Degumming is a critical step in the vegetable oil refining process. Conventional water degumming and acid degumming often struggle to reduce phosphorus content to ideal levels. Residual gums can affect subsequent bleaching and deodorization stages, increasing bleaching earth consumption and refining losses. The emergence of deep enzymatic degumming technology offers an efficient solution to this challenge.
From Conventional to Advanced: The Technical Leap of Enzymatic Degumming
Enzymatic degumming employs phospholipase enzymes to catalyze the hydrolysis of non-hydratable phospholipids, converting them into hydratable forms that can be effectively removed through centrifugal separation. Compared to conventional degumming processes, enzymatic degumming offers significant advantages: more complete phospholipid removal, reduced water consumption and wastewater generation, lower energy requirements, and higher refining yields. These benefits have made it increasingly attractive to the edible oil processing industry.
The deep enzymatic degumming system and process, independently developed by Zhengzhou Ocean, features a two-stage enzymatic degumming process combined with upstream acid treatment. The system employs high-shear mixing pumps to achieve thorough mixing of oil, acid, alkali, enzyme, and water. Through sequential treatment in acid reaction tanks and enzyme reaction tanks, followed by centrifugal separation, the system consistently reduces phosphorus content in crude oil to as low as 5–15 ppm—a level that meets the most demanding requirements for physical refining.
Process Advantages and Application Value
In rice bran oil refining applications, the deep enzymatic degumming process reliably controls phosphorus content below 25 ppm, ensuring smooth downstream processing while reducing bleaching earth consumption and improving refining yields. The mild reaction conditions of the enzymatic process also help preserve natural bioactive components in the oil. In rice bran oil refining, for example, oryzanol retention levels above 23,000 ppm have been achieved.
From an environmental perspective, enzymatic degumming significantly reduces wastewater discharge and chemical reagent consumption, aligning with the industry’s movement toward greener refining practices. From an economic standpoint, refining losses are reduced by approximately 15%, bleaching earth consumption is lowered, and overall operating costs are substantially reduced.
Integrated Technology Capabilities
As a company with deep expertise in the oil engineering sector, Ocean integrates deep enzymatic degumming technology with complete refining line design, forming systematic process solutions across bleaching, deodorization, and dewaxing stages. The company holds multiple proprietary patents and has successfully completed more than 50 domestic oil engineering projects, with equipment exported to Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and other countries.
Deep enzymatic degumming technology provides a highly efficient, environmentally sustainable, and economically attractive pathway for vegetable oil refining—a critical enabler for improving product quality and strengthening competitive position.
