Patent WO2015190907A1 - Method for extracting crude palm oil using ...

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Method for extracting crude palm oil using

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WO2015190907 A1
Application
PCT/MY2014/000257
Dec 17, 2015
Oct 31, 2014
Jun 10, 2014

Inventors

Yusof Bin BASIRAN, Lim Chai BENG, Tan Yu

HWA, Chiang Chuen SHIN

condensate (220) that can be easily recycled as by-products. The removal of

Applicant

Palmite Process Engineering Sdn Bhd

undesirable suspended solids, such as fruit debris and sand, from the

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BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan

clarification process effluent (215), and the utilization of recycled process effluent

Patent Citations (5), Classifications (5), Legal Events (1)

WO 2015190907 A1
ABSTRACT
A method is disclosed for extracting palm oil (207) from press liquor (200) that
generates a biologically-stable palm fruit extract (221) and an evaporator

(201) for diluting the press liquor (200), facilitates the use of an evaporator
system for the removal of most of the water in the clarification process effluent

External Links: Patentscope, Espacenet

(215) in an energy-efficient manner and the utilization of the evaporated product,

containing mainly dissolved and suspended components extracted from fresh fruit bunches by the palm oil milling process, as a food product. The moisture content of
the palm fruit extract (221) may subsequently be further reduced by spray drying (222) to produce a dried palm fruit extract (224). The evaporator condensate (220)
is either recycled or treated and discharged.

DESCRIPTION
METHOD FOR EXTRACTING CRUDE PALM OIL

CLAIMS (24)
1. A method for extracting crude palm oil (207) from press liquor (200) that
produces a biologically-stable palm fruit extract (221) and a evaporator

USING GREEN TECHNOLOGY

TECHNICAL FIELD

condensate (220) as by-products, comprising the steps of:

(f) diluting the press Hquor (200) with recycled process effluent (201)

The present invention relates in general to a method for extracting crude palm oil

to generate a diluted press liquor (202) to facilitate oil-sludge

using green technology that generates a food product and a liquid effluent that is

separation;

much less polluting than the high-strength liquid effluent discharged from the
conventional extraction process as by-products, and in particular to a method for
extracting crude palm oil that generates a biologically stable palm fruit extract

(g) screening the diluted press liquor (202) using screening means
(203) to remove coarse fibrous suspended solids and sand (204)
therein to generate screened liquor (205);

and a evaporator condensate, having low organic matter content, that can be
either recycled or treated and discharged.

(h) separating oil in the screened liquor (205) using a settling tank
(206) to an extent sufficient to generate an oil phase (207) for further

BACKGROUND ART
The conventional crude palm oil extraction process is shown in Figure 1. Fresh
fruit bunches (FFB) 1 are cooked during sterilization 2 using steam and then, as
sterilized fruit bunches 4, stripped 5 to separate the sterilized fruits from the

processing to extract the crude palm oil therein and a sludge phase
(208) containing recoverable oil;
(i) desanding the sludge phase (208) using desanding means (209) to
remove sand (210) therein to generate desanded liquor (211);

empty fruit bunches 6. The sterilized fruits 7 are then reheated and agitated in
steam-heated vessels known as digesters 8 to loosen the mesocarp from the

(e) treating the desanded liquor (211) using three-phase decanting

nuts in preparation for pressing 9. The screw press expels a liquor 11 consisting

centrifuge (212) to remove suspended solids therein while recovering

mainly of palm oil, water and solids and a press cake 10 consisting of fibre and

oil to produce clarification process effluent (215), cake (213) and

nuts. The oil in press liquor 11 has to be separated from the water and solids

recovered oil (214), the recovered oil being recycled to the screening

and this takes place during clarification. In the conventional clarification process,

means (203) or the settling tank (206);

the primary separation is achieved in a settling tank using gravity. For optimum
separation, it is first necessary to dilute the press liquor 11 with hot water 12 to
reduce its viscosity. The diluted press liquor is then screened 13 to remove the
coarse fibrous solids

