Castor Seed Solvent Extraction Plant

Castor seed is a very important oil seed which contains more than 48% oil. Castor oil is the oil that comes from castor beans. The castor bean contains 50% to 55% oil. The oil itself contains a lot of fatty acids similar to those used in cooking oil, some examples of this are oleic acid, linoleic acid, stearic acid and palmitic acid. Castor oil has very large industrial use and commercial application as well. For the reason that it is insoluble in benzine and has a very low freezing point, it is well suited for the lubrication of airplane engines. Castor oil is also used in hydraulic brake fluids and in biodegradable laundry detergents, as well as in paints and varnishes.

Castor solvent plant extraction plant is one of the most popular solvent extraction plant. The purpose of castor solvent  extraction plant is to remove most of the oil contained in castor seeds. Extraction is conducted on prepared seeds or, generally in the case of high oil content seeds, the cakes obtained by the pre-pressing.

Castor Seed Solvent Extraction Plant Operation Sequence

• Preparation of seeds for extraction which includes pre-pressing for high oil content seeds. The oil is recovered by mechanical pressing in oil mill with the help of expellers / screw presses.
• Extraction of oil from the prepared material with the aid of food grade solvent.
• Desolventising-toasting of the de-oiled seed /meal- often combined with drying and cooling of the said meal.
• Distillation, to remove the solvent from the extracted oil.
• Recovery of solvent, which is reused again and again at extractor level.