Sowing the seeds of innovation
Innovations in vertical plate conditioning technology are being praised by advocates as timely considering the developing needs of today’s oilseed processors.
In the July/August 2020 issue of Oil & Fats International (OFI) magazine, Stan Pala, Global Sales Director, Oilseeds for Solex Thermal Science, notes that by combining vertically oriented pillow plates with air sections, oilseeds can be conditioned prior to the crushing process, allowing for more efficient extraction of the valuable oils.
“The commodity prices of oil and meal are something processors are generally unable to influence directly. However, optimizing processing operations is something that is in their control,” says Pala.
“Plate technology provides oilseeds processors with the opportunity to make improvements that create a noticeable impact on their bottom lines.”
In the OFI article, Pala focuses on why steam consumption is on the top of many oilseed processors’ hit lists – or, to be more specific, reducing associated energy costs. He notes that steam accounts for about a quarter of total processing costs.
“There’s an incredible economic motivation to re-using waste heat from elsewhere in the plant to reduce the overall steam demand, and thereby energy consumption in the preparation process,” he says, adding this also can be connected to government incentives for energy savings and CO2 emission reductions.
"Yet for the most efficient recovery, you need to minimize the temperature difference between the waste heat and the seeds. And to do so, you need a very large heat transfer area. Plate technology has the advantage of offering that."
Download the full pdf to learn more.
This entry was last updated on 2022-6-21
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