Li jB rlARY 
HIVED 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 1010 
Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 
WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 
jTUr^^-tfU 
Washington, D. C. 
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 
April 3, 1922 
THE PREPARATION OF AN EDIBLE OIL FROM 
CRUDE CORN OIL. 
By A. F. Sievers, Chemical Biologist, and J. H. Shrader, formerly Chemical Technol- 
ogist, Drug, Poisonous, and Oil Plant Investigations. 
CONTENTS. 
Scope of the investigations 1 
Small-quantity experiments on methods of 
refining corn oil 2 
Comparative refining qualities of corn oil 
from dry and wet process germs 14 
Refining 10-pound batches of corn oil to de- 
termine the cost of the chemicals used and 
the value of the oil lost 16 
Page. 
Estimated total cost of refining corn oil 18 
Chemicals and loss of oil 18 
Fuel.... 20 
Labor 20 
Overhead 20 
Description of the equipment and the method 
of handling corn oil in the refinery 21 
Summary 25 
SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATIONS. 
In a study made in 1919 of the production of corn oil in the 
United States/ in the course of which special attention was given to 
the manufacture of corn products as practiced in the so-called hominy 
mills and in starch and glucose plants, the fact developed that 
although there were 22 plants in the country which produced corn 
oil, only four of these were equipped at that time for producing 
refined edible oil from the crude product. The four plants refined 
not only the oil produced in their own mills but also a large proportion 
of that produced by other operators. There is now, however,- a 
tendency among the smaller operators to consider the feasibility of 
refining their own crude oil, and consequently interest has been 
manifested in the refining process. 
As a general rule, vegetable oils are refined 2 by a process consisting 
of three, main operations: (1) Neutralizing the free fatty acids and 
1 Sievers, A. F. The production and utilization of corn oil in the United States. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 
904, 23 p., 11 fig. 1920. 
2 The term "refining'' as used in this bulletin refers to the complete process of purification of the oil and 
not to the alkali treatment only, in which sense it is frequently used. 
67251°— 22-Bull. 1010 1 
