By using the existing caustic refining system with a minimum modification and by using a combination of various emulsifiers(0.2 % sodium hexametaphosphate, 0.05 % sodium lauryl sulfate and 0.001 % dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate), a new economical dewaxing process for sunflower seed oil was developed in order to reduce the cost of the dewaxing process. The results indicate that the waxes can be removed satisfactorily from the sunflower seed oil by emulsifying, batchwise or continuously, the oil with the aqueous surfactant solution, followed by centrifugation at ambient temperatures (12∼27℃).
Dewaxing loss for the batch process was satisfactory for both low wax-and high wax-crude oil, whereas dewaxing loss for the continuous process reeds to be improved. The results indicate that initial level of wax content (low wax vs. high wax; did not affect the loss for batch process (0.82 % vs. 0.62 %), but affected the loss for continuous processes, regardless of the type of mixing mode (2.28 % and 5.68 % for low wax-and high wax-oil, respectively).
It was also noted that the type of mixing mode (centactor vs. static mixer) for the continuous process affected the loss, regardless of the wax content (5.2 % and 2.8 % for contactor and static mixer, respectively).
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