1

Design and Fabrication of a Screw Press Oil Expeller for Small Scale
Oil Processors
Tanko Bako1*, Boman James Bature2
1. Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria.
2. Department of Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering, Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, Zaria, Nigeria.
* E-mail of the corresponding author: engbako@gmail.com
Abstract
The objectives of this work are to design a small scale screw press oil expeller for edible oil extraction; to fabricate the
components of the expeller based on the design specifications and; to test the expeller after fabrication and assembly of
the components. This machine was aimed at easing the pain, stress, intensive labour, and time consumption encountered
in the existing oil pressing processes. The basic features of the oil expeller are the frame, electric motor, pressing drum,
oil outlet, cake outlet, hopper, pulleys, transmission belts and bearings. In operation, the gradually built-up pressure along
the screw drum travel conveys, crushes, grinds, presses and squeezes oil out of the oil-bearing material into the oil outlet
via the oil channel. The residual cake from where the oil is extracted is extruded out of the cake outlet in form of flakes.
The expeller was tested and results showed a high oil yield and extraction efficiency with low extraction loss. Powered
by a 5 hp single-phase electric motor, the expeller has a production cost of 650 USD. A cottage edible oil extraction plant
based on this technology can provide employment for two persons at the same time producing oil for food,
pharmaceuticals, soap and cosmetic industries and cake for livestock feed industry at low costs.
Keywords: Screw press; Oil expeller; Design; Testing
1. Introduction
An expeller press is a screw-type machine that presses oil seeds through a caged barrel-like cavity. Raw materials enter
one side of the press and waste products exit on the other side after extracting the oil. The machine uses friction and
continuous pressure from the screw drives to move and compress the seed material. Pressure involved in expeller
pressing creates heat in the range of 140210 F (6099 C). Expellers use a horizontal rotating metal screw, which feeds
oil-bearing seeds into a barrel shaped outer casing with perforated walls. The seeds are continuously fed to the expeller,
which grinds, crushed and presses the oil out as it passes through the machine. The pressure ruptures the oil cells in the
product and oil flows through the perforations in the casing and is collected in a trough underneath. The residue of the
material from which oil has been expressed exits from the unit, and is known as the cake. Expellers are power-driven,
and are able to process 8 to 300 kg per hour of product or even more depending upon the type of expeller used. Bigger
units processing greater quantities of oil are available for use in larger mills. The percentage of oil expressed by expellers
is nearly 90% depending upon the type and kind of products as well as the expeller being employed (Olayanju, 2003).
A mechanical expulsion rig was developed by Olaniyan and Oje (2007) for Shea butter extraction. The expeller consists
of a screw (or worm), rotating inside a cylindrical cage (barrel).The material to be pressed is fed between the screw and
the barrel and propelled by the rotating screw in a direction parallel to the axis the configuration of the screw and its shaft
is such that the material is progressively compressed as it moves on, towards the discharge end of the cylinder. The
compression effect can be achieved by decreasing the clearance between the screw shaft and the cage (progressive or
step-wise increase of the shaft diameter) by reducing the length of the screw flight in the direction of the axial movement.
Bamgboye and Adejumo (2007) developed a screw press to extract oil from decorticated (dehulled) sunflower seeds.
The main components of the equipment are frame, cake outlet, expeller housing, heating compartment, auger, hopper,
auger pulley and shaft. The seeds are steam heated by a heating compartment and the cake outlet is located at the end of
the equipment where the seeds are compressed and the oil is forced out of the grains. Equipment performance was
evaluated by testing three speeds of the axis (30, 40 and 50 rpm) and three levels of throughputs (1, 2 and 3),
representing the number of times the material passes through the machine. The best oil yield (73.08%) was obtained for
50 rpm speed and 3 throughput of the cake. The lower oil yield was obtained for the conditions of 30 rpm and 3
throughput of the cake. The authors observed that oil yield increases with the increase in screw speed and throughput.
Deli et al. (2011) reported the influence of three types of accessory factors (nozzle size the size of the choke section,
speed and shaft screw press diameter) of the screw machines on the extraction of Nigella sativa L. seeds oils. The
highest oil yields, 22.27% and 19.2%, were obtained for nozzle size of 6 mm, shaft screw diameter of 8 mm and a

