Abstract: Disclosed is a process for recovering an edible oil, such as soybean or canola oil, from an adsorbent material, such as a bleaching agent, by contacting a feed of the adsorbent material containing the edible oil with a normally gaseous solvent, such as liquid propane, for a time sufficient to extract a substantial portion of the oil from the adsorbent material, before the oil degrades to an appreciable extent.

Abstract: A close-coupled method of treating unrefined, unbleached soybean oil to produce a stable edible frying oil. The close-coupled process involves performing a series of steps to refine and bleach unrefined, unbleached soybean oil in a continuous sequence without intermediate storage and without substantial exposure to oxygen in the air which can lead to oxidation of heated oil, as follows: treating unrefined, unbleached soybean oil with a caustic agent; heating and water washing the treated soybean oil; degassing the soybean oil to remove a substantial portion of any oxygen and water entrained in the oil; dispersing into the oil a minor amount of finely divided, activated metallic salts and oxides including bleaching earths, clays, etc.; and heating the resulting dispersion in a carbon dioxide atmosphere. The treated oil is then degassed to remove entrained carbon dioxide, filtered to remove particulates and then cooled to provide a refined, bleached soybean oil.