(f) evaporating the clarification process effluent (215) using

evaporation means (219) to an extent sufficient to produce the
biologically-stable palm fruit extract (221) and the evaporator
condensate (220) containing evaporated components from the

1 that are subsequendy returned to the digesters 8. The screened and diluted

clarification process effluent (215) as by-products.

press liquor
2. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the clarification process
15 is then heated and pumped into the settling tank 16 where it separates into

effluent (215) is treated using mechanical separation means

two phases, i.e. oil 17 and sludge 23. The oil layer 17 in the settling tank is

(216) prior to evaporation (219) to remove suspended material

skimmed off and passed to purifying centrifuge 18 which reduces the dirt content

therein to produce a clarified sludge (218) and a cake (217), the

to 0.01 percent or less. The centrifuged oil 20 is then dried in vacuum drier 21 to

clarified sludge (218) being fed to the evaporation means (219).

give a product of crude palm oil 22 with a moisture content of approximately 0.1
percent. Sludge 23 from the settling tank has some oil, the bulk of which can be
recovered using sludge centrifuge 26 after de-sanding hydro-cyclone 24 leaving
substantially de-oiled clarification process effluent 28. The oil 27 recovered by

3. A method according to Claim 2, wherein the mechanical

separation means (216) employs screening or centrifuging or
combination thereof.

the sludge centrifuge 26 contains some water and dirt and is therefore returned

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to the settling tank 16 for further treatment.

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4. A method according to Claim 3, wherein the mechanical

separation means (216) further employs filtration.

The milling process generates 0.6 to 0.7 tons of palm oil mill effluent (POME)
per ton of FFB processed consisting primarily of a mixture of the sterilization

5. A method according to Claim 3 or 4, wherein the mechanical

process effluent 3 and the clarification process effluent 28. POME is

separation means (216) may be strainers, vibrating screens,

characterized by a high biological oxygen demand (BOD) of 25,000 ppm and has

microscreens, disk-stack centrifuges, belt presses, filters, or

to be treated to discharge standards stipulated by the Department of

combination thereof.

Environment (DOE). It is generally acknowledged that a more effective method

of treating POME than the widely used anaerobic/aerobic ponding system is
needed to comply with the more stringent discharge standards in environmentally
sensitive areas.
POME is a colloidal slurry containing water, oil, cellulosic fruit debris, gums, sand
and water-soluble dissolved components originating from palm fruits. It is
non-toxic as no chemicals are added during the oil extraction process. It is made

6. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the recycled effluent

(201) is sterilization process effluent.
7. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the recycled effluent
(201) is a mixture comprising sterilization process effluent and
water used for cleaning-in-place of process equipment.
8. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the recycled effluent

up of about 94 percent water, 1 percent oil and 5 percent solids. POME is a rich

(201) is a mixture comprising sterilization process effluent, water

source of dissolved phenolic acids, polyphenols and phospholipids. Many

used for cleaning-in-place of process equipment and a portion of

attempts have been made in the past to utilize POME, or products derived from

the evaporator condensate (220).

POME, as food products. These attempts have generally been unsuccessful due
to the large quantity of POME and the high concentrations of water, suspended

9. A method according to Claim 1, further incorporating the step of

fruit debris and sand. The large quantity of POME implies that transportation and

drying the palm fruit extract (221) using spray drying means

storage costs will be high. The high moisture content implies that POME, or any

(222) to produce a dried palm fruit extract (224).

product derived from it having high moisture content, is not biologically stable and
will undergo changes in composition when stored for long periods without drying.
Drying is generally used to stabilize food products to rninimize microbial
deterioration and to bring down the transportation and storage costs, but the
high moisture content of POME, the large quantity to be dried, the high sand
content and the stickiness of the product being dried has meant that drying of
POME is generally an expensive, energy-intensive and difficult operation that
cannot normally be carried out using only the solid wastes generated by the palm

