Refining Vegetable Oils: Chemical and Physical Refining

Table 2

Advantages and disadvantage of chemical and physical refining.

	Physical refining	Chemical refining
Advantages	(i) Lower investment cost; (ii) Fewer by-products generated; (iii) Less energy consumed; (iv) Fewer chemicals used; (v) Environmentally friendly; (vi) Improved yield oil	(i) Simple operating process; (ii) Efficient process to eliminate FFA
Disadvantages	(i) Not suitable for all types of oils; (ii) Requires high temperature and vacuum; (iii) Can form unwanted products	(i) Production of side products; (ii) Expensive process; (iii) Removes a high percentage of oil; (iv) Can form unwanted products