A common misconception we hear from oil millers is that after the pressing process, oil extraction ends with a perfectly clean oil product. In reality, the oil leaving the press tends to contain solid contaminants, consisting of small pieces of seed husks and hulls to dust and other impurities and a certain level of phospholipids.…
Moisture Control is Key to Consistent Oilseed Processing
In the oilseed industry, processors strive for consistency in oilseed moisture content to maintain efficient operation and promote high-quality product formation to maximize their profits. Many processors, however, rely solely on mechanical friction inside the extruder to generate heat and dry the product to appropriate levels. Under ideal conditions, the frictional heat removes excess moisture…
The Difference Between Anderson Expanders and Extruders
The invention of Anderson Expanders Often when Anderson engineers visit oilseed processing plants to talk to potential clients about their operations, one question inevitably arises: What is the difference between traditional extruders and what Anderson calls its “expander” machines? And sometimes we’ll hear that a competitor told the potential client that Anderson does not make…
The Truth About Dehulling
As many in the oil seed processing industry know, dehulling can be a valuable tool when it comes to maximizing profits in any oil mill. But what some might not know is that there are many ways this can be done and targeting minimal hulls in the meal is not necessarily the best approach. Two…
Oilseed Production: Lower Capital Costs Do Not Always Equal Higher Profit
Like any business, seed oil manufacturing requires careful analysis of both capital and operational costs in order to derive maximum profit. This is why operators should carefully consider the full cost of any capital expenditures they make going forward, because the lower-cost option upfront may not prove to be such a bargain over a machine’s…
How Virtual Support Benefits Our Processing Clients
If the recent pandemic has shown the world anything, it’s that we should no longer take for granted the food that magically appears on our supermarket shelves. But even as headlines continue to highlight the threat that the Covid-19 virus poses to the human labor throughout the agricultural supply chain, it is worth noting that…
How to Make a Cold Press Oil Machine a Worthwhile Investment
Among health food aficionados, one of the latest trends is cold-pressed oil. In keeping with the “back to basics” mindset that drives much of today’s healthy eating, cold pressed oil harkens back to the days when farm animals were used to turn giant stone wheels used to grind seeds, nuts, and fruits. The idea is…
Dry Extrusion Cuts Costs, Adds Capacity for Oilseed Processors
Oilseed processing is a tremendously competitive industry, and as we talk with our clients around the globe, we’re learning what keeps plant owners, engineers, and managers up at night. Consistently during our meetings, we hear questions like: How can we improve inefficiencies in our process and cut energy costs? How can we improve the quality…
Sequence of Operations is Critical for Oilseed Processing
It’s amazing the number of different processing systems we’ve encountered and built over the years, each designed with specific goals for process efficiency and quality of the end products. When assessing established oilseed processing operations, we often find processors have purchased machines from several different manufacturers to perform distinct functions. Today’s manufacturers are highly focused…