10. 10. A method according to Claim 9, wherein the palm fruit

extract (221) is pre-mixed with nutritionally acceptable carrier or
encapsulating agents comprising maltodextrins, cyclodextrins,
starches, modified starches or acacia gum (gum arabic) or
combinations thereof to improve the properties of the dried palm
fruit extract (224) for use as a food product.
11. 11. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the evaporation

oil milling process as energy sources. A problem faced with drying POME is that

means (219) employs forced circulation evaporation technique or

it undergoes an intermediate viscous or sticky phase. This causes the product

scraped surface evaporation technique.

being dried to stick to the surfaces of the drier and to agglomerate and form an
impervious crust that impacts the overall heat transfer rate. This decreases the

12. 12. A method according to Claim 1 , wherein the evaporation

efficiency of the drier, extends the drying time, effects the homogeneity of the

means (219) employs a combination of falling film evaporation

dried product and, may possibly, lead to the breakdown of the drier. Drying of

technique and forced circulation evaporation technique in series.

POME using boiler flue gas leads to a product containing high soot content that
cannot be utilized as a food product.
Evaporation has been used as a more energy-efficient method than drying for
concentrating effluent in various industries. Nevertheless, the most widely used
evaporator {i.e. the falling film evaporator) is not suitable for removing water
directly from untreated POME. The large quantity of suspended solids and gums
in untreated POME will lead to the formation of a hard scale on the heating

13. 13. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the evaporation

means (219) employs a combination of falling film evaporation
technique and scraped surface evaporation technique in series.
14. 14. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the evaporating
means (219) employs a combination of forced circulation
evaporation technique and scraped surface evaporation
technique in series.

surfaces of the falling film evaporator. The product leaving the falling film
evaporator will have high moisture content since it will not be possible to

15. 15. A method according to any one of Claims 11, 13 or 14,

concentrate untreated POME beyond approximately 20 percent solids due to the

wherein the scraped surface evaporation technique utilizes

abovementioned problems. It will have little or no economic value, either as a

reciprocating scraper blades on a hydrauHcally-driven or

food product or as a fertilizer, due to the high moisture content and the very high

pneumatically-driven shaft.

sand and suspended solids content. It cannot be easily dried using a rotary drier
due to its high moisture content and the drying problems highlighted above. The
product will also be very abrasive due to the high sand content.

16. 16. A method according to Claim 1, wherein at least a portion of

the evaporator condensate (220) is biologically treated and
discharged.

There is therefore a need in the industry for a crude palm oil extraction process
that is much less polluting and which generates by-products of economic value.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

17. 17. A method according to Claim 1, wherein at least a portion of

the evaporator condensate (220) is treated biologically,
chemically, physically, or a combination thereof, and recycled for

The present invention modifies processes in the mill to alter the characteristics of

use in the palm oil mill.

the palm oil mill effluent (POME) and to minimize the amount discharged. The
removal of undesirable suspended solids, such as fruit debris and sand, during
processing according to the method of the present invention will convert the
effluent to a form that will facilitate the use of a multi-effect evaporator system
for the removal of most of the water energy-efficiently. The removal of water by

18. 18. A method according to Claim 17, wherein the chemical

treatment of the evaporator condensate (220) consists of raising
the pH to minimize acidic corrosion.
19. 19. A method according to Claim 17, wherein the chemical

evaporation and drying produces a palm fruit extract, converting the effluent to a

treatment of the evaporator condensate (220) consists of using

food product that is biologically-stable and that can be cost-effectively stored

biocides.

and transported. The liquid effluent generated by the palm oil extraction method
of the present invention is the evaporator condensate. This evaporator

20. 20. A method according to Claim 17, wherein the physical

condensate will have much lower BOD and COD than the effluent discharged

treatment consists of using microfilters, ultrafilters, nanofilters,

from a typical palm oil mill and can either be recycled or treated and discharged.

reverse osmosis, or combination thereof.

