Sunflower plants are plants that contain big brown or yellow colored petals that are usually grown for beauty or harvesting of seeds. Majorly, the main purpose for growing these plants is to harvest the seeds that contain oil which is extracted using an oil expelling machine. These seeds are a source of proteins that are very essential for human consumption.
An oil expelling or extracting machine usually consists of an expelling unit that has an auger having decreasing pitches; that assists in achieving the heating of seeds, thus generating a steam that heats up the surrounding of seeds. Anyway, there are various types of sunflower extraction machinery but their mode of operation is somehow the same.
In addition, the oil extracted from these sunflower seeds is a raw material in the manufacturing of cooking vegetable oil, margarine, paints, cosmetics, and even soaps. Apparently, due to the need for a cheap source of nutrients, sunflower oil is a perfect remedy.
Description
Usually, the main components of oil extractor machinery are cake outlet, frame, extractor housing, auger, heating compartment, auger pulley, shaft and a hopper. To begin with, the frame used must be very strong and suitable to provide rigidity and stability depending on the size of the load and the vibration during the process.
Further, the location of the cake outlet is at the end of the extracting housing where the seeds are compressed and the oil content is forced out via the oil outlets slots found on the housing. Around the housing, the heating compartment is located there, which contains the steam heats that heats up the seeds passing through the enclosed passage.
On the top of the extractor housing, the hopper where the oilseed is fed is situated there. The steam generator is made of a thick pipe that is fixed on an electric heating element that is then coupled to the heating compartment using an inlet pipe and a steam outlet pipe with a cold water jacket that is used to condense the steam.
An electric motor or engine is an integral part of the machinery that assists in moving the convey belts.
Also, it's important to note that, the machinery can always be configured according to the customer needs.
Mainly, the operation of this machine is based on axial movement of the material in the screw press that is initiated by powering the electric motor. Before the introduction of seeds into the heating compartment, the compartment is first connected to electricity using a flexible cable and then switched on so that to heat up the seeds passage.
Moreover, the seeds are then fed from the hopper to the screw conveyor that rotates and located in the extractor housing. After powering the electric motor, the main shaft together with the auger will start to rotate. Usually, the auger moves and packs the heated seeds on the passage to the far side.
In order to achieve the compression, the pitch of the auger is decreased so that it can act as a screw press. Then, after heated seeds are compressed, the oil content is forced out via the slots on the housing. So that the machinery can achieve maximum oil extraction, the heat and the high pressure generated at the extractor housing due to the drastic reduction in volume takes the credit.
Then the extracted oil is taken to the oil refinery.
In conclusion, it’s important to maintain high hygienic levels by first cleaning the sunflower seeds and drying them before feeding them to the extraction machinery, although some types of machinery are configured to do so.
