Template:Chapters 8.14
8.14 - Low cost machines to extract cooking oil from seeds
Suggested citation for this chapter.
Singh,N (2022) Low cost machines to extract cooking oil from seeds. In Farmpedia, The Encyclopedia for Small Scale Farmers. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.farmpedia.org
Introduction
Cooking oil is an important food ingredient as it reduces the time required to cook, because of its high heat capacity. Women and girls have to walk long distances to collect firewood, so many traditional foods rely on frying which makes cooking much faster and hence uses less fuelwood. It also reduces the time required by women to spend in front of the cooking fire, breathing in dangerous smoke. Moreover, cooking oil adds flavor, texture and nutrition to food. It is also a valuable source of energy and essential fatty acids. Smallholder farmers can use cooking oil to improve the quality of their products and to make them more nutritious; not only does it add flavor to food, but it also helps to preserve it. Farmers can also sell cooking oil to local markets. Smallholder farmers can also use it to produce biodiesel, which can be used to power vehicles and machinery. It can be used for cooking, lighting, and powering farm equipment. It is also used in the production of soap, detergent, and other products. Overall, cooking oil is an important product for smallholder farmers because it is a source of income and helps to improve the quality of life (Fold, 1999).
However, cooking oil extraction is laborious for most small scale farmers (Poku, 2002; Fold, 1999). As a result, farmers typically sell raw oilseeds and do not capture the value from a final oil product. Instead, farmers are forced to buy cooking oil which is expensive.
Different Methods Of Oil Extraction
•Mechanical extraction is the most traditional method of oil extraction used by smallholders; it involves pounding oilseeds with a mortar and pestle (Poku, 2002).
•Oilseed pressing is a method of oil pressing that uses a screw to compress and extract oil from seeds and nuts. The material to be pressed is fed into the press, where it is crushed and compressed. The oil is then extracted from the crushed material. This type of extraction is popular among small scale farmers because the presses which use this method are generally inexpensive, as they require a low number of parts. Furthermore, it is simple and requires only one person to operate it by rotating on the handle of the screw mechanism.
•Expeller pressing is a method of oil pressing that uses two heavy plates to compress and extract oil from seeds and nuts. The seed is placed between two heavy metal plates in a machine. When the machine is switched on, the plates normally revolve, pushing the seed harder and harder to extract oil from it. The oil is then extracted from the crushed material. The machinery required is inexpensive and does not require any chemicals to operate it (De Alzaa et al., 2020).
•Cold pressing is a method of oil pressing that uses a cold press to extract oil from seeds and nuts. The material to be pressed is fed into the press, where it is crushed and compressed. The oil is then extracted from the crushed material. This method is the same as expeller pressing but the temperature must be 40˚C or lower for the oil to be considered cold pressed. Cold pressed oil is regarded as offering more nutritional and health advantages. These oils are often high in vitamin E and monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (De Alzaa et al., 2020).
•Hot pressing is a method of oil pressing that uses a hot press to extract oil from seeds and nuts. The material to be pressed is fed into the press, where it is heated and crushed. The oil is then extracted from the crushed material.
Given the current challenges faced by small scale farmers to extract cooking oil, low cost and low labor alternative technologies are needed. This chapter will focus on hot/cold presses because they are easy to operate, are very portable and cost efficient.
Manual Stainless Steel Oil Pressing Machine
This machine is attached to a table, and one person is required to operate it by turning the crank while feeding the seeds from the top. This machine only weighs 3 kg and is 39 x 9 x30 cm in size (Figure 1). The light weight and small size of this machine makes it very easy to transport on a motorbike or a bicycle.
This hot/cold press runs mechanically and requires physical labor; the mechanical nature means that it has a very low environmental impact but is very labor intensive. It does require only one person to operate it, allowing individual households to be self-sufficient. In very low-income regions, local entrepreneurs could start a fee-for-service business, to rent the machine to farmers for a period of time so they can extract oil themselves. An advantage of this approach is that the entrepreneur is then responsible for any repairs.
The physical operation of the press allows it to be very viable in regions with scarce or no electricity or other energy sources such as petrol.
Raw Material:
This device is suitable for more than 25 percent of oil crops such as flax seed, coconut, walnut, sesame seed, sunflower, peanut/groundnut, pecan nut, mustard/canola/rapeseed and palm seeds.Method of operation:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gQa5ml_6iiQ (Fyre 2020)Average cost:
As of 2022, this machine costs on average US $125 (shorturl.at/dSW17) including worldwide shipping. An alternative machine costs US $72 (shorturl.at/cdglT), plus shipping costs.Production:
This machine has a dry cake residual oil rate of around 20% because it is hand operated. The dry residual cake is the oil that remains in the cake, so the lower the residual oil rate, the better the machine's performance. Some more oil can be extracted by grinding the residue again in order to increase the seed/oil ratio (Ali Express 2022).Automatic Cold Press Machine
This machine needs to be plugged in to a 110 V or 220 V power supply, and one person needs to feed seeds to it from its top and then just wait for the machine to extract the oil.
