Method for dewaxing high-resistivity oils
AssigneeThe Procter & Gamble Company
InventorEdward S. Seguine
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for removing waxes from high-resistivity oils free of significant amounts of dispersed water by crystallizing said waxes and then passing the oil through interstitial spaces defined within a mass of substantially spherical ceramic beads of high electrical resistivity wherein a high gradient electrostatic field is maintained across said mass. The method is particularly useful for dewaxing refined vegetable oils.
Claims15
A method of dewaxing a high-resistivity refined vegetable oil free of significant amounts of dispersed water to provide a dewaxed clear liquid vegetable oil having excellent refrigerator clarity, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) tempering said refined vegetable oil at a sufficiently cool temperature until said waxes nucleate and begin crystal growth, wherein said nucleation temperature is from about 25.degree. C. to about 50.degree. C., and wherein said oil is tempered for at least about 12 hours,
- (b) growing said nucleated wax crystals at an appropriately cool temperature until said wax crystals are large enough to be electrostatically removed by dielectrophoretic filtration, wherein said growing temperature is from about 0.degree. C. to about 28.degree. C. for at least about 1 hour, and
- (c) passing said cooled oil of step (b) through an electrofilter at an appropriate flow rate sufficient to trap said crystallized waxes in said electrofilter to provide said dewaxed vegetable oil having excellent refrigerator clarity, said electrofilter comprising an electrostatic field and a wax trapping filter means for dielectrophoretic filtration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.