Crushing - From feedstock to crude oil
Crushing
During crushing the crude oil is obtained from the original feedstock. Seeds are usually pressed while beans require extraction to separate the oil from the rest. Examples for seed oils are canola and sunflower, a typical oil bean is soy. Pressed oils are clarified in a decanter stage before the gums are removed by water degumming.
Press oil clarification
Press oil clarification
Feedstock: all oil types that are pressed, i.e. rapeseed or sunflower.
What to consider:
- Solids content > 3 Vol.%
- Adding water before entering the decanter improves clarification results, oil quality and yield.
Benefits:
- Fully automatic, no intervention or optimization needed by operator
- Closed process: clean product, clean production
- Very small footprint
- Easy maintenance and service
Water degumming
Water degumming
Feedstock: all oil types, beans or seeds, from pressing or extraction
What to consider:
- Standard process stage in the crushing plant to remove hydratable phospholipids (HP) from the pressed or extracted oil
- The degummed oil is either directly conveyed to refining or has to be dried in a vacuum if it is stored or sold
Benefits:
- Recovery of lecithin possible as an additional valuable by-product
- No tank bottoms in storage tanks
- Less oil losses in the following refining stages
