Pure plant oil fuel production
Pure plant oil (PPO) fuel is produced by extracting oils from plant matter. Most commonly oil bearing fruit or seed is crushed or pressed to extract the oil content.
There are two distinct processing methods cold pressing and solvent extraction.
Cold pressing
Cold pressing is the process of mechanically pressing oil bearing fruit or seed to separate the liquid oils from the other plant matter. The extracted oil is generally put through filtration and/or sedimentation process to remove contaminates before being used as a fuel.
Solvent extraction
With solvent extraction the oil bearing seed or fruit is first pressed or crushed and heated then mixed with a solvent, commonly hexane, to strip the majority of oil from other plant matter. The solvent/oil is then drained and then heated to separate the solvent from the oil.
Decentralised production
German production
Germany has been at the fore front of PPO fuel production and engine modification technologies.
Data collected in 2006 showed that 544 German decentralised oil mills processed 889,000 t of rapeseed, this corresponds to 16.7% of the German rapeseed harvest. Approximately 586,000 t of press cake and 303,000 t of rapeseed oil were produced.
176,000 t of this oil was sold as PPO fuel, 115,000 t as feedstock for transesterification, 10,000 t as animal feed, 800 t as food oil and 2,000 t for other technical purposes.
http://web.archive.org/web/20120220130955/http://www.ufop.de/downloads/Befragung_Oelmuehlen.pdf
A total of 600,000 tonnes of PPO fuel was sold in Germany that year.
http://www.ufop.de/downloads/Biodiesel-EN_291007.pdf
Data from 2007 shows 726,800 tonnes of rapeseed oil fuel sold out of a total diesel vehicle fuel consumption of 29,446,800 tonnes
Adoption in Africa, Asia and Latin America
Economic and social implications
Combined Cropping
Fuel quality
Variable fuel quality form decentralised production has reduced due to the introduction of new press technologies, improved feedstock preparation and handling and improved end product storage and handling.
Adjustable press
New press technology has allowed the adjustment of restrictions within the screw press head during operation to provide a new level of refinement in fuel quality. Using these technologies the temperature at different points in the press can be increased or decreased on-the-fly to avoid hot spots and related reductions in fuel quality.
Oil Cleaning
A new process, suitable for small scale production has been developed to reduce the phosphor, calcium and magnesium content in the oil. http://www.vwp-europe.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=72&Itemid=2 http://www.bv-pflanzenoele.de/pflanzenoel.html
See also
External links
- Example of a small screw press
- Another small screw press; the TäbyPressen
- Large, durable oil presses
- Some small screw presses mention by Journeytoforever
- Example of lever and box press, Understanding Pressure Extraction of Vegetable Oils by VITA
- Understanding solvent extraction of vegetable oils by VITA
- Small Scale Vegetable Oil Extraction by VITA; explains pressing of several different oil sources
Further Reading
EQUIPMENT FOR DECENTRALISED COLD PRESSING OF OIL SEEDS http://web.archive.org/web/20120217055522/http://www.folkecenter.net/mediafiles/folkecenter/pdf/dk/efdcpos_ef.pdf
Studie: Dezentral hergestelltes, kaltgepresstes Pflanzenöl im ökologischen Vergleich mit Dieselkraftstoff
Projektbericht: "Dezentrale Pflanzenölnutzung in der Region Lübecker Bucht" Marktstudie: Chancen der Vermarktung von Pflanzenölprodukten in den Bereichen Treibstoffe, Futtermittel und Nahrungsmittel in der region Lübecker Bucht. - von Olaf Schädlich, Hans Marten Paulsen und Rainer Oppermann herausgeber: verein der Förderer und freunde des Instituts für ökologischen Landbau der Bundesforschungsanstalt für Landwirtschaft (FAL) in Trenthorst (VdFF e.V.), Trenthorst 32, 23847 Westerau Preis: 10,- EUR ISBN 3-86576-016-3