Soybean Oil Extraction Machine

In 2011, the 6,000TPD soybean crushing plant was built by Myande Group for Guangxi Huiyu Grain and Oil Industrial Co.,Ltd, won First Prize of Science and Technology Awarded by Chinese Cereals and Oil Association. Since then, Myande Group has undertaken more than 10 crushing lines with capacity of 5,000TPD or over, each of which has stable operation, excellent product specifications and low energy and steam consumption. The product stability is inseparable from the systematic design and installation, but also from the core equipment of high performance. All the projects undertaken by Myande have adopted the Vertical Conditioner, Cracker, Flaker, Loop Chain Conveyor, Wet Meal Conveyor, Hot Meal Conveyor, Extractor, DTDC, Evaporator and Condenser developed independently by Myande. These equipment have conducted long test running by multiple projects, and their structure, operability and maintainability are constantly updated, by adopting excellent industry experience and precise data analysis, the performance indicators of equipment have been well-received by the majority of users.   Cracker and Flaker: Mature and Stable, Maximum Benefits More than 200 units of Myande flakers and crackers are currently running at various prestigious oils & fats processing enterprises. Since they were put into the market in 2008, they have experienced long running tests, the stability and quality have been fully proved. In addition, they have been upgraded constantly along with the technology development. World-class core components from Europe and Myande’s sophisticated manufacturing facility combine to guarantee their reliability and excellent performance.     Loop Chain Conveyor: Energy Efficient, Stable and Reliable With the obvious tendency of increasing capacity of oil seeds crushing lines, compact equipment layout scheme and smooth & reliable material logistics inside the crushing plants has received high priority. Thus, loop chain conveyors have been widely used in the large oils & fats processing projects. “Loop” layout of conveyor has provided a more efficient and integrated process design, with simplified feeding and discharging devices enabling multipoint feeding and discharging. Its stable operation and superior performance have been highly evaluated by the customer. Myande Loop Conveyors have ended monopoly of similar type of conveyors by foreign suppliers. At the moment, 30 sets of Myande loop chain conveyors are running stably.     Horizontal Rotary Cooker: High Efficiency, Low Consumption As the processing capacity of oils & fats industry expands gradually, power consumption has attracted increasing attention. Horizontal rotary cooker has gradually replaced the old vertical cooker. Horizontal rotary cooker represents new processing technology, improves the processing capacity greatly, and reduces energy consumption. Myande’s horizontal rotary cooker features U-shape screw conveyor feeding, siphoning discharging and stepless speed regulation. These features facilitate sufficient material heating and have much lower energy consumption. Now, 35 sets of Myande’s horizontal rotary cookers are running stably.     Wet Meal Conveyors and L-shaped Drag Conveyors: High Efficiency and Easy Operation Myande’s wet meal conveyors and L-shaped conveyors are high-performance lifting & conveying equipment with optimized design on the basis of the characteristics of vegetable oil processing.Their patented no-reverting structure greatly improves conveying efficiency. On the other hand, by using high-strength wear-resistant plate, Myande wet meal conveyors and L-shaped drag conveyors feature longer service life and higher reliability. Currently, Myande’s wet meal conveyors and L-shaped conveyors are running in over 100 crushing lines, including 9 crushing plants with capacity of 5,000TPD and above. The stable operation and excellent performance are well received by the customers.  

Since 2009, Myande Flakers have been widely used by oil and fat processing companies around the world. More than 250 units are currently in operation. After long-term operation and continuous improvement, the excellent performance and reliable quality of Myande flakers have been highly trusted by customers all over the world.   1. Excellent Flaking Effect The advanced and reliable roll-spacing adjustment mechanism and patented roll-end anti-leakage system ensure that the thickness of flakes is uniform, which is conducive to the control of residual oil in extracted cake.   2. More Energy-efficient The advanced hydraulic automatic tensioning system ensures that the main driving and driven systems always maintain the best tension of the transmission belt to improve the transmission efficiency. Excellent manufacturing and assembly can minimize the vibration of flaker to greatly reduce the loss. After being used and certified by authoritative users, the electricity consumption per ton of material is at the international leading level.   3. Lower Maintenance Cost Myande intelligent manufacturing system ensures excellent quality, including laser cutting, robot welding, pentahedron processing, surface treatment, and precision assembly. The advanced structure and intelligent manufacturing have greatly reduced the failure rate and made the maintenance cost of Myande flaker at a lower level.     4. Intelligent Control System Myande flaker is equipped with complete intelligent control system to realize human-computer interaction. And the communication system is available to realize remote control and unmanned operation, which can reduce labor cost.   5. Highly Recognized by World's Leading Oil Seeds Crushers Myande flaker has been widely used by many large oil manufacturers in China and has become a high-quality key equipment for them. What's more, Myande flaker has been adopted by more and more top international large oil manufacturers. Myande adheres to the mission of "With professionalism, we manufacture high quality mechanical products and supply complete solutions that enable our clients to succeed. We are dedicated to create a bright future for us as well as for our clients.", and is committed to becoming the world's top manufacturer of flaker and creating value for customers.  

