Process for purifying vegetable oil

摘要

The present invention relates to improved methods for refining vegetable oils and byproducts thereof. In an organic acid refining process, vegetable oil is combined with a dilute aqueous organic acid solution and subjected to high shear to finely disperse the acid solution in the oil. The resulting acid-and-oil mixture is mixed at low shear for a time sufficient to sequester contaminants into a hydrated impurities phase, producing a purified vegetable oil phase.