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100 TPD Continuous Oil Refinery in Egypt
Fully automatic continuous physical refinery upgrade — replacing a 30 TPD batch plant with 100 TPD continuous processing, SCADA-controlled 24/7 operation, multi-oil capability, and ISO 22000 certification.
Project Overview
Egypt is the Arab world's largest edible oil market, with per capita consumption of approximately 18 kg per year and a domestic edible oil industry that processes both locally grown and imported crude oils. An established Egyptian edible oil company in the 10th of Ramadan Industrial City — one of Egypt's largest purpose-built industrial zones — had been operating a 30 TPD batch refinery for 8 years.
The existing batch plant had multiple limitations: maximum 30 TPD throughput regardless of demand, high energy cost per tonne (batch heating/cooling cycles are inherently inefficient), inability to run overnight without senior engineer supervision, variable product quality between batches, and no ISO 22000 certification — a growing requirement from Egyptian food manufacturer customers.
SinoOil designed a fully automatic continuous physical refinery: continuous degumming, acid degumming, vacuum bleaching, Niagara leaf filtration (for earth removal), and packed-column continuous deodorizing. The switchable multi-oil feed system allows the plant to process sunflower, soybean, and cottonseed crude oils by changing SCADA parameter sets — no hardware changes required for the switch.
The SCADA system with Egyptian-language HMI was a specific client requirement — enabling all operators to monitor and control the process without reliance on the technical director. An automated CIP (cleaning-in-place) system enables full vessel cleaning between oil type switches without manual entry into vessels, supporting HACCP compliance.
Heat recovery heat exchangers — recovering thermal energy from outgoing product streams to pre-heat incoming crude oil — achieve 85% heat recovery, reducing steam (and natural gas) consumption by approximately 40% compared to the old batch plant. ISO 22000 certification was achieved 9 months after commissioning.
Process Flow
Fully continuous physical refinery process — from variable crude oil types to standardized refined output, running 24/7.
Equipment List
16-item machinery list for the 100 TPD Egypt continuous physical oil refinery.
| # | Equipment | Model | Qty | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crude oil receiving + buffer tanks (heated) | — | 4 | 25T each, 40°C heating; multi-oil buffer storage |
| 2 | Continuous degumming mixer-reactor | DG-C100 | 1 | Continuous hot-water + citric acid dosing; NHP removal |
| 3 | Centrifugal separators | GEA-NX300 | 2 | Continuous gum phase separation from oil |
| 4 | Continuous bleaching vessel (vacuum) | BL-C10T | 1 | Variable earth dosing (0.8–2.5%) for multi-oil types; SCADA controlled |
| 5 | Niagara leaf filter press | NF-100 | 2 | Alternating service/cleaning; continuous flow maintained |
| 6 | Packed-column continuous deodorizer | DO-C10T | 1 | 220–260°C (switchable per oil type), 2–4 mbar vacuum |
| 7 | Two-stage vacuum system | 2BV-series | 1 | Steam ejectors + water-ring vacuum pumps for deodorizer |
| 8 | Deodorizer distillate recovery system | DDR-10 | 1 | Recovers fatty acid distillate as saleable by-product |
| 9 | Heat recovery HEX network | PHE-series | 6 | 85% thermal recovery; pre-heats incoming oil with outgoing streams |
| 10 | Fire-tube steam boiler | WNS-4.0 | 1 | 4T/h steam, natural gas; for deodorizer and heat exchangers |
| 11 | CIP (cleaning-in-place) system | — | 1 | Automated NaOH/water cleaning between oil type switches |
| 12 | Bleaching earth handling + dosing system | — | 1 | Automated earth delivery and metering to bleacher |
| 13 | Spent earth discharge + cake conveyor | — | 1 | EHSQ compliant spent earth handling to licensed disposal |
| 14 | SCADA control system | Siemens PCS7 | 1 | Full process control, Arabic/English HMI, alarm management, batch records |
| 15 | Laboratory quality test equipment | — | 1 | FFA titrator, peroxide test, Lovibond colorimeter for ISO 22000 QC |
| 16 | Refined oil storage + polishing filtration | — | 6+1 | 20T SS304 tanks ×6 (segregated by oil type) + 3-micron polishing filter |
Results
Verified operational outcomes after 18 months of continuous operation at the Egypt refinery.