Residual oil content in soybean meal is an important indicator during the production process of soybean oil processing factories, which reflects the level of production, management and technology of the enterprise. And it is one of the key issues concern by oils & fats processing enterprises. In this article, several factors affecting residues oil content in soybean meal are specifically analyzed, and corresponding suggestions were presented in accordance with the production practice, to reduce the residual oil in soybean meal and improve economic efficiency.   With the development of edible oil industry, soybean crushing plants are changing with each passing day, and the application of various new technologies, new equipment and new processes has gradually increased the scale of production. The control requirements for product indicators are also getting higher and higher, among which residual oil content in soybean meal has received much attention as an important indicator in the extraction process. The residual oil content in soybean meal refers to the content of oil that has not been extracted from soybean meal after the preparation section and solvent extraction section. It is of great economic significance to reduce the residual oil content in soybean meal. For example, estimated by the crushing capacity of 3,000 tons per day, if residual oil content in soybean meal is reduced by 0.1%, it will increase the profit of more than 100,000 dollars for soybean oil processing enterprises every year.   At the same time, the amount of residual oil in soybean meal also reflects the level of processing technology and production management, and indirectly demonstrates the differentiated competitiveness among enterprises. Therefore, it is highly valued by soybean oil processing enterprises.   1. Pretreatment Section Pretreatment includes several steps such as cleaning, soybean conditioning, cracking and dehulling, flaking, extrusion, etc., which are closely related, and each process adjustment will affect the next process.   1.1 Cleaning Soybean maybe mix with a certain amount of impurities during harvesting, transportation and storage. These impurities are mainly straw, stems and leaves, soil, metal objects, etc. The purpose of this section is to remove impurities from the oilseed.   If these impurities are not removed, on the one hand, the impurities will adsorb a certain amount of oil and remain in the cake, thereby reducing the oil extraction efficiency. On the other hand, impurities will be carried to the next section, affecting the processing effect of other sections. For example, the inclusion of iron in the raw material will not only affect the cracking and flaking effect, but also shorten the service life of the equipment and even damage the equipment.   1.2 Conditioning The soybean hull is thin and has strong binding force with the seed kernel. Even broken under the action of external force, the hull may still adhere to the broken kernel, and it is difficult to be completely removed. The conditioner can regulate the moisture and temperature of soybean, which reduces the moisture content of soybean by 1% to 2%, and raises the temperature to 55-65 °C, so that the soybean hull becomes crisp and easy to crack. After the subsequent cracking, dehulling is easier and the efficiency is higher.     1.3 Cracking After the cracking section, the soybeans are broken into 6-8 petals with relatively uniform size, and soybean hulls are easily detached from the surface of the beans. If the bean hull is not removed, it is easy to absorb oil during the extraction section, which leads to an increase of residual oil in soybean meal. In addition, in the large-scale edible oil production, the removal of more than 80% of bean hull can greatly improve the processing capacity of the equipment, so it is necessary to use the aspirator for dehulling after cracking.   The soybean hull content is 6%-8%, and the oil content in the soybean hull is generally less than 1%. The main component of the soybean hull is cellulose. If the dehulling is insufficient, part of the bean hull will adhere to the surface of the flakes after flaking, thus forming an isolating membrane which can hinder the direct contact between solvent and oil in the bean kernel when extracting. This is not conducive to oil extraction and will result in an increase of residual oil in soybean meal. On the contrary, if soybeans are fully dehulled, the above drawbacks can be overcome.   1.4 Flaking The flaking process is to squeeze the oilseed cells against each other by the pressure between the flaking rolls. So that part of the cell walls are destroyed, and the oilseed turn into thin flakes with large surface area. Thereby the flaking process can shorten the path of oil extracting from oilseed.   