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It is an objective of the present invention to provide a simple, environmentally

friendly and cost-effective method for extracting crude palm oil that generates a

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21. 21. A method according to Claim 17, wherein the physical

treatment consists of using granular activated carbon filters.

useful byproduct and a liquid effluent having very low organic matter content that
can be recycled to facilitate achieving zero discharge of liquid effluent from palm
oil mills.

22. 22. A method according to Claim 1 , wherein separating the oil

(207) in the screened liquor (205) using settling tank (206) is to
an extent where the percentage of oil in the sludge phase (208)

It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a simple,

is in the range 4% to 10%.

environmentally friendly and cost-effective method that is suitable for adoption by

commercial palm oil mills to convert the effluent discharged from palm oil mills
from a product having very little economic value and requiring substantial
investment for its treatment to comply with regulations on discharge standards to
a product that can generate additional income for palm oil mills.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a simple,
environmentally friendly and cost-effective method for treating the effluent

23. 23. A method according to Claim 1 , wherein the evaporation

means (219) is used to remove more than 80 percent of the
water in the clarification process effluent (215) to produce a
palm fruit extract (221) having less than 60 percent moisture.
24. 24. A method according to Claims 9 or 10, wherein the dried
palm fruit extract (224) has less than 10 percent moisture.

discharged from palm oil mills in a manner that significantly reduces the carbon
and water footprints of palm oil mills. The above objectives are achieved in the
present invention, which is a green technology approach to palm oil rriilling, by providing a method for extracting crude palm
oil from press liquor that produces a biologically-stable palm fruit extract and an evaporator condensate as by-products.
The said method comprises the steps of:
(a) diluting the press liquor with recycled process effluent to generate a diluted press liquor to facilitate oil-sludge
separation;
(b) screening the diluted press liquor using screening means to remove coarse fibrous suspended solids and sand therein to
generate screened liquor;
(c) separating oil in the screened liquor using a settling tank to an extent sufficient to generate an oil phase for further
processing to extract the crude palm oil therein and a sludge phase containing recoverable oil;
(d) desanding the sludge phase using desanding means to remove sand therein to generate desanded liquor;
(e) treating the desanded liquor using three-phase decanting centrifuge to remove suspended solids therein while recovering
oil to produce clarification process effluent, cake and recovered oil, the recovered oil being recycled to the screening means
or the settling tank; evaporating the clarification process effluent using evaporation means to an extent sufficient to produce
the biologically-stable palm fruit extract and the evaporator condensate containing evaporated components from the
clarification process effluent as by-products.
The press liquor discharged from prior processing steps used for extracting palm oil from fresh fruit bunches (FFB) consists
