Coconut Oil Expeller,Expeller Press
Coconut oil expeller press using a low-pressure bridge press (the KIT method) Source: UNATA-PRESS No. 21986
The fresh kernel from 40-45 grated nuts is dried either in the sun, or in an artificial drier, to yield approximately 8 kg of dried material with a moisture content of about 4%. Water (8% by weight) is added and the mixture heated for 20 min. at 75°C with stirring. The conditioned coconut is then transferred to the 171 cage of the UNATA 4201 press in five equal portions, separating each portion with a metal plate. Pressure is applied slowly to reach a maximum in about 15 min. Three pressings an hour give 13.5 l of oil, which corresponds to an extraction efficiency of 72%. The press-cake can be ground in a hammer mill, rolled, moisturized and pressed to give additional oil. The combined yield from the two processes represents an extraction efficiency of 90%.
Note In the KIT coconut oil expeller press process, the addition of 8% water to the dried coconut gratings raises the moisture content to 11%, which is the same as that used in the NRI method. Pre-heating the mixed dried and wet gratings prior to pressing in the NRI method would probably bring the oil recovery up to that achieved in the KIT coconut oil expeller press process.
Coconut oil expeller press from coconut gratings using the ram press
Sun-dried coconut gratings containing approximately 3% moisture can be processed in a ram press. The throughput in a CAMARTEC BP-30 expeller press, of gratings heated to 60°C, is 3.9 kg/in, yielding 2.46 1 of high quality oil. This is equivalent to an coconut oil expeller extraction efficiency of 85%, which is comparable to that achieved by a small-scale coconut oil expeller press. This process shows considerable promise, but has yet to be widely adopted.
