Oil Seed Extruder
The Multi Functional Rural
Fuel Platform (MFRFP) includes a
mechanical oil seed extruder and vegetable oil filter.
The extruder is used for
crushing vegetable oil seeds like soy and canola, creating a valuable meal cake and vegetable oil.
The filter cleans the
vegetable oil extracted, making it suitable for human consumption or useful as a
fuel.
Why use an Extruder?
Photo courtesy of
Insta-Pro
We use an extrusion technique
because it produces the highest yield without the need for aggressive chemicals
like Hexane and the oil produced is ready for human consumption without the need
for further refining. The extrusion process also creates a valuable, protein rich meal cake that is suitable for
consumption by humans and animals. The ability of the extruder process to cook
the product, gelatinize starch, deactivate anti-nutritional factors and reduce
microbial loads purely by heat of friction has contributed to the popularity of
extruders.
How does the Extrusion process
work?
A dry
extruder, which consists of a screw rotating inside a barrel. The oil seeds are
first cleaned and cracked into pieces, dehulling is not necessary. The seeds are
fed into the extruder's hopper and conveyed through the extruder.
The seeds are at room temperature when they
go into the extruder but leave at about 280 degrees F after residing in the
extruder for about 25 seconds. Upon leaving the extruder, the hot oil seeds are
conveyed into an expeller, which is screw press that squeezes the oil from the
seeds.
Products
Photo courtesy of
Insta-Pro
The products
of the extrusion process are meal cake and crude vegetable oil. The meal can be
used as an ingredient in foods as soy for example, contains about 45% protein. The extrusion
process destroys the anti-nutrient factors in the meal cake and improves the
nutritional quality of the vegetable oil. The vegetable oil can be used as food,
a fuel and feedstock for many other useful products like soap.
Meal Cake
The protein meal cake left over from the extrusion process can be used to extend
the local population’s diet, increasing the protein levels in their food.
This meal cake is a great supplemental animal feed when livestock cannot find
sufficient forage around the area.
Vegetable Oil
The vegetable oil
produced by the MFRFP can be used as fuel for the MFRFP's diesel engine. Using a locally
produced fuel ensures there is no need to import fuel into the community.
Rural communities can therefore use the MFRFP to energize their lives
without needing to spend all their income importing fuel to provide that
energy.
The vegetable oil has
many other valuable uses, such as a dietary supplement, feedstock for soap
manufacture and cooking oil.
Next ->
Other
Oil Extraction Links
