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Extraction of Oil from Jatropha Seed
The cleaned and prepared Jatropha seeds are sent for extraction. Oil extraction is done usually in two stages.
- The first stage employs pressing the seeds for oil – this stage is also called expelling
- The second stage uses a solvent extraction method to extract the remaining oil.
Pressing / Expelling
New methods of oil expelling use presses to extract the oil from the seed.
Small presses like the Bielenberg ram press can be powered by hand, by one or several operators. Capacity is then typically 1-10 kg/h of seeds.
Larger capacity presses, especially the screw presses, are powered by engines.
The strainer type press has its oil output in the form of strainers. The strainers are built up in the form of bars, and their inter-spacings (gaps) are adjustable. The whole press tube mostly consists of the strainer. The diameter of the screw increases over the length to get a rising compression of the seed. Sections with changing diameter can be found several times on the screw. During the flow of the seed through the press, the oil is drained via the strainer, which surrounds the pressing space. The choke size can be adjusted to press the seed harder. With some types of strainer presses it is possible to change segments at the worm screw in order to change the compression of the seed. Other manufacturers offer extra screws. In addition the choke size and the rotation speed should be adjusted when pressing different kinds of seed. Strainer presses exist in a wide capacity range from approximately 15 to 2000 kg/h of seed. The press cake comes out of the choke formed as flat plates.
Solvent Extraction
Solvent extraction is a process that is used to recover a component from either a solid or liquid. In this process, the material in which the component of interest is present is contacted with a solvent that will dissolve the solutes of interest. Solvent extraction is of major commercial importance to the chemical and biochemical industries, as it is often the most efficient method of separation of valuable products from complex feedstock or reaction products.
In the case of Jatropha oil extraction, the solvent extraction stage comes after the expeller stage. The crushed Jatropha seeds that come from the expeller are mixed with a solvent in a commercial extractor. Solvents used for extraction include heptane, hexane and petroleum ethers.
The Jatropha oil dissolves in the solvent, and the pulp is filtered out from the solution. The oil and solvent are separated by means of fractional distillation. Fractional distillation is the separation of a mixture into its component parts by heating them to a temperature at which several fractions of the compound will evaporate.
Related Links
- Introduction to the Biofuel Industry
- Properties of Jatropha
- Characteristics of Jatropha
- Extracting Jatropha Oil
- Pre-extraction of Jatropha Oil
- Extraction of Oil from Jatropha Seed
- Filtration & Purification of Jatropha Oil
- Clarification of the Oil
- Getting Clean Jatropha Oil
- Refining the pure Oil
- Typical Processes & Equipments for Jatropha Oil Refinery Plants
- Removing the toxins from the Meal
- Uses of Jatropha Meal
- Properties of Jatropha Oil
- Global Biodiesel Production and Capacity
- Global Market View on Jatropha
- Strategies for Financing
- Status of Jatropha in Asia
- Status of Jatropha in Europe
- Status of Jatropha in Africa
- Status of Jatropha in South America
- Status of Jatropha in North America
- Status of Jatropha Oil Production in India
- Genetic Engineering in Jatropha
- Status of Genetic Engineering of Jatropha in India
- Present Market Scenario for Jatropha
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