Inside a 100TPD Full Continuous Edible Oil Refinery Plant: Process, Layout and Cost Factors

A 100TPD edible oil refinery is a different class of plant from the 10–30 TPD units most buyers start with. At 100 tons per day — roughly 4.2 tons per hour of continuous throughput — the line has to run around the clock, hold oil quality steady across every shift, and keep utility consumption under control. At this scale, every fraction of a percent of refining loss turns into real money over a year of production.

This guide explains what actually sits inside a 100TPD full continuous refining line: the five process stages, the core equipment, layout and utility requirements, and the factors that drive cost. If you are evaluating a 100TPD project or comparing supplier quotations, this is the technical picture you should be checking them against.

What Does "100TPD" Actually Mean?

Before comparing quotations, three clarifications prevent expensive misunderstandings:

• 100 TPD is a 24-hour figure. Full continuous lines are designed for round-the-clock operation, so 100 tons per day equals roughly 4.2 tons per hour of feed. If a supplier quotes "3 T/H", that is about 72 TPD over 24 hours — or as little as 24–30 TPD if the plant only runs one 8–10 hour shift per day. Capacity figures are only comparable when the daily operating hours are stated.
• 100 TPD refers to crude oil feed, not refined oil output. The difference between the two is refining loss, and it is determined by your crude oil — not by the machine alone.
• Refining loss follows your raw material. Crude oil with a high free fatty acid (FFA) content and heavy impurity load loses more during refining than clean, low-FFA oil. A realistic loss expectation has to be calculated from your actual crude oil specification, which is why a serious supplier asks for your FFA, moisture, phosphorus and impurity data before quoting.

The Five Refining Stages in a Full Continuous Line

A full continuous edible oil refinery integrates five stages into one uninterrupted flow. Each stage has a specific job, and each one has a measurable effect on the final oil specification.

1. Degumming — Removing Gums and Phospholipids

Hot water or phosphoric acid is dosed into the crude oil to hydrate and coagulate phospholipids (gums), which are then separated out. In a continuous line this separation is done by centrifugal separators rather than by settling tanks, which is what allows the stage to run without batch interruptions. Degumming performance is usually tracked through the residual phosphorus content of the oil — if gums are not removed properly, they will burn onto surfaces in later stages and cause fouling.

2. Deacidification — Neutralizing Free Fatty Acids

In the chemical refining route, caustic soda (lye) is added to neutralize free fatty acids, forming soapstock that is separated from the oil. In the physical refining route, deacidification is instead carried out in the deodorization column through high-temperature vacuum steam distillation, which also produces PFAD as a by-product. The route you choose depends on your crude oil type and free fatty acid level — palm oil is commonly processed by physical refining, while high-phosphorus oils typically require the chemical route.

3. Decolorization (Bleaching) — Adsorbing Pigments

Activated clay (bleaching earth) is mixed into the oil to adsorb pigments, trace metals and residual soap, then removed by filtration. In a 100TPD line this filtration is normally handled by leaf filters, which allow continuous operation and are designed to be switched and cleaned without stopping the line. Clay dosage is a genuine cost variable here: overdosing adds cost and increases oil retention in the spent clay, while underdosing leaves colour that cannot be corrected later.

4. Deodorization — Steam Stripping Under Vacuum

The oil is heated and exposed to high-temperature steam under a deep vacuum, which strips out odour compounds, residual free fatty acids and other volatile impurities. This is the most demanding stage of the plant in terms of utilities, because it requires sustained vacuum and consistent steam supply — which is why the vacuum system in a 100TPD line is built around multi-stage steam jet pumps rather than a single unit.

5. Filtration and Polishing

The final stage removes remaining fine particles to deliver clean, bright oil ready for storage or filling. Polishing filtration protects the appearance and shelf life of the finished product, and it is also a practical quality checkpoint before the oil leaves the refining area.