In theory, the larger the surface coefficient of the contact between the flakes and solvent, the better the extracting effect. If the flake is too thin (<0.3 mm), the powder degree will increase, which will affect the cyclical penetration of the miscella, eventually causing the residual oil content in soybean meal to increase. If the flake is too thick (>0.5 mm), the cell tissue will not be completely destroyed. The solvent cannot be quickly penetrated into the interior of the flakes, and the oil inside the flakes cannot be rapidly diffused outward. Therefore, the thickness of flakes should be checked frequently during the production process, and the thickness of flakes should be 0.3-0.4 mm.   1.5 Extrusion/ Expansion The expanded oilseed flakes have good porosity and permeability, and the permeation rate of the miscella is significantly improved. The amount of penetrative miscella per square meter per hour can reach 40-50 cubic meters. Therefore, good permeability can cause the residual oil rate to decrease accordingly. After the expansion, the solvent is not easily retained when the flakes run to the leaching section of the extractor. So the load of the solvent recovered by the desolventizer and drying system is reduced, and the heat and steam consumption are also reduced.   In the actual production process, parameters such as moisture, expansion temperature, and steam volume should be adjusted to ensure the best expanding effect.   2. Extraction Section During the extraction process, the factors affecting the residual oil content in soybean meal are extracting temperature, extracting time, the purity of solvent, and the amount of solvent.   2.1 Extracting Temperature The solvent used in the current extraction industry is mainly n-hexane, and its distillation range is 66-68 °C. The extracting temperature is preferably in the range of 55-60°C, in which case the thermal movement of the solvent and oil molecules is relatively strong. The viscosity is relatively low and the diffusion resistance of the solvent and oil molecules is small.   However, if the extracting temperature is too high, on the one hand, a large amount of vaporization of the solvent will occur, which will not only increase the condenser load, but also cause insufficient extracting and increase the residual oil content in spent meal.   On the other hand, solvent accelerates the dissolution of non-greasy substances such as phospholipids, sugars, colloids, pigments, etc. Too high extracting temperature can also affect the color of soybean meal. Conversely, if the extracting temperature is too low, the viscosity of the solvent and oil becomes high and the thermal movement is weakened. The diffusion resistance of the solvent and oil molecules increases, eventually leading to a decrease in the extracting rate.   2.2 Extracting Time The longer the extracting time, the lower the residual oil in the soybean meal. At the beginning of the extracting stage, the oil content in the cake/flake will decrease rapidly and then slowly decrease. To ensure productivity, a long-time extracting is not realistic. Whether the extracting time is reasonable or not depends on the characteristics of the input material, the extracting temperature and the type of extractor. Under the premise of ensuring the ideal residual oil index, the extracting time is shortened as much as possible in order to increase the production capacity and reduce the production cost.   2.3 Purity of Solvent During the extracting process, it is important to ensure that the solvent is pure. In general, there are two main reasons for causing the solvent to be impure: ① The evaporator is flooded, causing the solvent to carry oil into the water separation tank. After the water is separated, the solvent turns yellow, so that the solvent is not pure. ② The positive pressure of the water separation tank is too large, causing the solvent to mix with water. Mixing oil or water in the solvent will reduce the effect of the last fresh solvent spray.   To ensure the purity of fresh solvent, the following technical measures should be taken: ① Ensure that the steam pressure used in production process is stable, and keep the evaporator working within the specified temperature and vacuum range. ② Increase the effective volume of the water separation tank to enhance the water separation effect.   2.4 Amount of Solvent The amount of solvent is usually measured by the solvent ratio, which is the ratio of the mass of the solvent used per unit time to the mass of the extracted material. The large solvent ratio has a certain effect on reducing the residual oil in soybean meal, but the concentration of the miscella is lower, which increases the load on the evaporation system and the solvent recovery system. So the steam consumption is larger. The small solvent ratio, that is, the amount of fresh solvent is reduced, and the concentration of miscella increased, so the driving force of the mass transfer process is insufficient, resulting in incomplete extracting and high residual oil in soybean meal. Therefore, it is important to choose a reasonable solvent ratio under the premise of ensuring residual oil index.     3. Conclusion By analyzing each step of the pretreatment section and extracting section, there are many factors affecting the residual oil content in soybean meal. These factors are complicated and mutually influential. The operator should make a targeted analysis according to the actual production situation, and make timely adjustments to reduce the residual oil content in soybean meal and improve the economic benefits of the enterprise.

