How do you press palm oil?

The process of pressing palm oil involves several key steps, primarily focused on extracting the oil from the palm fruit pulp.

Palm Oil Extraction Process

The following describes the process of pressing palm oil, according to the provided reference:

• Softening the Fruit: The palm fruit must first be softened by boiling or steaming. This process loosens the pulp, making it easier to extract the oil.

• Pressing: The softened fruit pulp is then pressed to release the oily liquid. This is achieved by using a physical palm oil extractor, such as a screw oil press. The screw press applies significant pressure to squeeze the oil out from the pulp.

• Purification: The extracted oily liquid contains impurities and needs to be purified. This can be done using artificial clarifiers or more comprehensive purification systems. These methods remove water, solids, and other unwanted materials, resulting in pure palm oil.

Step-by-Step Breakdown

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

1. Harvesting: Ripe palm fruits are harvested from the oil palm trees.
2. Sterilization: The harvested fruits are sterilized by boiling or steaming. This also helps in deactivating enzymes that might affect the oil quality.
3. Stripping: The sterilized fruit bunches are stripped to separate the fruits from the stalks.
4. Digestion: The fruits undergo digestion to further loosen the pulp from the nuts.
5. Pressing: A screw press physically applies pressure to the digested fruit pulp, squeezing out the oil.
6. Clarification: The extracted crude oil is then clarified to remove water, fiber, and other impurities.
7. Drying: Finally, the clarified oil is dried to reduce moisture content.
8. Storage and Packaging: The refined palm oil is stored in appropriate conditions and packaged for distribution.

In essence, palm oil pressing relies on mechanical means, particularly the screw press, to efficiently extract the oil after the fruits have been properly prepped by softening.