Core Equipment in a 100TPD Full Continuous Refinery

A typical full continuous configuration includes:

• Centrifugal separators — for degumming and deacidification separation
• Decolorization (bleaching) system — clay dosing, mixing and retention
• Leaf filters — bleaching earth removal and oil recovery
• Deodorization tower — vacuum steam stripping, the tallest vessel in the plant
• Four-stage steam jet pumps and water jet pumps — the vacuum system that sustains the deodorization stage
• Heat recovery system — recovers heat between the hot deodorized oil and incoming cold oil, cutting steam and cooling demand
• PLC control system — automates dosing, temperature, vacuum and flow, so quality does not depend on operator judgement between shifts
• Filtration and transfer pumps — polishing and product transfer

The heat recovery system is worth specific attention when you compare quotations. On a 100TPD line running 24 hours, heat exchange efficiency is one of the largest controllable operating costs, and it is also one of the easiest components for a supplier to quietly downgrade. Ask what heat exchange surface area and what temperature approach the design assumes.

Layout: How Much Space Does a 100TPD Refinery Need?

There is no single standard footprint, because layout is driven by three decisions you should settle early:

• Indoor or outdoor tower installation. The deodorization tower is the tallest and heaviest vessel in the plant. Putting it indoors means a building with sufficient clear height and lifting provision; putting it outdoors reduces building cost but requires weather and insulation design.
• Single-level or multi-level arrangement. Multi-level layouts use gravity flow between stages and can reduce pump count and floor area, but they demand a more complex structure. Single-level layouts are simpler to operate and maintain but need more ground area.
• Tank farm and utility zones. Beyond the refining building itself, you need space for crude oil and finished oil storage, the boiler or thermal oil heater, cooling water circulation, and workshop/spare parts storage. These are frequently underestimated in early project planning.

The practical approach is to ask each supplier for a general arrangement drawing based on your actual site — a layout supplied without knowing your site is an estimate, not a design.

Utility Requirements: Steam, Power, Water and Cooling

Utilities are where the operating cost of a 100TPD refinery is decided, and this is the single most useful table to request from any supplier. Instead of accepting a single capacity number, ask for a utility consumption table stating:

• Steam consumption (kg per ton of oil) and required steam pressure
• Installed and operating electrical power (kW), split by major equipment group
• Cooling water circulation volume and temperature rise
• Compressed air consumption
• Estimated clay and caustic consumption per ton of oil (for the chemical route)

These figures depend on your crude oil, your chosen refining route and your automation level — so they must be calculated for your project rather than copied from a brochure. A supplier who cannot produce this table for your specific crude oil has not yet engineered your plant.

What Drives the Cost of a 100TPD Refinery Plant

List price comparisons between suppliers are misleading unless the scope is identical. The main cost drivers are:

• Refining route — chemical or physical refining changes the equipment set, chemical consumption and utility profile
• Crude oil type — palm, soybean, rapeseed and sunflower oils all need different stage parameters, and some need winterization as well
• Automation level — from basic PLC control through to fully automatic continuous operation with remote monitoring
• Material grade — carbon steel versus stainless steel contact parts, which matters both for oil quality and for service life
• Scope boundary — equipment only (FOB) versus a turnkey package including boiler, storage tanks, piping, civil works and installation
• Deliverables — whether process design, drawings, commissioning and operator training are included

When two 100TPD quotations differ substantially, the gap is almost always in one of these six items rather than in the price of the same machine.

Full Continuous vs Semi-Continuous vs Batch: Which Fits Your Project?

This is the decision to make before you shop for price, because it determines the whole equipment set:

• Batch (intermittent) refining — oil is processed in discrete batches. Lowest capital cost and most flexible for very small volumes, but labour-intensive and with more variation between batches. Suited to small capacity projects.
• Semi-continuous refining — the early stages (degumming, bleaching) operate in vessels while the later stages (deacidification, deodorization) run continuously in columns. A middle path: lower capital cost than full continuous, better consistency than batch.
• Full continuous refining — every stage runs uninterrupted. Highest capital cost, but the lowest labour requirement per ton, the most stable quality across shifts, and the best fit for round-the-clock production at 100TPD and above.

A simple rule: choose full continuous when your raw material supply is stable enough to keep the line running continuously and your labour and quality-consistency costs are high. If crude oil supply is intermittent, a full continuous line runs inefficiently — it is designed to be kept running, not stopped and started.

What Refined Oil Quality Should You Expect?

