•                                        
  •                                        
  •                                        
  •                                        
                                               
                                               
                                               
                                               
  •                                        
  •                                        
  •                                        
  •                                        
                                               
                                               
                                               
                                               
  •                                        
  •                                        
  •                                        
  •                                        
                                               
                                               
                                               
                                               
  •                                        
  •                                        
  •                                        
  •                                        
                                               
                                               
                                               
                                               
  •                                        
  •                                        
  •                                        
  •                                        
  • Can supercritical carbon dioxide extract sunflower seed for vegetable oil?
  • Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO 2) extraction of sunflower seed for the production of vegetable oil is investigated and compared to conventional methods. The effects of extracting variables, namely pressure, temperatures, particle size, SC-CO 2 flow rate and co-solvent, on SC-CO 2 extraction are investigated.
  • How is sunflower crushed for oil recovery?
  • Sunflower is crushed for oil recovery via one of two process methods, hard pressing or prepress solvent extraction. Hard pressing relies upon exerting high pressure on the prepared seed to separate oil from the solids fraction, historically recovering about 25% oil from the seed.
  • Why is prepress solvent extraction better than sunflower meal?
  • Because sunflower oil has a substantially higher economic value than sunflower meal, process economics improve significantly as the oil recovery yield increases. Therefore, prepress solvent extraction, with the highest oil recovery yield, is the process method utilized today for the majority of the sunflower seed that is crushed globally.
  • What is a prepress solvent extraction method in a sunflower crushing plant?
  • In a typical sunflower crushing plant using the prepress solvent extraction method, the initial steps of seed pre-cleaning and seed drying are located in the seed receiving section of the facility, prior to seed storage.
  • What is the maximum yield of sunflower oil?
  • The maximum yield for sunflower oil is found to be about 54.37 wt%, and is obtained when SC-CO 2 extraction is carried out at 80 °C, 400 bar, 0.75 mm particle and 10 g/min solvent flow with 5% co-solvent. A central composite design is used to develop the model and also to predict the optimum conditions.
  • How does a sunflower extractor recover the solvent pumped to the extractor?
  • The solvent evaporated from the sunflower meal and the miscella are both recovered in the solvent recovery system within the solvent extraction process area. A typical sunflower plant will recover 99.8–99.9% of the solvent pumped to the extractor.