Ocean Margarine & Shortening Production Line

Looking to expand your edible oil business into high-value downstream products? Ocean offers complete turnkey solutions for margarine and shortening production lines, empowering you to transform refined oils into a full range of premium products—from table, bakery, and pastry margarines to specialized shortenings. Our modular, fully automated lines are engineered to deliver superior product quality, stable output, and maximum ROI, creating new profit streams for your business.

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Key Process of Margarine & Shortening Production

3.Pasteurization Process

The prepared emulsions are transferred by a screw pump into the pasteurization unit. Inside the system, microorganisms are eliminated from the emulsions through a steam heat exchanger at approximately 96°C for about 30 seconds. The emulsions are cooled with circulating water to 55–60°C before entering the crystallization section.

4.Crystallization and Plasticizing

A high-pressure pump transfers the emulsion into the A-unit, where rapid cooling and crystallization occur using refrigerants such as ammonia or freon. The semi-crystallized product then enters the B-unit pin worker, where mechanical kneading ensures uniform crystal growth and desired plasticity.

1.Mixing and Blending

In the Ocean margarine production line, raw oils are measured according to specific formulas and fed into the blending tank. Oil-soluble additives such as emulsifiers, colorants, antioxidants, flavors, and fat-soluble vitamins are added to the oil-phase dissolving tank, which already contains a portion of the oil. At the same time, water-soluble ingredients such as salt, preservatives, and milk components are introduced into the water-phase tank with preheated water. Both phases are gently heated, fully dissolved, and mixed evenly for the next stage.

2.Emulsification

During emulsification, the oil in the emulsification tank is heated to approximately 60°C. The blended oil phase (containing all oil-based additives) is first added and stirred uniformly, followed by the water phase, which is slightly warmer than the oil. Rapid and strong mixing produces a fine W/O (water-in-oil) emulsion.
The droplet size directly affects product quality. The ideal droplet size is between 1-5 μm, ensuring smooth texture, delicate flavor, and long-term product stability. With advanced process control and precise temperature management, Ocean’s margarine production line achieves highly consistent emulsification quality for every batch.

Full Process Overview

Ocean’s margarine production line delivers a complete, highly automated solution for processing vegetable and animal oils into high-quality margarine and shortening. The flowchart below highlights each key step in the process

Key Advantages

Proven Capacity & Reliability

Our efficient margarine & shortening plants handling 1–200 tons per day, ensuring continuous, stable operation and high-quality output

Superior End-Product Quality

Precise control over crystallization and emulsification ensures consistent texture, melting point, and mouthfeel, meeting the demands of premium markets.

Highly Customization Solutions

We tailor the margarine and shortening plants line configuration and process design to your specific raw materials, target products, and capacity requirements

Comprehensive Technical Support

We provide full life-cycle support, from installation and commissioning to operational training, ensuring your long-term peace of mind.

Raw Materials

Ocean designs turnkey margarine & shortening manufacturing plants capable of processing a wide range of high-quality base oils and fats. Vegetable oils include soybean oil, cottonseed oil, rapeseed oil, coconut oil, palm oil, and rice bran oil. Animal fats include lard, tallow, and fish oil, along with their hydrogenated oils. To ensure consistent texture, stability, and flavor, the plants can incorporate essential additives such as emulsifiers, defoamers, coloring agents, and flavorings.

Main Equipment

Votator

Ocean’s votator provides rapid and controlled cooling within the margarine & shortening processing plant, promoting fine crystal formation and preventing texture defects caused by large fat crystals.

Scraped Surface Heat Exchangers

The Scraped Surface Heat Exchanger (SSHE) in Ocean’s margarine & shortening production line keeps the product uniform and stable. Its rotating blades remove fat crystals from the cooling surface, ensuring steady heat transfer. This process reduces air bubbles and gives the margarine a smooth texture and good spreadability.

Pin Worker

Ideal for high-speed continuous operations, these pin worker units ensure optimal plasticizing of margarines and shortenings, integrating seamlessly after cooling processes to enhance texture and consistency in your end products.

fREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

q.What is the primary goal of a margarine production line?
- A.The line aims to produce plastic fat products with uniform texture, pleasant taste, and high stability by automating the precise processes of emulsification, cooling, and crystallization, effectively replicating or surpassing butter's qualities.
Q.What is the automation level of Ocean's production lines?
- A.We provide fully automatic, continuous production lines from raw material handling to finished product packaging, complete with a central control system. This significantly reduces manual intervention, ensuring consistent quality and high production efficiency.

Q. What is the key production difference between shortening and margarine?
- A.The core difference is water content. Margarine typically contains about 20% water phase and is designed for direct consumption. Shortening is virtually water-free and specialized for industrial food applications like baking and frying, aimed at enhancing crispiness and flakiness.
Q.What is the production process for shortening?
- A.A continuous shortening processing system generally involves four stages: raw material blending, rapid cooling and kneading, packaging, and maturation. Each stage ensures consistent texture and functional properties.

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