BREVET MADYA 2B

PRESSING STATION OPERATION

Pressing Station Operation

1.0 Introduction
The pressing station’s input is the threshed fruits and vibration screen
tailings. The outputs of the station are crude oil and the press cake.
The crude oil passes on to the clarification station while the press
cake goes to the depericarper. The equipment in the pressing station
are the digesters, screw presses and conveying equipment such as screw
conveyors and bucket elevators. This discussion here will focus on the
digester and the screw press.

2.0 Objectives of the Pressing Process

In very general terms, the objectives of the palm oil mill, as in any
other business, is to maximise profitability. In simple terms, this
means obtaining an optimum balance between the efficiency of extraction
of good quality products and the cost of operation over the life of the
mill. The objectives of the pressing operation are as in Table 1.

Table 1. Objectives of Pressing Operation

General Objectives Specific Objectives Measurement

High Extraction Efficiencies High oil recovery % oil loss/fibre

% oil loss/nuts
High kernel recovery % kernel in fibre
Production of crude oil in suitable Clarification
condition for clarification station results
Production of presscake suitable for
Depericarping

Good Quality Products Minimum deterioration of oil quality Oil oxidation test
through station results
Minimum breakage of kernels % broken kernel

Low Costs Low operating costs Actual cost of

operation
Low maintenance cost Spares and workshop
Costs
High consistent throughput Average press
througput
Downtime
Low capital cost

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The objectives of the press station are multiple and, in some cases,
conflict with each other. It is the business of a mill manager to
strike optimum balance between various objectives so as to achieve
maximum profitability. It should be noted that objectives might vary
from one month to another as for example when for the sake of processing
a peak crop oil loss may be sacrificed to some extent for throughput.

3.0 Digestion
The sterilised fruits and calyx leaves ex-thresher are conveyed to the
digesters where these are reheated and the fruit pericarp loosened from
the nuts and prepared for pressing. The digester has a vertical
rotating shaft to which are attached stirring arms and through the
stirring action of these arms, the fruits are made to rub against each
other. The normal speed of rotation of the digester arms is about 26
rpm. This action loosens the pericarp from the nuts and at the same
time breaking open as much oil cells as possible. Good digestion is
obtained through the following:
 Keeping the digester level full. The higher level not only
ensures maximum holding time but also maximum stirring effect
per revolution since the latter depends on the pressure to
which the fruit in the lower part of the digester is subjected.
The effect of inadequate digestion is an increase in oil loss
in press fibre. Sometimes the results of poor digestion are
detected through incomplete fibre removal from the nuts in the
press cake.
 The stirring arms must be long enough to prevent the build up
of dried material on the digester wall. The moving arms are
set at an angle and this gives individual fruits an up-down
motion as an arm sweep by and causes them to rub against each
other. The extent of this vertical movement will be reduced if
the arms are badly worn. This will result in insufficient
digestion. Periodic inspections are necessary to ensure that
worn arms are replaced. Such inspections such also include the
expeller arms, which have an effect on throughput.
 Sufficient heat must be supplied in the form of steam to raise
the temperature of the digested fruit to close to 100C. A
themometer for indicating the mash temperature is an absolute
necessity. High temperature will help to reduce oil loss in

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PRESSING STATION OPERATION

fibre and also to minimise nut breakage in the screw press by

increasing the elasticity of the nuts. Some digesters are
fitted with a steam jacket operating at about 3 kg/cm2 but in
most factories direct steam injection into the digesters is
practiced. This is less expensive, allows faster heating and
at the same time avoids local overheating of the digested mash.
 As the digestion proceeds and oil is liberated the friction
within the mass of fruit will be reduced somewhat by the
presence of the oil and this may lower the efficiency of
digestion. This effect may be overcome by providing
perforations on the bottom-plate, which allows oil and
condensate to drain away as these are formed. Draining of the
oil will improve the digestion process and have a slight
positive effect on the press throughput. Arguments against
digester drainage include the following:
 The combined crude oil from press and digestion will
contain more none oily solids and more cell debris, which
may result in increased oil loss in the clarification
station even though the oil loss in fibre may be lower.
 The extra loss of non-oily solids in the crude oil will
result in a rather lower percentage fibre in the press
cake and this may in certain circumstances lead to extra
breakage of nuts in the press.

3.1 The requirements of proper digestion

To ensure satisfactory results, the digested mash should come up to the
following standards:
1. It may not contain any single undigested fruit. The pericarp should
be completely loosened from the nuts.
2. The digested mash may not have been digested too thoroughly, i.e. it
may not be over-pulpy and the fibrous texture of the fruit should
remain distinctly visible.
3. The mash should be homogenuous: the nuts may not settle out.
4. The crude oil liberated during digestion must be released from the
digester and may not be allowed to emulsify.
5. The mash should have a temperature as to make it suitable for the
treatment following treatment (at least 80C)

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PRESSING STATION OPERATION

6. During digestion the mash may not be allowed to boil.

4.0 Pressing Station

The digester converts the individual fruit and other miscellaneous
matter coming from the thresher into a homogeneous mash while at the
same time freeing the easily available oil. This mixture is then passed
to the screw press either by direct feed as in the twin Screw Presses or
through a feed-screw as in the case of the Stork Press. Discussion here
will apply mainly to the twin screw presses. The free oil, water and
some fine solids is drained of from the transfer chute from the digester
to press or from the feed end of the main screw area of the press. The
mash is then transferred along the press screws and subjected to
increased pressure along the screws by means of decreasing screw pitch
and pressurised cones at the exit end of the screws. Automatic devices
can ensure a fairly consistent pressure at the cones.

4.1 Variables affecting press performance

The variables that are known to affect press performance are listed
below. The type and age of palms supplying fruits to the mill will
affect the performance in some way but as these are fixed for any given
mill, they are not considered.