What is carbon neutrality? Carbon neutrality means having a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere in carbon sinks. Removing carbon oxide from the atmosphere and then storing it is known as carbon sequestration. In order to achieve net zero emissions, all worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will have to be counterbalanced by carbon sequestration.     The main culprit behind floods, droughts, extreme cold and heat waves, and melting glaciers are greenhouse gases emitted by human activities, which have caused global warming to intensify and pose a huge threat to the earth. So it is imperative to take action.   UN member states have reached a consensus to achieve global "carbon neutrality" between 2050 and 2100. A growing number of countries have announced timelines for achieving carbon neutrality. China also clearly stated in 2020 that it would achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.   Edible oil industry and "carbon neutrality" In order to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality and zero emissions, countries have begun to carry out energy transformation: gradually reduce the use of fossil energy such as coal and oil, and shift to wind power, solar energy, biomass and other low-carbon clean energy. Soybean oil, palm oil, canola oil and other vegetable oils can be used to produce biofuels, so vegetable oil is no longer just for human consumption, cars, airplanes, ships, etc. also "drink" vegetable oil. Indonesia, the largest producer and exporter of palm oil, mandates a 30% blend of palm oil (B30) in diesel in 2020 and plans to increase to B40. Malaysia plans to complete a national B20 biodiesel program by 2022.     The United States has clearly proposed a clean energy plan and focus on the application of biomass liquid fuels. More and more soybean oil in the United States is used to make biodiesel, which has accounted for about 40% of the total consumption of soybean oil.   Although the mandatory biodiesel blending policies of various countries have been repeated from time to time, the industrial demand for vegetable oil is rising in the context of global "carbon neutral", accounting for about 30% of the total global demand for vegetable oil, and it is difficult to reverse the direction of advancement. Industry giants are looking to the wind and have set off a wave of entry into the biofuel market.   Since 2021, international grain merchants such as ADM, Bunge and Cargill, international energy giants such as ExxonMobil, Marathon Oil and Chevron, and even international food giants including Nestle, have increased their bets on the biofuel sector. They build and expand new soybean, rapeseed and other oilseeds crushing plants, or renovate traditional oil refineries, or join hands with joint ventures to produce renewable diesel.     As the scale of biofuel processing capacity continues to expand, giant producers are bound to compete fiercely around feedstock including vegetable oils, thus becoming an important variable affecting the supply and demand pattern of oils and fats. The raw material side of the edible oil market may experience more thrilling ups and downs.   Edible oil producers and "carbon neutrality" For edible oil producers, "carbon neutrality" means that the traditional industrial era is coming to an end, but also means the advent of a green development approach and a possible trend of low-carbon food consumption.   In the future, regardless of the size of enterprises, they will have to set carbon emission reduction targets and design carbon emission reduction initiatives, even affecting bank loans, because banks also have the task of "green finance" to reduce emissions.   In July 2021, the UN Global Compact released the report "Corporate Net Zero Pathway", which recommends that companies in all industries develop net-zero transition programs based on nine key initiatives.     Food products need to go through R&D, harvesting, processing, distribution, retail, storage and other links before being put on the table. Each link generates greenhouse gases. Therefore, the carbon emission reduction of food manufacturers, including edible oil producers, includes: reducing carbon emissions in the manufacture process, reducing packaging complexity, switching to recyclable materials, and reducing carbon emissions in the transportation and distribution of raw materials and products.   China's leading edible oil manufacturers have already begun the practice of "carbon neutrality". In 2020, 88% of the energy needs of COFCO International's global operations has been met by renewable energy and carbon emissions has been reduced by 4% overall. Yihai Kerry has adopted green development measures, such as building a solar photovoltaic system on the roof of an existing factory building, to reduce carbon emissions and reap economic benefits.     Low-carbon food development will also be a new opportunity. Low-carbon food is food that consumes less energy and emits less greenhouse gases during its life cycle (from the processing of raw materials to the consumption), while the opposite is high-carbon food.   In a word, "carbon neutrality" has risen to the level of global strategy, and the driving force of green technology and low-carbon food industry innovation is bound to strengthen. In order to avoid lagging behind in the transition to a green economy, edible oil manufacturers should plan early for "carbon reduction" goals such as circular economy, green energy, and zero-carbon factories, and start putting them into practice.   View more on LinkedIn

