Abstract: A cooking-oil filtration system and method for automated food-fryers with a solids-removing filter for cleaning cooking oil from the food-fryer which includes and involves an oil/air separator for receiving air-containing oil from the filter and then returning air-separated oil to the food-fryer. In certain highly preferred embodiments the oil/air separator includes a cylindrical inner wall and an inlet conduit configured for tangential entry and spiral flow of oil. In another embodiment, the oil/air separator is a surge tank having upper and lower tank upper portions and conduits facilitating the in-flow of air-containing oil and the gravity out-flow of air-separated oil to the food-fryer. In-flow is preferably driven by a pump upstream of the filter media.

Abstract: A cooking-oil filtration system and method for automated food-fryers with a solids-removing filter for cleaning cooking oil from the food-fryer which includes and involves an oil/air separator for receiving air-containing oil from the filter and then returning air-separated oil to the food-fryer. In certain highly preferred embodiments the oil/air separator includes a cylindrical inner wall and an inlet conduit configured for tangential entry and spiral flow of oil. In another embodiment, the oil/air separator is a surge tank having upper and lower tank upper portions and conduits facilitating the in-flow of air-containing oil and the gravity out-flow of air-separated oil to the food-fryer. In-flow is preferably driven by a pump upstream of the filter media.

Abstract: A process of continuous, on-line active filtration of cooking oil during food processing in a vat to remove free-fatty-acids and other undesirable impurities includes moving oil from the vat to a treatment tank; adding an amount of adsorbent to the oil in the treatment tank; mixing the oil and the adsorbent in the treatment tank for a time to allow substantially all of the free-fatty-acid adsorption of the process to occur in the tank; drawing treated oil from the treatment tank and moving it to a flatbed pressure filter; filtering the treated oil through the filter to remove the impurity-laden adsorbent therefrom; returning the filtered oil to the vat; and conducting the foregoing steps at a rate such that a volume of oil substantially equal to the volume of the vat is filtered each hour.