2
rotational speed of 21rpm and 54 rpm, respectively. The lowest oil yield, 8.73%, was obtained for nozzle size of 10 mm,
diameter of shaft screw of 11 mm and rotational speed of 21 rpm. The percentage of oil yield was decreased with the
increase on the speed of the machine. When a slow rotation was used an increase in the pressing process time and in the
heating of the grain mass was observed. That heating allows the oil to flow more easily and so, more oil is expelled.
Nozzle size is directly related to applied pressure. Small openings add pressure to the seeds, thereby providing a higher
temperature of the mass of grains due to friction between shaft screws and the seeds. In conclusions, the authors stated
that the oil yield increases with decreasing nozzle sizes, diameter of screw, speed and temperature.
Akinoso et al. (2009), evaluated the effects of compressive stress, feeding rate and speed of shaft screw press on palm
kernel oil yield. The authors used an expeller with a rated capacity of 180 kg/h. The experiments were conducted by
using a factorial experimental design with 3 variables at 3 levels: compressive stress (10, 20 and 30 MPa), feeding rate
(50, 100 and 150 kg/h) and shaft screw press speed (50, 80 and 110 rpm). A maximum efficiency, 94.5%, was obtained
at 30 MPa compressive stress, 150 kg/h feed rate and 110 rpm of speed of shaft screw press. A minimum express
efficiency, 33.6 %, was obtained at 10 MPa compressive stress, 150 kg/h feed rate and 50 rpm of shaft screw press speed.
For the studied range, oil yield increases with increase in speed of shaft screw press and in feeding rate. Oil yield is
directly proportional to compressive stress while influence of speed is marginal, and also it is possible to predict a further
increase in oil yield with an increase in compressive stress.
Olayanju (2003) studied the effects of speed of shaft screw press (30 to 75 rpm) and moisture content (4.10 to 10.32 %
wb) on oil cake qualities of expelled sesame seed. As conclusions, the author found that the color of the oil was darkened
as the speed increased from 30 to 75 rpm and with higher initial moisture content. With a higher moisture content, the
residual oil in the cake increased. The lowest residual oil in cake, and hence, the highest oil yield, was obtained at 45
rpm and moisture content of 5.3%. Singh et al. (2002), studied screw pressing of crambe seeds. The authors evaluated
the influence of moisture content and cooking on oil recovery. For cooked seeds, the oil yield increased from 69 to
80.9% with the decrease in moisture content, while for the uncooked seeds, the oil yield increase was from 67.7 to
78.9%. Low moisture content, i.e. 3.6%, resulted in plugging of the screw press. Cooked seeds had higher oil recovery
(7%) than uncooked (3.6%). The authors also concluded that drying was much more beneficial than cooking in terms of
oil recovery for the range of conditions in their study but cooking is highly recommended in case of crambe to inactivate
the enzyme myrosinase, making the cake suitable for livestock feed.
2. Materials and Methods
The design was targeted toward achieving the following; high oil yield, high extraction efficiency, high quality of oil,
availability and low cost construction of oil expeller. Other considerations included the desire to design the cylindrical
barrel to accommodate the require quantity of raw material. Also considered is to design the worm shaft to ensure
maximum conveyance, crushing, grinding and pressing of the materials. Consideration was also given for a strong main
frame to ensure structural stability and strong support for the machine.
2.1 Description of the machine
Figure 1 is the isometric drawing of the screw press oil expeller; Figure 2 shows the exploded drawing of the machine
and the orthographic drawing of the machine is shown in Figure 3. The principal components of the machine are the
interrupted screw drum, cylindrical casing, feeding hopper, cake outlet, oil outlet, and mainframe. The screw drum is
housed in the cylindrical barrel at a clearance of 5 mm between the screw diameter and inside diameter of the barrel. In
operation, the oil-bearing material is introduced into the machine through the feeding hopper and the machine crushes,
grinds, presses and conveys the oil-bearing material inside the cylindrical casing with the aid of the screw drum until oil
is squeezed out of the material. The oil extracted flows through the perforations in the casing and is collected in a trough
underneath. The residual cake from where the oil is extracted exits out of the cake outlet in form of flakes. The machine
is powered by a 5 hp single phase electric motor and has a production cost of 650 USD with the construction materials
being locally available at affordable costs.

Part List
1. Feed Hopper
2. Frame
3. Cake Tray
4. Oil Exit
5. Electric Motor

4
3

Figure 1: Isometric drawing of the screw press oil expeller

1
Parts

4
5

8
7
9

10

Figure 2: Exploded drawing of the screw press oil expeller

Feed Hopper

Upper Casing

Bearing

Screw Drum

Screen (sieve)

Main Frame

Cake Tray

Oil Trough

Electric Motor

10

Motor Pulley

11

11

Description

Drum Pulley

14 9,15

800

549,44

510

770

SIDE VIEW

FRONT VIEW

Figure 3: Orthographic drawing of the screw press oil expeller

2.2 Design analysis
2.2.1 Hopper design
The inlet (feeding) hopper is meant for feeding in prepared material for oil extraction into the device. They are generated
by the application of the method of development of shapes. The hopper was designed to be a frustum, trapezoidal in
shape and has the following dimensions that were chosen based on proportionality and aestatics. The larger part of the
frustum is a square of 320 mm while the smaller part of the frustum is a square of 160 mm. The height of the frustum is
300 mm.
Area of hopper, Ah
Area of hopper was determined from the equation (Shigley, 1986).

