Special refining of low-grade oils for food and fuel consumption.

Andrea Bernardini Commercial Director, Technoilogy, Italy

Low quality oils for food consumption require a proper Refining process which differs from the standard ones used for good quality oils. Low quality oils are in fact characterized by high levels of FFA and/or the presence of contaminants that can affect the quality of the final product or be harmful for health. Typical examples of dangerous contaminants are organic compounds like 3-MCPD and GE, which are formed during the Refining process. In 2018, the European Commission issued a new regulation on the maximum levels of 3-MCPD and GE in vegetable and animal oils and fats, with particularly challenging levels for the production of Infant formula products.

Technoilogy explains its newly patented “Organic Dechlorination” technology for the removal of organic compounds in low quality oils. We then analyse how this technology is also successfully applied to low-grade oils used as feedstock for Biofuels Production.

Today, when speaking of fuel consumption, low grade oils are intended as non-food oils as most of global oil corporations are now turning toward sustainable feedstock such as waste oils and fats. But using waste feedstock for Biofuels Production requires – like for food applications – a Special Treatment capable of removing the contaminants that would affect the quality of the fuel or/and lead to the poisoning of the catalysts.

Technoilogy’s “Organic Dechlorination” is the only existing technology that drastically reduces the organic chlorine content in waste feedstock and therefore consent to preserve the metallurgic part of the plant from corrosion.