Small Oil Expeller for Rural Areas of Bangladesh

Abstract

Electric powered small oil expeller was constructed and installed at Bangladesh Agricultural University campus and in Modhupur forest area using the available information of big expellers imported from Japan. The capacity of the expeller was 40 kg/hr which with big expeller was 100 kg/hr. The oil extraction efficiency was 75.44 percent while the machine was running at 36 rpm. The factors which affect oil extraction from this expeller were determined. Moisture content of seeds should be 10-12 percent and 1-2 percent moisture addition is essential before expelling. Considering time and oil recovery, 36 rpm was referred for this expeller. The inside temperature of the expeller gradually increases from 30 to 65°C for one batch and it took about 30 min. Materials required for the construction of the small expeller are described in the article. All materials are available in the local market. Local artisans with little training will be able to fabricate the small expellers. About 30 man days are required to fabricate the whole expeller system. The machine frequently needs repairing of its worm screws at an interval of 60 to 40 working days or crushing of 16,000 kg seeds.