of a mixture palm oil, water, suspended solids and dissolved solids. The method disclosed by the present invention modifies
the characteristics of the clarification process effluent to facilitate the use of a multi-effect evaporator system for the
removal of most of the water that it contains to produce a biologically-stable palm fruit extract that is usable as a food
product and an evaporator condensate that can be either recycled or treated and discharged. In the conventional palm oil
extraction process, hot water is added to the press liquor to reduce its viscosity to facilitate primary oil-sludge separation
during the clarification process using a settling tank. To rninimize the quantity of effluent generated in the present invention,
recycled process effluent is utilized for dilution of the press liquor. The process effluent that can be recycled and utilized for
dilution is the sterilization process effluent, or a mixture of sterilization process effluent and the water used for cleaningin-place (CIP) of process equipment, or a mixture of sterilization process effluent, the water used for cleaning-in- place
(CIP) of process equipment and a portion of evaporator condensate.
The sludge phase from the settling tank will have approximately 4 to 10 percent oil, the bulk of which can be removed by
using a three-phase decanting centrifuge. The three-phase decanting centrifuge is used to concurrently recover residual oil
in the sludge phase from the settling tank and to reduce the suspended solids content of the effluent discharged from the
clarification process. The removal of undesirable suspended solids, such as fruit debris and sand, by the decanter will
convert the effluent to a form that will facilitate the use of a multi-effect evaporator system for the removal of most of the
water in the effluent energy-efficiently. The reduction in evaporation load on the evaporator by avoiding the addition of hot
water to the press liquor to facilitate the clarification process can be as much as 200 kg per t of FFB processed. This
significantly reduces the size of the evaporator and its steam consumption.
The clarification process effluent may be further treated to reduce its suspended solids content using mechanical separation
means. This separation may be achieved by screening, centrifuging or filtration. Equipment that can be used for this
purpose are strainers, vibrating screens, microscreens, disk-stack centrifuges, belt presses, filters, or a combination
thereof.
The removal of suspended solids from the effluent discharged from the clarification process will convert the effluent to a
form that will, not only minimize fouling of the evaporator, but also facilitate the usage of the effluent as a food product which
is one of the objectives of the present invention. The greater the amount of suspended solids removed by mechanical
separation (includes the removal of suspended solids by decanting centrifuges used for palm oil clarification), the lower will
be the extent of fouling of the evaporator, thus facilitating the removal of more water energy-efficiendy by evaporation. The
feed to the evaporator will consist mainly of water and dissolved solids (including gums) and fine fibrous suspended solids
extracted from fresh fruit bunches (FFB) by the palm oil extraction process. It is a rich source of phenolic acids, polyphenols
and phospholipids and other water-soluble minor components from palm fruits. Its economic value is further enhanced by

