Perspectives on processing methods,equipment and procedures

World population growth and increasing per capita consumption will place significant demands on the food oils industry in the coming years to maimize efficiency of raw material use and to optimize processing operations. Other demands on the processor of food oils center on resolving issues that are already impacting on the industry, i.e., energy conservation, pollution abatement, and diminishing reserve of petroleum-based resources. Research now in progress in the laboratory may form the basis for the industry response to these challenges. Innovative methods of raw material preparation will be needed to obtain a higher quality oil. Alternative solvent processing could use alcohol or aqueous extraction or supercritical fluids. Each of the processing techniques used to produce a finished edible oil from crude oils, from degumming through alkali refining and bleaching to deodorization, is subject to change, and the form of these changes can be perceived from the directions of current research. Formulation of solid fats from liquid oils may see a shift from metal-catalyzed reactions to the use of immobilized enzymes. Implementation of many of the process changes will depend on equipment development and application of advanced engineering concepts to assure their assimilation into the food oil industry. By projecting the successful integration of the chemical, process design and engineering sciences, a realistic picture of the year 2000 can be formulated.