Cottonseed oil is also called cotton oil for short, it has been used as an edible oil in China for thousands of years. In fact, cottonseed oil is still a mainstream cooking oil all around the world.   Cotton oil is a mainstream edible oil. Cotton oil is a type of oil made by pressing cotton seeds and further refining. China is the world’s largest producer of cotton and cottonseed, producing 9.2 million tons of cotton seed and around 1.3 million tons of cotton oil in 2021, followed by India, the USA, Brazil, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. Xinjiang, Huanghuai River basin and Yangtze River basin are the top 3 cotton-producing regions in China. In Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Xinjiang and other places where cotton is grown, cotton oil is the traditional cooking oil for local people. And cotton oil processing plants are mainly concentrated in the north-west, north and east China. Cotton oil also has a certain of share in the international vegetable oil market and is still widely consumed in USA, Canada, Europe and other developed countries. Cottonseed oil contains nearly 80% unsaturated fatty acids and is also rich in functional ingredients such as vitamin E, sterols and squalene, as well as being resistant to high temperatures and antioxidants, making it more suitable for frying. A number of well-known foreign restaurant chains use cotton seed oil as the first choice of frying oil.     Why is cottonseed oil rarely promoted? Since the cottonseed oil has high quality and high consumption, why it is rarely promoted? Because there has been controversy over the use of cottonseed oil, and the price can’t be matched with the value, the industry development has encountered difficulties. Gossypol is a natural ingredient to resist pests and diseases contained in cotton, but it is harmful to humans. In the past, restricted by production technology, unrefined cotton oil contains gossypol and other harmful substances, and there have been food safety incidents caused by the consumption of unrefined cotton oil. As a result, people still have a prejudice against cottonseed oil. Nowadays, cotton oil has been refined to remove harmful substances and is safe for consumption, but the public cannot distinguish between the concepts of crude cotton oil and refined cotton oil. There are also a lot of vague media reports that not only do not clear up people's doubts, but also add to the misconceptions about cottonseed oil. When we search for information on cottonseed oil, most of the information is negative.   However, what the public does not understand is that China's cottonseed oil and cottonseed processing comprehensive utilization technology is already in the international leading position. Myande Group has developed the dephenolization technology to effectively remove the gossypol contained in cotton oil and cottonseed protein. In addition, cottonseed protein can replace soybean meal for the feed industry, and cottonseed hulls are the main raw material for culture medium in edible mushroom industry, thus making the best use of cottonseed resources.     Find the right position and follow the trend. The current edible oil market is highly competitive, but the seemingly saturated edible oil market can still be subdivided into categories. For example, peanut oil, corn oil and tea seed oil all have taken their place in their respective market segments and created good reputation and economic benefits. Nowadays, cottonseed oil is mostly used as a raw material for blending oil, and is often "anonymous". Cottonseed processing enterprises should be based on the characteristics of cottonseed oil, find the right market positioning, dig deeper into the value of the product, to obtain profit and market space.

Recently, a 2,000 t/d rapeseed crushing plant built by Myande Group for Daodaoquan Grain and Oil Co., Ltd. started operation successfully and started to yield qualified rapeseed oil and meal. Daodaoquan Grain and Oil Co., Ltd. is a comprehensive oil processing enterprise integrating production, scientific research, trade, warehousing and logistics of edible vegetable oil and its related by-products.   This new rapeseed crushing plant incorporates a wide range of Myande core equipment possessing independent intellectual property rights, including the E-type extractor, hydraulic flaker, DTDC, conditioner, and other key equipment. To achieve flexible material incoming and discharging, Myande CCJL series sweep auger and CQJL series reclaimer are used. In addition, advanced energy-saving technology, negative pressure draining technology and intelligent safety technology are used to ensure the stable operation of the entire production line and excellent product index. With the concept of "creating the best performance for our customers", Myande cooperates with DaoDaoQuan to build a modern, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly factory.