Refined sunflower oil has emerged as one of the most popular cooking oil in India. Sunflower seed pro-duced a highly desirable polyunsaturated oil for human con-sumption. Its high proportion of valuable linoleic acid has steadily increased the importance of sunflower oil in recent decades.
Why is refined sunflower oil popular in India?
Refined sunflower oil has found wide acceptance because of its high polyunsaturated fatty acid content, bland flavour, good storage stability and low viscosity (Semwal et al. 1996). Refined sunflower oil has emerged as one of the most popular cooking oil in India.
Can sunflower oil be refined?
An experimental oil refining unit has been devel-oped and tested for sunflower oil. Crude pressed sunflower oil obtained from a local oil mill was refined using chemical method by degumming, neutralization, bleaching and dewaxing. The quality and composition of crude and refined oil were analysed compared.
What is a sunflower oil refining unit?
An experimental oil refining unit has been developed for minimal refining of sunflower oil. The unit consists of (i) one open mild steel tank with conical bottom for degumming/neutralization, (ii) one closed oval tank for vacu-um drying/bleaching and (iii) one filter for filtration of oil.