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concentrating it by removing most of the water that it contains using the evaporator to produce the palm fruit extract.
Evaporation is carried out at low temperature and under vacuum conditions to preserve the nutritional properties of the
effluent. The significant reduction in moisture content will extend the shelf-life of the palm fruit extract by reducing microbial
and enzymatic activity. The storage and transportation costs of the palm fruit extract will also be lower.
The use of a multiple-effect evaporator system makes possible the removal of water and other volatile components from the
effluent discharged from palm oil mills using a fraction of the energy required by a drier, especially if heated air is used to
supply the energy for drying. To minimize fouling, evaporation is advantageously carried out using evaporators that are
specially designed to concentrate viscous and heat sensitive products that tend to stick or foul the heat transfer surface.
The most suitable evaporators for our application are forced circulation evaporators and scraped surface evaporators or
evaporators using a combination of these two evaporation methods. The use of the falling film evaporation method should
be limited to the first one or two stages only of a multiple-effect evaporator system when the viscosity of the product being
evaporated is still sufficiently low.
To stabilize the palm fruit extract even more to facilitate long term storage and to make it easier to handle, further reduction
in moisture content can be achieved by drying. Drying of the palm fruit extract is ideally achieved by using a spray dryer.
Spray drying is a one-step processing operation for turning a liquid feed into a dried particulate form by spraying the feed
into a hot drying gas medium. Spray drying minimizes handling and also preserves the product by reducing its water activity
to a low level required to stop bacterial degradation. Its adequacy for processing thermo-sensitive materials is mainly due to
the short residence time (in the order of a few seconds) of the product inside the dryer. This makes them particularly
suitable for drying substances containing phytochemicals, such as phenolic compounds, to produce functional foods.
Because spray drying is a relatively energy-intensive method for removing water, an evaporator is advantageously used for
the removal of the bulk of the water in the effluent before drying into a dried particulate form using a spray dryer. An
evaporator can be used to reduce the moisture content of the evaporated product to less than 60%. At this moisture
content, the product becomes too viscous to pump through the evaporator. Spray dryers can handle viscous products very
well. For this reason, a spray dryer is advantageously used to concentrate the evaporated product further to a dried
product. The feed to the spray dryer may optionally be mixed with a nutritionally acceptable carrier, such as maltodextrin or
corn starch, and its moisture substantially completely removed by spray drying to yield a powder having moisture content of
about 5%.
The effluent generated by the crude palm oil extraction method of the present invention is the evaporator condensate. The
condensate has low organic matter content (BOD about 500 ppm), contains no suspended solids and is slightly acidic (pH
about 3.5). Its total solids content is slightiy above 100 ppm and its hardness is below 5 ppm. Some of the evaporator
condensate can be recycled for use as dilution water without treatment. Evaporator condensate that is not utilized as
dilution water, is either treated and discharged or treated and recycled for various other applications in the palm oil mill,
such as for cleaning-in-place (CIP) of process equipment (including decanters, evaporators and spray dryers), washing of
factory floors, for use as boiler or cooling tower feed water or for use as pump seal water. The evaporator condensate that
is used as CIP water may subsequently also be recycled for use as dilution water.
Various biological, chemical and physical methods can be used for the treatment of the evaporator condensate. Chemical
treatment may be required to raise its pH to prevent acid corrosion. Entrained suspended solids, colloids, oil, etc. may be
removed by filtration. Equipment that can be used for this purpose include microfilters, ultrafilters, nanofilters, reverse
osmosis, or a combination thereof. The condensate may also be treated using biocides (for cooling tower) and granular
activated carbon filters before it is utilized. The condensate discharged from earlier stages (effects) of a multiple-effect
evaporator system is less polluting than the condensate discharged from later stages, and will therefore require less
treatment if it is re-used as boiler or cooling tower feed water.
Evaporator condensate that is not recycled back to the palm oil mill can be treated biologically using a small effluent
treatment plant, such as a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) or membrane bioreactor (MBR), before it is discharged.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 illustrates schematically the conventional (prior art) crude palm oil extraction process using oil palm fresh fruit
bunches as the feed.
Figure 2 illustrates schematically the preferred embodiments of the crude palm oil extraction method of the present invention
using the liquor discharged from screw presses as the feed.
In describing the preferred embodiments of the present invention, which is illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology
will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the specific terms so
selected and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar
manner to accomplish a similar purpose. MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
In the present invention of a process or method for extracting crude palm oil, the feed for the oil palm clarification process is
the liquor expelled from screw presses used in palm oil mills which is generally called press liquor. It consists of a mixture of
oil, water, coarse and fine fibrous solids, dissolved solids and particles of sand. Hot water is not added to the press liquor
to facilitate oil-sludge separation in the clarification process. Instead, the sterilization process effluent, the water used for
cleaning-in-place of process equipment and a portion the evaporator condensate are recycled and utilized for dilution of the
press liquor to facilitate primary oil-sludge separation using a settling tank. Referring now to Figure 2, press liquor 200 is
mixed with recycled process effluent