Variable Objectives Affected

1. Time from harvest to sterilisation Throughput, oil recovery, kernel recovery
2. Contamination of FFB Maintenance cost, throughput, oil quality
3. Sterilisation Throughput, oil recovery, kernel recovery
4. Condition of digester arms Throughput, oil recovery
5. Keeping digester at full level Throughput, oil recovery, kernel recovery
6. Temperature of digester mash Throughput, oil recovery, oil quality
7. Screw speeds Throughput, oil recovery, kernel recovery
8. Cone pressure Throughput, oil recovery, kernel recovery
9. Mechanical condition of press Throughput, oil recovery, kernel recovery
maintenance cost
10. Efficiency of maintenance Maintenance cost, throughput

The effect of each variable is discussed below:

4.1.1 Time from Harvest to Sterilisation

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PRESSING STATION OPERATION

Old FFB if subjected to normal sterilisation tends to break up in the

digester and press more easily than fresh bunches. Pressing of very old
FFB can result in higher losses of kernels in the fibres and reduced
throughput. In general the fresher the FFB the better the all round
performance.

4.1.2 Contamination of FFB

The chief contaminants of FFB are sand, stones, and earth which
contaminate the FFB during the harvesting operations. Once intermixed
with FFB such contamination is difficult to remove without using large
volumes of water and incurring a high oil loss. Contamination of FFB
causes wear throughout the process including the press station. The net
result is early wear on digester arms and the press and hence high
maintenance costs. This is also a major cause of iron contamination of
palm oil. Control of this variable is limited in the mill and
preventive measures in the field seem to offer the best approach.

4.1.3 Sterilisation
The sterilisation process greatly affects the press station results.
Understerilisation reduces throughput drastically and increases oil
loss. Oversterilisation leads to break up of fibres, which cause high
kernel breakage. The terms understerilisation and over sterilisation
are deliberately loose because there is very little, if any, published
work on this subject. It happens not infrequently that poor
sterilisation leads to poor press throughput which in turns causes a
lack of fuel for the boiler which further depresses steam for
sterilisation. This vicious cycle can only be broken by stopping the
process and raising sufficient steam for efficient sterilisation.

4.1.4 Mechanical Condition of Digester

Badly worn digester arms and expeller blades will lead to poor digestion
which affect pressing performance in the form of high oil losses.
Periodic inspections and replacements of worn digesters are therefore
necessary for efficient pressing. For consistent processing, it is
important to ensure that feed into the screw press is consistent.

4.1.5 Maintenance of Full Digester Level

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Digestion depends on the shearing action of digester arms coupled with

the pressure from the fruit in the digester. Refer to discussion on
digester.

4.1.6 Temperature
High temperatures up to 99C are absolutely vital for good digestion and
pressing. In general, the higher the temperature, the lower will be the
oil loss. Furthermore at high temperatures, the crude oil from the
press will be in a state suitable for clarification and the fibre and
nut mix will be better separated in the depericarper. The reason for
the high temperatures is probably that viscosity of oil is reduced as
temperature increases. Temperature control starts at the sterilisation
station by ensuring that the delay between sterilising and pressing is
at a minimum i.e. that FFB from the sterilisers are sequenced with the
pressing operation. The digesters are provided with either steam
jackets or live steam injection for raising up the temperature of the
mash. It is probably better to ensure that temperatures do not reach
100C as above this temperature, there is a danger that oil/water
emulsions will form. Apart from this, the hotter the better.

4.1.7 Screw Speeds and Cone Pressure

Increasing screw speeds increases throughput and oil loss. Increasing
cone pressure will not have much effect on the throughput but will
increase the kernel loss and cause a reduction in the oil loss.

4.1.8 Mechanical Condition of the Press

Performance of screw presses do not seem to be sensitive to wear on
screws and cages until wear has reached a critical point after which
throughput reduces drastically. It is important to spot such instances
as soon as possible and do an overhaul when necessary. It should be
possible to anticipate such eventualities by carrying out preventive
maintenance after a specific number of hours of operation. In practice,
the screw life is quite variable depending probably on contamination of
FFB and on the quality of spares used.

4.1.9 Maintenance Efficiency

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PRESSING STATION OPERATION

It is obvious that maintenance of presses should be done as quickly and

efficiently as possible so as to reduce downtime and maintenance costs.

4.2 Practical Control of Pressing Operation

The important observations and control that applies to screw press
operation are given below:

a) Good sterilisation and digestion is a pre-condition to good

deoiling in the press. Digester level should always be full
and the digested mesh temperature should be at least 90C.
Digester arms should not be excessively worn.
b) Condition of press screws should be checked during maintenance
to ensure that they are not badly worn off.
c) Condition of the press cage – to ensure that it is not badly
worn off or damaged e.g. bulging, tear
d) Cone adjustments – ensure that automatic control system is
functional at all times. Keep the essential spares for the
sytem.
e) Press throughput rates should be checked daily by maintaining a
daily log-book of the operating hours of the presses.
f) Press fibre deoiling – press fibre samples should be properly
taken hourly and should produce oil to dry matter of between 7%
to 7.5%. Nut breakage should not exceed 15%. Samples should
be taken from the top, bottom, sides and centre of the press
cake.
g) Frequent stoppage and starting of the press can cause high
losses. The presses should be as far as possible run
continuously without stoppage.
h) Proper continuous feeding of the digested fruits from the
digester to the press should be aimed at all times.
i) Proper care to maintain other components of the press in good
operating conditions e.g. gearbox, couplings, vee belts etc.
j) Keeping the press station clean at all times.

4.3 Additional Readings

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PRESSING STATION OPERATION

CB Twin Screw Press Operating Manual (attached)

Standard Operating Procedures