Crude vegetable oils contain various minor substances such as phosphol
ipids, coloring pigments, and free fatty acids (FFA) that may affect t
he quality of the finished oil. Reduction of energy costs and waste di
sposal are major concerns for many oil refiners who are looking for al
ternative methods to improve conventional refining methods, and during
the last decade, energy-efficient membrane separation technology has
evolved dramatically. This paper reports the cross-flow bench-scale cr
ude vegetable oil membrane degumming test results using newly availabl
e, modified, hexane-resistant, high flux, and high selectivity non-aqu
eous membranes. Two membranes (DS-7 and AN03) were evaluated for their
flux and rejection properties. Process parameters including pressure,
temperature, feed velocity and volumetric concentration factor were e
xamined. A 99.6% rejection of phospholipids and a flux of 26.8 1/m(2)
h were achieved at pressure 300 psi, temperature 40 degrees C, and fee
d velocity 220 1/h using DS-7 membrane, and significant reduction of c
oloring pigments was observed as well. Membrane fouling presented no b
ig problem.