4a. Refining
Soap Manufacturing > 4. Raw Materials Treatments
REFINING
The Raw Materials used in Soap Manufacturing can be saponified as they
are in nature, but the major part of time they undergo treatments for many
reasons:
- removal of impurities and free fatty acids
- color changing
- removal of bad odor
The Oil Refining is composed by three processes:
- Refining (chemical or physical)
- Bleaching (physical)
- Deodorization
CHEMICAL
REFINING
The oil is mixed with caustic soda (NaOH, sodium hydroxide). The mixture
is heated, stirred, then separated. This process removes free fatty acids in
form of soap stock, but also removes phospholipids, minerals and impurities. For
removal of alkali traces, oil is washed with hot water.
PHYSICAL
REFINING
Physical refining is a modern process to refine palm oil by distillation
at higher temperature and under vacuum. This process replaces chemical
refining.
The free fatty acids, in form of palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD), is a
by-product that is removed from refined oil during the physical refining
process.