1
A h= ( b1+ b2 ) h
2

b1 = length of larger part of the frustum=320 mm

Where;
b2 = length of smaller part of the frustum=160 mm
h =height of the frustum=300 mm
A h =72,000 mm2=0.072 m2
Surface Area of Hopper, Hsa

5
Hopper surface area can be determined in sections and calculated from the equation.

1
H sa=4[ ( b1 +b 2 ) h]
2

H sa =288,000 mm2=288 m2

(Hannah and Hillier, 1999)

Volume of Hopper Material, Vhm

This is determined from the hopper surface area. The thickness (t) of the mild steel to be used in constructing the hopper
is 2 mm. The volume of hopper material is obtained by multiplying the hopper surface area by the thickness of material.

V hm=H sa t

V hm =288,0002=576,000 mm3=0.000576 m3
Weight of the hopper Material, Whm

The mass of the hopper is determined from the density of the mild steel to be used in
construction (7860kg/m3) and its surface area. The mass of the hopper is given by;

W hm=V hm g

W hm =576,00078609.81=44.41 N
Hopper capacity

The Volumetric and gravimetric Capacities of the hopper were determined. The volumetric
capacity of the hopper, Vc was determined from the equation;
3
3
1 b 1b2
V c= (
)h
3 b 1b2

V c =15,360,000 mm3=0.01536 m3

The gravimetric capacity of the hopper, Gc is related to the volumetric capacity of the hopper, V c
using the Equation;

Gc = V c
Where; =density of sample (fish) =950 kg/m3
V h =volume of hopper= 0.01536 m3
Gc =14.60 kg

2.2.2 Design of the expelling shaft

The expelling shaft is made up of rectangular bars of length 700 mm, width 4 mm and height 50
mm welded to form flights round the length of a hollowed shaft of length 650 mm, thickness 2
mm and diameter 230 mm.
Weight of the expelling shaft,

WS

The weight of the oil pressing shaft includes the weight of the hollowed shaft and the flights.

6
Weight of the hollowed shaft is calculated from the equation;

W c = c V c g
(Hannah and Hillier, 1999)
V
=
D
L
t
c c c
But

7
8

Where,
c = Density of hollowed shaft = 7860 kgm-3,
Vc = Volume of hollowed shaft,
Dc = Diameter of hollowed shaft = 230 mm,
Lc = Length of hollowed shaft = 650 mm,
tc = Thickness of hollowed shaft = 2 mm,
g = Acceleration due to gravity.
Weight of hollowed shaft, Wc = 80 N
Weight of flights is obtained from the equation;

W f =N f f V f g
V f =Lf Bf h f
But

9
10

Where,
Nf = Number of flights = 7,
f = Density of flights = 7860 kgm-3,
Vf = Volume of flights,
Lf = Length of flights = 700 mm,
Bf = Width of flights = 4 mm,
hf = Height of flights = 50 mm.
Weight of flights, Wf = 76.00 N
Therefore, weight of expelling shaft, WS = 80+76.00 = 156 N
Screw pitch of the expelling shaft
The pitch of a thread is the distance from a point on one thread to the corresponding point on an adjacent thread. Thus
for a drum auger of length L and M number of flights, the pitch is given by;

P=

L
M

(Khurmi and Gupta, 2005)

11

Where,
L = Length of hollowed shaft = 650 mm,
M = Number of flights = 7
Screw Pitch P = 93 mm
2.2.3 Power requirement of the machine
The total power requirement of the machine is the sum of the power to drive the expelling shaft (P S) and the power to
extract the oil (PE).