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201 to generate diluted feed liquor 202 and treated using screening means 203 to remove coarse fibrous solids and sand
204 (that may subsequently be recycled). Screening is advantageously carried out using a multi-deck vibrating screen. The
screened liquor 205 is then fed to settling tank 206 to facilitate primary oil-sludge separation by gravity. The oil phase 207
discharged from settling tank 206 still contains moisture and impurities and, therefore, must be further treated to generate
crude palm oil.
The sludge phase 208 from settling tank 206 has about 4 to 10 percent oil and is further processed using desanding means
209 to generate desanded liquor 211. Desanding is advantageously carried out using multi-stage desanding hydrocy clones.
The desanded liquor 211 is then fed to three-phase decanting centrifuge 212. The three-phase decanting centrifuge is used
to concurrently recover residual oil in desanded liquor 211 and to reduce the suspended solids content of the effluent
discharged from the clarification process. The three-phase decanting centrifuge generates three phases. One phase is an
easily disposable decanter cake 213 having moisture content of less than 80%. The second phase from three-phase
decanting centrifuge 212 is recovered oil 214. Recovered oil 214 is a mixture of oil and sludge, and is recycled back either
to screening means 203 or to settling tank 206. The third phase discharged from the three-phase decanting centrifuge 212
is clarification process effluent 215 containing water, soluble solids (including gums) and fine fibrous solids and traces of oil.
The clarification process effluent 215 may be treated using mechanical separation means 216 to remove even more
suspended solids prior to evaporation. The use of mechanical separation means 216 generates two phases. One phase is
an easily disposable cake 217. Another phase is clarified sludge 218 containing water, soluble solids (including gums), fine
fibrous solids and traces of oil. The clarification process effluent 215 or clarified sludge 218 is processed using evaporation
means 219 to remove the bulk of the water and other volatile components that it contains to form palm fruit extract 221 and
evaporator condensate 220 containing the evaporated components. The clarification process effluent 215 may be
chemically dosed to increase the pH of the evaporator condensate or precipitate the volatile components therein. Some of
the evaporator condensate 220 can be recycled for use as dilution water as described earlier. Evaporator condensate that
is not utilized as dilution water, is either treated and discharged or treated and recycled for various other applications in the
palm oil mill, such as for cleaning-in-place (CIP) of process equipment (including decanters, evaporators and spray driers),
washing of factory floors, for use as boiler or cooling tower feed water or for use as pump seal water. The evaporator
condensate that is used as CIP water may subsequendy also be recycled for use as dilution water.
Evaporation may be carried out by using a falling film evaporator, a forced circulation evaporator, a scraped surface
evaporator or an evaporator using a combination of these evaporation methods. The use of the falling film evaporation
method should be limited to the first one or two stages only of a multiple-effect evaporator system when the viscosity of the
product being evaporated is still sufficiendy low. The use of scraped surface evaporation or forced circulation evaporation
methods will miriirnize fouling of the evaporator as the concentration of solids increases. The scraped surface evaporation
method is advantageously used as the final evaporation stage of a multiple-effect evaporation system to achieve very high
concentration of solids. The product is advantageously scraped by blades attached to a shaft that is moved back and forth
by hydraulic or pneumatic action. The removal of suspended solids prior to evaporation implies that the viscosity of the feed
to the evaporator will be quite low compared to the viscosity of raw effluent in a conventional mill. If recycled process
effluent is utilized during clarification to facilitate oil-sludge separation, the load on the evaporator will also be significantly
reduced.
The palm fruit extract 221 may be dried using drying means 222 to make it easier to handle and to make it more biologically
stable to facilitate long-term storage. Drying is advantageously carried out using a spray dryer. Because spray drying is a
relatively energy-intensive method for removing water, the evaporator is used for removing more than 80% of the water in
the feed to the evaporator to generate a product having moisture content less than 60%. At this moisture content, the
viscosity of the product becomes too high for pumping through the evaporator. The spray dryer is therefore advantageously
used to concentrate the product further to a dried product having a moisture content of about 5%.
The modes or embodiments for carrying out the invention described herein are only meant to facilitate understanding of the
invention and should not be construed as limiting the invention to those modes or embodiments only. Those skilled in the art
will appreciate that the modes or embodiments of the invention described herein are susceptible to variations and
modifications other than those specifically described. It is to be understood that the invention includes all such variations and
modifications which fall within the scope of the inventive concept thereof.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention finds ready industrial applicability in the palm oil industry as it is a
method for extracting crude palm oil that generates a useful by-product and also facilitates recycling of the effluent. The
method can be used for treating all of the effluent discharged from palm oil mills to comply with regulations on discharge
standards on liquid effluents and to reduce the carbon and water footprints of palm oil mills. In essence it is a modern green
technology approach to oil palm milling as it addresses the problem of the high volume of effluent discharged from palm oil
mills while generating a useful by-product of economic value.

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Patent WO2015190907A1 - Method for extracting crude palm oil using ...

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http://www.google.com/patents/WO2015190907A1?cl=en

* Cited by examiner

CLASSIFICATIONS
International Classification

A23D9/02

Cooperative Classification

A23D9/02, C11B1/04, C11B3/12, C11B3/16

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