The production process of Virgin Coconut oil

Introduction

Coconut groves have been part and parcel of many parts of India. The beginning years of tending to the crop mean all work and no profit. However, once the coconut palm trees begin yielding, there is a vast market for the output, whether the tender Coconut, leaves, or the Copra. A variety of equipment and processes are involved in oil extraction. These stages range from removing the shell and obtaining the white meat to packaging various types of edible and non-edible outputs.

The production processes

The methods of oil extraction and the quality of the coconut oil are directly dependent on the age of the Coconut, which decides the extent of its ripening. While the age ranges from two months to twenty-two months, a tender-aged coconut poses challenges in the extraction process and inferior oil quality. The coconut fruit or the white part is available after a laborious job of removing the husk and the hard exterior. The more mature and unbroken coconuts are left to dry for more extended periods before multiple cutting sessions before extracting oil from them. However, the oil extraction methods vary depending on the fresh kernels and the dried Coconut. Most oil extraction methods either involve water with coconut milk or the expressing of the semi-dry coconut kernels.

Oil, water, and proteins are a part of coconut milk. Boiling, heating, and treating various methods help obtain coconut oil, albeit with discoloration. The first step usually involves extraction with the solvent-free process through expellers. The next step is to put the residue through a solvent extraction plant with the help of food-grade hexane. The solvent extraction method helps extract further 8-12% of the residual coconut oil. In addition, it helps remove free fatty acids, bleach to reduce discoloration, etc., depending upon the product's end-use. However, the study reveals that up to 4% of coconut oil is present in the copra meal even after the solvent extraction method. The oil cakes or copra meal is further used as fodder for cattle and sheep since it contains significant protein and dietary fiber. The ratio of Coconut to oil would mean a thousand matured coconuts with a weight of 1440 kgs yields over 170 kgs of Copra, leading to approximately 70 liters of coconut oil.

Generating high-quality virgin coconut oil can be challenging with the normal process. Specifically, in a processing plant, various pieces of machinery play a vital role in the quality of the output. Hence, reduced wear & tear, improved output quality, and increased productivity. However, in this case, Kumar screw press cover all these parameters and are specifically designed to maximize the oil extraction from the copra cake. With Kumar screw press, the output (oil from copra seed) increases up to 22% in the first press and 8% in the second press. The single fabricated chamber in the screw press improves the output and ensures a long life of the machinery parts. The worm design enables optimum compression, and the motor has a higher load capacity. The triple reduction parallel helical gearbox is beneficial due to its lower power consumption and noise level.

Kumar screw press are an excellent choice for Virgin coconut oil extraction due to:

• Increased output / Improved productivity
• The machinery is easy to install
• Lower operating costs
• Adjustment of cake thickness for even extraction.

The stored Copra requires cleaning and drying, the next step is to cut them in half and later into tiny pieces, and they finally go through the extraction process. Anderson Make - Dox Hivex Extruder enables high oil content materials to pass through the drainage cage and recovers more than 50% of the available oil. The compact design not only saves floor space but is also helpful to increase productivity since it manages both conditioning and squeezing of Copra in one machine. The Dox-Hivex Extruder operates at approximately 180 RPM. An operating temperature of 180 degrees C. Copra, palm kernel, peanuts, Canola, and Sunflower are a few other seeds where the Extruder is very helpful in the extraction process.

Heavy equipment and user knowledge are critical when you are in the copra oil manufacturing business. Wear and tear of machinery, and optimum resource utilization is part of the oil extraction business. Premium brands prefer the Anderson Extruder for increased oil extraction from cake which nears 32% in the case of Copra at the first round of pressing and an 8% increase in the second press. The Anderson extruder doubles up as both conditioning and squeezing of Copra, which saves a lot of floor space and improves productivity. The Anderson Dox/Hivex Extruder is extremely useful for oil extraction from pre-press cakes, soybean, and whole cottonseed.

Conclusion

Kumar screw press are an excellent addition to the plant due to their longer life, robustness, and productivity, making them most suitable for Copra. The worm assembly helps extract the maximum amount of oil extraction from a copra seed which means up to 22% is extracted in the first press and 7-8 % in the second press, making it most suitable for the Copra seed. Increased productivity, lesser maintenance of the oil extraction machinery, lower operating costs, and reduced floor space occupancy are a few factors that every oil extracting company would like to achieve. Thanks to the Kumar screw press and Anderson Dox/Hivex Extruder, manufacturers in India and abroad can extract high-quality virgin coconut oil without compromising quality. As a result, the demand for virgin coconut oil will see a steep increase in the coming years, which means there will be a tremendous increase in the number of manufacturers aiming at producing thousands of tonnes of virgin coconut oil. Increased demand leads to an urgent need to improvise on equipment and R&D involving oil extraction processes and machinery.

You might find these interesting:

Read about the commercial aspects of coconut oil production in India
Learn how virgin coconut oil is extracted - the process and the many methods
How to set up a virgin coconut oil plant in India