Procuring oil seeds of the best quality plays a vital role in oil extraction. After procurement, seeds go through various cleaning steps to ensure the best quality and highest oil output is derived. While there are different oil extraction methods, cleaning and prepping oilseeds, using best practices, the most appropriate extraction method and the right equipment ensure quality output.
Whether a small or large operation, the process involves various steps like oilseed prepping, cleaning, dehulling, conditioning, solvent extraction, and oil clarification. However, flaking and screw pressing efficiency depends on the seed's variety and quality. Therefore, oilseeds must undergo thorough cleaning before reaching the press.
Benefits to the oil manufacturer
While buying and installing an array of equipment involves investment, it is a cost that helps improve the overall quality of the end product and reduce the volume of resources and time required to extract oil. Pre-conditioning of oilseeds helps prep them before putting them through the extraction process. While cleaning raw materials helps avoid the wear and tear of machinery, dehulling and cooking oil seeds helps separate the meaty part of the seed from the outer shell, making it easy to extract oil. Pre-cooking oil seeds help them to yield oil more readily.
Benefits of pre-conditioning and cooking
- Reduces the viscosity of oil
- Removing the moisture from feed material leads to better crushing and yield in oil extraction by screw pressing.
- Adjust moisture level of the seed to its optimal level
- Tear the cell walls
- Change the meal solidity and separate the oil from the protein
- To rupture oil cell by flushing off intrinsic moisture as steam
- To sterilize the seed by destroying enzyme activity and preventing the growth of moulds or bacteria.
- To coagulate protein in seeds.
Cooking equipment
Cookers are lined with steam-heated jackets fabricated with carbon steel in each compartment. They are tested hydraulically. Each compartment comes with a hinged door that helps to access quickly.
Control
Cookers are insulated to avoid heat loss. Valves, steam traps, and pressure gauges are a few fittings that help steam jackets to receive indirect heat from steam and condensate outlet.
The steam control valves are provided to control steam as per the required output temperature of the material. Feed control flap systems are provided to adjust and maintain the level in each compartment. Proper retention time is maintained for feed material in the cooker, which is required for proper conditioning.
Seed cooker mounting
Kumar's preconditioner cooker is designed to be mounted as a separate structure. Connecting the seed cooker outlet and the inlet with a chute helps inspect the outlet window.
Disadvantages of not following pre-conditioning and cooking process
- The lack of pre-conditioning and cooking may result in a lower output yield.
- The cooking process, especially when mechanical pressing, helps oil seeds yield oil more effortlessly.
- Pre-conditioning helps remove moisture content in oilseeds, thereby improving the crushing efficiency.
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For 82 years, Kumar has been delivering dependable process engineering solutions to the oils and fats industry. We're known for our robustly engineered, versatile and operationally profitable plant and machinery. It's why over 500 customers in 65 countries depend on us to solve their processing challenges, big or small. If you'd like to know more about our pre-conditioning and cooking equipment, please fill out the form below:
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