock from the palm oil.

Decolorizing Equipment:

Pre-Mixer: It blends oil with bleaching earth before the oil enters the bleaching tower.

Decolorizing Tower: It is a tower where oil flows through with heating coils under vacuum conditions.

Polishing Filter: It removes fine particles from the palm oil after bleaching.

Deodorizing Equipment:

High-Pressure Steam Injector: It introduces steam for stripping volatile compounds.

Deodorization Tower: It effectively maximizes the contact area between oil and steam.

Full-cuntinuous palm oil refinery equipment

This advanced configuration is specifically tailored for large-scale palm oil refinery, factories pursuing production efficiency and stable quality, as well as palm oil producers seeking to reduce operating costs through full automation and energy recovery.

If you want to start your own crude palm oil refinery business, please contact Henan Glory. We are dedicated to delivering exceptional service to you.