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How does water refining remove phospholipids from soybean and corn oils?

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Water refining, commonly referred to as degumming, removes phospholipids from soybean and corn oils by treating the crude oil with a small amount of water.1

Because phospholipids are naturally waxy or gummy solids, the addition of water causes them to hydrate and form an emulsion layer that can be separated from the oil through centrifugal separation. This process effectively extracts the phospholipids, which are then dried to produce lecithin—a valuable commercial emulsifier used in products like margarine and paints. The resulting degummed oil can then be used for industrial purposes or undergo further alkali refining for edible consumption.1