Simulation of continuous deodorizers: Effects on product streams

This work deals with the simulation of deodorization, one important process in the edible oil industry related to the removal of odoriferous compounds. The deodorizer was modeled as a multicomponent stripping-column in cross-flow and countercurrent flow. The impact of processing parameters on the quality of the product streams was analyzed. The deodorization of soybean and canola oils (plant scale) and wheat germ oil (lab-scale) was studied under typical ranges of temperature, stripping steam rate, and pressure. Their entire compositions were considered within the simulations, including acylglycerols, FFA, and other key components such as tocopherols and sterols. The deodorization results were analyzed in terms of retention of tocopherol and sitosterol and of neutral oil loss to the distillate. The deodorizer modeling considered Murphree efficiencies and entrainment for each plate. A case study, i.e., the deodorization of soybean oil, illustrated the applicability of our modeling.