Refined oil specification is agreed against your target market's standard rather than being fixed by the equipment. The parameters that matter in practice are:

• Free fatty acid (FFA) content
• Colour, measured on a Lovibond scale
• Peroxide value
• Moisture and volatile matter
• Residual phosphorus (the direct measure of degumming performance)
• Soap content (for chemical refining)

Before signing, ask the supplier to state the guaranteed values for each parameter and the test method used — and confirm that the guarantee is tied to a defined crude oil specification. A quality guarantee without a defined input specification is not a guarantee.

Installation, Commissioning and Operator Training

A 100TPD line is not a machine you unpack and switch on. A proper delivery scope includes process design, equipment manufacture, installation, commissioning and operator training, plus access to spare parts after handover.

The commissioning timeline depends largely on site readiness — civil works, utility connections and storage tanks are often the critical path rather than equipment manufacture itself. When planning a project schedule, build in the civil and utility preparation time explicitly, and agree with the supplier who is responsible for each interface.

How to Compare 100TPD Refinery Quotations

A practical checklist for evaluating quotations at this scale:

1. Is the equipment list complete — does it include the vacuum system, boiler or thermal oil heater, storage tanks, and spare parts?
2. Is there a utility consumption table calculated for your crude oil?
3. Are the process flow diagram (PFD) and general arrangement drawing supplied?
4. What material grade is used for oil-contact parts?
5. What refining loss is expected, and on what crude oil specification is that based?
6. What is the guaranteed refined oil specification and the test method?
7. Does the scope include installation, commissioning and operator training?
8. Is there a documented reference project at a comparable scale?

Items 2, 5 and 8 are the ones that separate engineered quotations from copied ones.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a 100TPD edible oil refinery plant cost?

There is no single figure, because the price depends on your crude oil, the refining route (chemical or physical), automation level, material grade, and whether the scope is equipment only or a turnkey package including boiler, tanks and installation. Two suppliers quoting "a 100TPD refinery" can legitimately differ by a large margin because they are quoting different scopes. The reliable way to get a comparable price is to send your crude oil specification, required refined oil standard, site conditions and expected delivery scope, and request an itemized quotation.

What is the difference between 100 TPD and 3 T/H refining capacity?

Operating hours. 100 TPD is based on 24-hour continuous operation, which equals approximately 4.2 T/H. A 3 T/H line running 24 hours equals about 72 TPD; if it runs only one 8–10 hour shift, the real daily output is roughly 24–30 TPD. Always convert quoted capacities to the same daily operating hours before comparing.

Can one 100TPD line process different types of oil?

Full continuous refining lines are commonly designed for soybean, rapeseed, sunflower and palm oil, among others. However, switching between oils requires adjusting process parameters and, in some cases, the refining route — palm oil is typically processed by physical refining, while high-phosphorus oils usually need chemical refining. If you plan to process multiple oils, tell the supplier at design stage so the line can be configured for changeover.

Does a 100TPD full continuous line really run 24 hours?

Yes — continuous operation is the design intent of a full continuous line, and it is what makes the capacity figure meaningful. The practical limit is not the equipment but your supply of crude oil and utilities: the line performs best when kept running steadily, so raw material supply planning matters as much as the machinery.

How much land or floor area is required?

It depends on whether the deodorization tower is installed indoors or outdoors, whether the layout is single-level or multi-level, and how much storage and utility area you include. Ask for a general arrangement drawing based on your actual site — layout should follow the site, not the other way around.

What happens after delivery — installation and training?

A complete scope covers process design, installation, commissioning and operator training, with ongoing spare parts support. Confirm each of these in writing, along with who is responsible for civil works, utility connections and the interfaces between them.

Planning a 100TPD Refining Project?

Send us your crude oil specification (FFA, moisture, phosphorus, impurity level), your target refined oil standard and your site conditions, and our engineering team will prepare a process design, equipment list, utility consumption table and itemized quotation for your project.

Related reading:

• 100TPD Full Continuous Oil Refining Production Line
• Semi-Continuous Oil Refining Production Line
• 30T/H Intermittent Refining Line
• 3T/H Oil Refining Production Line
• All edible oil refining and winterization plants
• Case study: why a Zimbabwean customer chose FCJ again

By the FCJ Engineering Team — Henan Fangchuangjie Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd. We design, manufacture and install complete grain and oil processing plants, including refining, extraction and oil pressing lines.