Winterization Of Rice Bran Oil & Sunflower Oil

For refining products to be bottled as edible oils (e.g. ricebran oil, sunflower seed oil or corn oil) winterization is required to achieve the necessary cold stability. Winterization prevents crystallization and clouding of the waxes contained in the oil at ambient temperature.

The K-TEK`s winterization plant operates continuously. The process sections are cooling, crystallization and filtration. The winterization is a technological process for removal of non- cold resistant stearines and waxes of vegetable oil. These higher melting glycerides give reason to turbidity, when the oil is exposed to temperatures below 10°C. The oil is slowly cooled so that the stearines and waxes crystallize and can be filtered out.

This process is similar to dewaxing, but it is destined to separate the solid triglycerides contained in a refined oil, instead of waxes.

In the winterization process the oil is cooled by heat exchange with cold water to a temperature between approx. 2 and 3°C. Crystals causing oil clouding are formed during a mature period of up to 24 hours and are subsequently separated.