Summary

Cargill bv produces edible oils and fats. The deodorisation process comprises the removal of fatty acids, aromatics, flavourings and other volatile substances and largely determines the quality of the oil. The process takes place under vacuum, created by steam ejectors. The stripping of the oil with steam releases mainly water vapour. The demand of product quality has been tightened in recent years. To meet this requirement, the deoderisation process must proceed at lower pressure. The lower pressure results in a particular increase in the consumption of driving steam by the steam ejectors. The newly installed Dry Condensing (DC) process freezes the water vapour flow from the deodoriser. The steam ejectors vacuum off the remainder of the flow from the deodoriser. This reduces the driving steam used by the steam ejectors. The saving in primary energy is 77% (2,800,000 m³ of natural gas equilavents) compared with the former situation.
The results of this project are important for all industrial establishments using vacuum systems equipped with steam ejectors.