Question

Prehydrogenation of oil neutralization deodorisation

Answer 1

In the early days of the edible oil processing industry, in the first half of the 19th century, there was little or no need for refining. Food fats (e.g. lard, olive oil, milk fat, etc.) were mostly consumed unrefined and their typical flavour was even an attractive characteristic [1]. It was the growth of the margarine industry in Europe at the end of the 19th century that resulted in the development of the edible oil deodorization process (Table 1). At first, industrial deodorizers were mostly batch-type with the ‘Bataille’ and ‘Lurgi’ deodorizers being the most widely used in Europe [1,2] (Fig. 1). These deodorizers operated under vacuum (to facilitate stripping and protect the oil against oxidation) and also used superheated steam as a stripping agent (to avoid hydrolysis).