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From seed to fuel
Read about how high-quality biofuels are produced in Poland.
Check out the article and learn the whole process.
From seed to fuel – the process of producing
rapeseed oil for biofuel purposes
Rapeseed oil has many uses, and one of the main ones is biofuels. A significant portion of the produced rapeseed oil is processed into biodiesel. However, few people realize the complex process of processing rapeseed for biofuel purposes. If you are interested in the journey that a rapeseed seed takes to become fuel, you will learn more about it from this article.
From seed to oil
– historical overview
The beginnings of oil production in Polish lands are dated back to the beginning of the first millennium of our era. Until the 20th century, oil pressing, along with milling, was one of the most widespread agricultural industries. The reason for this state of affairs was the important role that oil played in the economy.
In addition to food purposes, it was used for machine preservation, paint production, room lighting, in medicine, and many other applications.
The oil produced in the Middle Ages, like beer, differed significantly in terms of production method and final product. This is how the old process of obtaining oil looked like in a simplified way:
Crushing and grinding were carried out using pestles, or to simplify: larger-sized mortars.
Matting involving combining crushed raw material with water and thoroughly mixing them.
Frying, which is heating the raw material to extract oil from plant cells. At this stage, it was important to maintain the proper temperature. If it was too high, the oil would develop inferior taste and aroma properties.
Extrusion carried out on special wedge, lever or screw presses. The raw material wrapped in fabric was placed in a press, where the final product was obtained under high pressure.
The oil obtained in this process did not have very good taste and aroma. The main problem was the frying stage, which significantly worsened them. Therefore, when one wanted to obtain oil of truly high quality, the heating process was skipped, which in turn had a negative impact on the quantity of the product.
From seed to fuel–
the current process of rapeseed
biofuel production
It consists of the following stages: cleaning, preliminary seed preparation, conditioning, grinding, roasting, cold or hot pressing, extraction, and filtration.
Obtaining oil of the appropriate quality for further biodiesel production depends on the quality of the raw material: the number of damaged seeds, degree of maturity, storage conditions and time. Here is how (in simplified terms) the whole process looks like:
Cleansing, or the removal of impurities from the raw material such as sand, gravel, stems, weed seeds, and husks.
Preliminary preparation of seeds (drying) in order to reduce the water content.
Conditioning is carried out in order to achieve the highest possible efficiency, which affects the quality, composition, and properties of the vegetable oil obtained after the pressing process.
Crushing, which results in obtaining a seed pulp with a nearly homogeneous consistency, greatly facilitates the next stage. For shredding, devices consisting of two cylinders arranged one above the other are used: the shredding cylinder (located at the top) and the pressing cylinder (located at the bottom).
Extrusion, which can be done by continuous (cold and hot) or periodic method. The two methods differ in terms of the pressing process, efficiency, and parameters of the obtained oil.
The cold-press oil extraction technology is carried out using a screw press. It occurs at a relatively low temperature and in a single- or two-stage system. The grains are subjected to crushing and subsequent squeezing between the screw (in the shape of a cone) and the reinforcing side wall of the press. The pressed oil leaks through the strainers and flows into the oil tanks.
The hot-press oil extraction technology allows for higher efficiency and can also be carried out in a one- or two-stage process. In this method, the seeds are pre-soaked and roasted. Only such prepared pulp is delivered to the screw press. The performance during extrusion under thermal conditions increases because the elevated temperature reduces surface tension and oil viscosity, which in turn helps in its mechanical extrusion.
Solvent extraction is a process in which the pressed cake, also known as the meal, is subjected to in order to recover the oil still contained in it.
Filtration removes insoluble impurities present in crude oil using plate filters or the sedimentation phenomenon. During sedimentation, there are significant oil losses, so a more efficient process is filtration, in which a filter cake is formed (removed periodically manually or automatically). Soluble impurities in crude oil are removed using the refining process.
The transesterification process is the proper process of processing oil into biofuel. In typical biodiesel production, oil and catalyst solution are mixed together. Mechanical mixing is necessary because oil and methanol do not dissolve in each other.
From seed to fuel –
conclusions
As you can see, even the simplified process of biodiesel production is quite complex, and the full, detailed version will certainly make any layperson’s head spin. However, before we skip this process, it is worth remembering that currently a significant portion of the produced rapeseed oil is processed into biodiesel.
It can be used on its own or as an additive to regular motor oils. Currently, diesel fuel sold at petrol stations in Poland contains 7% biodiesel, so there is no need to look far to notice the tangible impact of its production process on our daily lives. Just like you don’t have to look far to find high-quality oil for processing into biofuel or for other purposes. Just call Best Oil.
News
Check out our articles and see what’s currently happening in various branches of the rapeseed industry.
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