1. Pretreatment (Core: Cleaning → Drying → Crushing → Conditioning → Tableting)
• Cleaning: Vibrating screen + magnetic separation to remove sand, metal, and fibrous impurities.
• Drying: Reduce moisture content to 7%–10% (to prevent mold and increase oil extraction rate).
• Shell Crushing + Air Separation: Mechanical shell crushing and air separation to obtain clean kernels.
• Crushing: Crush kernels into 6–8 pieces to increase surface area.
• Conditioning: Steam heating to 90–110℃ to adjust moisture content to 10%–12%, breaking down proteins and reducing viscosity.
• Tableting: Rolling into thin tablets (0.3–0.5mm), with all oil passages open.
2. Oil Extraction
• Small-scale (<10 tons/day): Direct screw pressing (single/double pressing), residual oil approximately 8%–12%. • Medium-sized (50 tons/day): Pre-pressing (pressure 30–50 bar), crude oil filtration; cake residual oil 13%–15%.
• Large-sized (≥100 tons/day): Pre-pressing + extraction (n-hexane), residual oil ≤1%; mixed oil evaporated and desolventized to obtain crude oil.
3. Crude Oil Refining (Degumming → Deacidification → Decolorization → Deodorization)
• Degumming: Phosphoric acid + hot water, to remove phospholipids (prevent foaming and blackening).
• Deacidification: Alkali refining (NaOH) or physical deacidification (high temperature vacuum), to reduce free fatty acids (FFA <0.1%).
• Decolorization: Activated clay adsorbs pigments and impurities, filtration yields light butter.
• Deodorization: 220–240℃, vacuum (2–5 mbar), steam distillation to remove odors and low molecular weight substances, yielding refined palm kernel oil (RPKO). 4. Fractionation (Optional, separated by melting point)
• Olein: Melting point 20–24℃, liquid, used in frying, cold drinks, and non-dairy creamer.
• Stearin: Melting point 30–38℃, solid, used in cocoa butter substitutes, shortening, and margarine.
• Palm Kernel Oil (PKO): Lauric acid type, oxidatively stable, easily crystallizes.
◦ Food: Cocoa butter substitute, chocolate coating, ice cream, baking, shortening, margarine.
◦ Daily Chemicals: Soap, facial cleanser, face cream, lipstick, surfactants (detergent, foaming).
◦ Industrial: Lubricating oil, textile auxiliaries, biodiesel feedstock.
• Palm Kernel Meal (PKC/PKE): Residue after oil extraction, brown granules, protein 15%–18%, fiber 12%–16%.
◦ Feed: Replaces corn/soybean meal for cattle, pigs, chickens, and aquatic products, reducing costs.
◦ Fuel: Boiler combustion for power generation/heating.
• Palm kernel shells (PKS): Hard pellets, calorific value approximately 18–20 MJ/kg.
◦ Biofuel: Biomass pellets, power generation, industrial boilers.
◦ Activated carbon: Used for water purification and waste gas treatment after activation.
• Oil yield: 40%–48% (kernel → oil).
• Meal yield: 45%–50% (kernel → meal).
• Shell percentage: 50%–55% of kernel.
• Investment: 50 tons/day pre-pressing line approximately 8-12 million RMB; 100 tons/day pre-pressing + extract + refining line approximately 25-35 million RMB.
If you are interested in our palm oil machine and palm oil mill plant. You can contact us through online consultation, filling out the form below, email, phone, etc. Our engineers will customize the most suitable plan and best price for you.
