Decolorizing Fish Oil: A Comprehensive Guide to Effective Purification
Fish lipids typically exhibit a range of colors when initially extracted and isolated as crude oil, such as yellow, brown, green, or even black, due to the presence of different types and quantities of pigments and particles.
To ensure appearance and quality, oil refineries generally need to refine the crude oil to remove the color and reduce these colorants.
The decolorization process is a critical step in the purification of fish oil esters, it helps to remove not only pigmented substances, but also remove trace metal elements in oil esters, phospholipids, saponification, odorous substances, residual pesticides, etc., which can contribute to off-flavors, rancidity, and reduced shelf life.
It is the last process before the oil is subjected to deodorization under high-temperature treatment for further removal of impurities.
By removing these impurities, the fish oil esters are given a clear and visually appealing appearance, enhancing their marketability and improving oxidative stability.
As a supplier of fish oil refining and purification equipment, we understand the requirements of omega-3 fish oil purification and the importance of decolorization in improving the quality and appeal of fish oil esters.
In this article, we aim to provide basic process information to help readers effectively select the decolorization process and equipment.