The machine shown in Figure 2 weighs around 10 kg and is 42x16x30 cm in size. Its size allows it to be easily transported on a motorbike but due to its heavy weight transporting it on a bicycle may be more challenging.
The low price, light weight and high oil production rate of the machine make it suitable for a small farmer cooperative. The smallholder farmers can visit the cooperative in order to get their seeds processed and take oil and dry cake residue home (Jofay 2016). The dry cake can be used as a fertilizer for plants by soaking it in water (Xanh 2013). It can also be used as an animal feed (Poku, 2002).
Since this machine needs electricity in order to operate, it is not suitable for regions with scarce electricity. Petrol-based generators can be used in those regions if readily available.
Raw Material:
This press works with all the seeds that can be cold pressed such as tung tree seeds, peanuts (groundnuts), sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, tea seeds, rapeseed/mustard, flax seeds, etc. (Savaliya Industries, 2022).Method of operation:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FK5GHCpOsGQ (Joyfay 2016)Average cost:
The price of this machine ranges from $220 to $280 USD depending on the source, yield and guarantee options.The oil extractor made by SAVALIYA costs $280 plus shipping as of 2022, and is sold by AliExpress (Savaliya Industries, 2022)
Another press made by MPSVADH electrical life store costs US $220 including shipping costs and is sold by AliExpress (shorturl.at/inW02). This is a cheap alternative to the oil extractor made by SAVALIYA with a little extra energy usage required.Production:
This machine is very efficient in terms of oil production and has a dry cake residual oil rate of 5%. Around 3-5 kg of seeds are processed every hour. It is recommended to stop the press for about 30 minutes after every 4 hours of continuous use (Savaliya Industries, 2022).Critical Analysis
To conclude, it depends on the farmer regarding how fast they need their seeds processed. An automatic press can process around 5 kg of seeds every hour, which is significantly more than a hand operated press would yield.
Cheap oil extractors are usually manual ones, meaning that they require physical labor to operate. They are also often less energy-efficient than their more expensive counterparts. On the other hand, they tend to be more affordable and easier to maintain.
Expensive oil extractors are usually automated. This means that they require less labor to operate, and are often more energy-efficient. However, they tend to be more expensive to purchase and maintain. Moreover, expensive oil extractors tend to have a lot of parts that increase the risk of failure (Fold, 1999). Some machines come with a limited warranty that cover the first 2-5 years of operation, but after that, the farmer will need to pay for all the repairs which could be expensive (Sims and Kienzle, 2015) and logistically challenging for smallholders (Fold, 1999).
Picture Based Lesson to Train Farmers
Additional Practical Resources To Get Started
BEST Service for Any Problems about Oil Press Machines (bestoilpressmachines.com)
- Small-Scale Oilseed Presses - YouTube
- Automatic Oil Press for Home Use - YouTube
- Hand Operated Oil Press - YouTube
- Pedal powered Piteba Nut and Seed Oil Expeller Oil press - YouTube
Picture based training lessons for farmers:
http://www.sakbooks.com/uploads/8/1/5/7/81574912/9.14__south_asian_eng.pdf + 4 other Ethnic versions available
References
1.Fold, N. (1999) Small-scale processing of cooking oil in rural Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso. Danish Journal of Geography 1, 55-60 http://img.kb.dk/tidsskriftdk/pdf/gto/gto_si01-PDF/gto_si01_72555.pdf
2. Christensen, T. (2022) What is expeller pressed oil. Delighted Cooking website, Accessed Dec 3, 2022. https://www.delightedcooking.com/what-is-expeller-pressed-oil.htm
3. De Alzaa F, Guillaume C and Ravetti L (2020) Evaluation of Chemical and Physical Changes in Different Commercial Oils During Heating. Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 2.6, 2-11. https://www.actascientific.com/ASNH/pdf/ASNH-02-0083.pdf
4. Sims, B. and Kienzle, J. (2015). Mechanization of Conservation Agriculture for Smallholders: Issues and Options for Sustainable Intensification. Environments, 2 (2) 139-166. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/2/2/139
5. Fyre, B. (2020). How to Use Manual Oil Press Machine. YouTube. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gQa5ml_6iiQ
6. Joyfay International (2016). Automatic Oil Press.YouTube. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FK5GHCpOsGQ.
7. Hang Xanh Company Limited (2013) The best way to use kinds of oil cakes as fertilizer http://hxcorp.com.vn/news/778-the-best-way-to-use-kinds-of-oil-cakes-as-fertilizer.html
8. Poku, K. (2002) Small-Scale Palm Oil Processing in Africa, FAO, Rome. https://www.fao.org/3/y4355e/y4355e00.htm#Contents
9. Savaliya Industries (2022) Fully Automatic Cold Press Oil Maker Machine. https://www.si-pl.com/products/si-801-fully-automatic-cold-press-oil-maker-machine?variant=41506628239516.
10. Ali Express (2022) Manual Oil Pressing Machine. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004299149040.html?