Coconut Oil Processing Plant & Machinery Solutions

Incoming copra is cleaned of dust, fibre, stones and tramp metal, then broken down to a uniform size for the press. Cleaning ahead of the mill protects the expeller worms from stones and metal carried in with the copra.

Sized copra is heated and conditioned so that the oil cells are opened and the meal enters the press in a workable state. Conditioning is run on indirect steam heat from the plant boiler.

Conditioned meal is pressed in screw expellers, which separate crude oil from the solid cake. Crude oil runs to a settling tank while the cake is carried off on a separate conveyor.

Crude oil is settled and clarified so that fines and press sediment carried over from the expeller are removed. Recovered sediment is returned to the press feed rather than discarded.

Where refined oil is being made, the clarified oil is neutralised, bleached and deodorised in heated, agitated vessels to give a bland, light-coloured oil. Virgin oil lines skip this stage, since virgin coconut oil is sold on its natural aroma.

Press cake is cooled, broken down and milled into copra meal for animal feed, which is a saleable co-product of the mill. Meal is bagged and stitched on its own packing line.

Finished oil is filled into pouches, bottles, jerry cans or drums according to the pack ordered. Filled packs are capped, labelled, coded and case packed for despatch.