"The SCADA system allows our 3-person overnight team to run the entire refinery without a senior engineer present. The heat recovery has made our energy costs per tonne 40% lower than our old batch plant. This was a complete upgrade in every dimension — throughput, quality consistency, energy efficiency, and our ability to obtain ISO 22000."— Technical Director, Cairo oil refinery, Egypt | 2023
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View all Africa projects →Frequently Asked Questions
Technical answers on continuous refining, ISO 22000 certification, multi-oil processing, and Egyptian food standards.
What is the difference between continuous and batch oil refining?
Batch refining processes oil in discrete batches (typically 2–5 tonnes) through sequential degumming, neutralizing, bleaching, and deodorizing steps. It is lower capital cost, flexible for variable feedstock, and suited to plants under 50 TPD. Continuous refining runs all steps simultaneously in a continuous flow — higher throughput consistency, lower energy cost per tonne, better suited for 50+ TPD plants running 20+ hours/day. Quality consistency is superior in continuous refining as process parameters remain stable. The Egypt plant upgrade from 30 TPD batch to 100 TPD continuous reduced energy cost per tonne by 40%.
What is required for ISO 22000 certification of an oil refinery?
ISO 22000 (Food Safety Management Systems) for an oil refinery requires: (1) HACCP hazard analysis covering all process steps from crude oil intake to packaged refined oil, (2) Prerequisite programs (PRPs) for cleaning, pest control, personnel hygiene, and maintenance, (3) Management system documentation including work instructions, quality records, and corrective action procedures, (4) Internal audit program, (5) Management review meetings, (6) Third-party certification audit by an accredited body. Our equipment documentation package includes HACCP templates, critical control point parameters, and cleaning verification protocols to accelerate certification.
How does a multi-oil refinery switch between different crude oils?
Switching between crude oil types in a multi-oil refinery involves: (1) Draining and CIP cleaning of all vessels and pipes (typically 4–8 hours), (2) Adjusting process parameters in the SCADA system: bleaching earth dosage rate (palm CPO 2.5%, sunflower 1.0%, soybean 1.5%), deodorizer temperature and time profiles, degumming chemical ratios, (3) Quality check of first production batch of new oil type. The Egypt plant has processed 8 different crude oil types since commissioning by adjusting SCADA parameter sets — requiring no physical hardware changes.
What is the investment cost of a 100 TPD continuous oil refinery?
A 100 TPD fully automatic continuous physical oil refinery with SCADA, CIP, heat recovery, and multi-oil capability costs approximately $450,000–$650,000 FOB China, depending on configuration. CIF Egypt (Alexandria or Port Said) adds approximately $25,000–$35,000. On-site installation, commissioning, and operator training by SinoOil engineers are included. The Egypt project total investment including civil works and utilities was approximately $750,000–$850,000. Payback period at 90% capacity utilization: 36–48 months.
What are Egyptian food standards for refined edible oils?
Egypt's Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality (EOS) sets standards for refined edible oils under ES 1947/2018. Key parameters for refined sunflower oil: FFA (as oleic) maximum 0.3%, peroxide value maximum 10 meq/kg, moisture maximum 0.1%, colour maximum 30Y/3.0R (Lovibond). Environmental compliance falls under Egyptian Environmental Law 4/1994 and its amendments — the refinery's bleaching earth waste and deodorizer distillate must be disposed of through licensed waste contractors. Our Egypt plant design includes a bleaching earth cake handling system meeting EHSQ standards.
Upgrade to Continuous Refining
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