PT =P S + P E

(i)

12

Power to Drive the Expelling shaft

Power to drive expelling shaft;

PS =T S S
T S=W S RS
But

Where;
WS = Weight of expelling shaft = 156 N,

13
14

7
RS = Radius of expelling shaft = 0.165 m,
S = Angular velocity of expelling shaft.

2 N
Angular velocity , S=
60
N=Expelling shaft speed =720 rpm

15

Power to drive expelling shaft, PS = 1940 W

(ii)

Power to Extract Oil

Power to extract oil is defined by;
But
Where;

PE =TDS S
3
( S)

16
T S =

16
17

PE = Power required to extract oil, W,

S = Angular velocity of expelling shaft = 75.36 rad/s,
TS =Torque of expelling shaft in relation with the shear stress of sample (fish), Nm,
DS = Diameter of expelling shaft =0.18 m
= Shear stress of sample (fish) = 3578 N/m2 (determined experimentally).
Ts = 4.10 Nm
Power to extract oil, PE = 309 W
Total power,

PT =P S + P E=1940 W +309 W =2249W

Therefore, 3.0 kW (4.023 hp) motor will be suitable for the drive.
2.2.4 Design of main shaft
A shaft is a rotating machine element used to transmit power from one place to another. The main shaft transmits power
from the electric motor to the screw shaft. Therefore, the shaft is designed based on strength and rigidity.
A. Strength criterion

Kb Mb

The shaft design consists of the determination ofthe correct shaft diameter to ensure satisfactory strength and rigidity
operating and loading conditions. Since mild steel is used for the
when the shaft is transmitting power under various
shaft, maximum shear stress theory will be usedKfor
t Mthe
t design of the shaft diameter and it is given in the equation as;

(Bhandari, 1994) 18

Where;

16
3
SS = Maximum permissible shear stress,
dUltimate
=

Ss StrengthShear
Ss=
Factor of Safety , FS
Kb = Combined shock and fatigue factor applied to bending moment,
Kt = Combined shock and fatigue factor applied to torsional moment,
Mb = Maximum bending moment, Nm,
Mt = Torsional moment, Nm.
For shaft having key way and load gradually applied:
Kb= 1.5, Kt =1.0

(Bhandari, 1994)

Assuming a factor of safety (F.S) of 1.5, the working stresses for shaft with key is;

w =

u 84 Mpa
=
=56 Mpa
F .S
1.5

w=
Mb max = 45.30 Nm

u
42 Mpa
=
=28 Mpa
F .S
1.5

19

8
Torsional moment, Mt = 80 Nm

d=0.02796 m=26.70 mm

B. Design of shaft based on torsional rigidity

Design of shaft for torsional rigidity is based on the permissible angle of twist. The amount of twist permissible depends
on the particular application and varies from 0.3 deg/m for machine tool shafts to about 3 deg/m for line shafting. This is
obtained from;
584 M L
t

( For solid shaft)

20
Gd
584 M t L
4
d =
(Bhandari ,1994 )
G
Where; = Angle of twist, deg, L = Length of shaft=82 m, Mt =Torsional moment=80 Nm
4

G = Torsional modulus of elasticity = 80 GN/m2, d = Shaft diameter, m.

Assuming permissible angle of twist of 0.50 (Bhandari, 1994)

d=0.03128 m=31.28 mm

C. Design of shaft based on lateral rigidity

This is based on the permissible lateral deflection for proper bearing operation, accurate machine tool performance,
satisfactory gear tooth action, shaft alignment and other similar requirements. The amount of deflection is obtained by
two successive integration;

d2 r M b
=
d x 2 EI

21

Where; Mb = Bending moment, Nm, E = Modulus of elasticity, Nm,

I = Rectangular moment of inertia, Kgm2.1

d=

32 M t
Sb

( )

( B h andari, 1994 )

22

Where; Sb = Bending stress = 75 MN/m2

d=0.022148 m=22.15 mm

Summary of Results for Diameter of Shaft

Having adopted different approaches to evaluate the shaft diameter, as indicated above, the following results were
obtained;
a)
b)
c)

ASME code formula: d = 26.70 mm

Torsional rigidity: d = 31.28 mm
Lateral rigidity: d = 22.15 mm

In order to satisfy all conditions of design and introducing factor of safety, a nominal shaft diameter of 32.00 mm is
chosen. d = 32 mm
2.3 Construction of the screw press oil expeller
The major materials used for the construction of the expeller oil-extracting unit are galvanized steel sheets and
galvanized steel bars, which can be sourced locally, easily maintained, dismantled and re-assembled without difficulties.
The materials also possess physical and chemical properties that can withstand corrosion, fatigue and stress without
failure during operation. The construction involved marking out and cutting metal sheets, according to the determined
dimensions of component parts. Most of the parts such as the hopper, extraction unit and frame were fabricated by
welding.
2.4 Materials and methods used for testing
For this research work, oily fish species (Atlantic mackery) were obtained fresh from the market in Makurdi for the
performance evaluation of the machine. The internal organs of the fish were removed and the fish was washed to remove

9
the residual blood. The fish was cut into small pieces and was heated to 95-100 C for approximately 15 minutes. This
process coagulates the proteins and disrupts the cell membranes thus allowing leakage out of bound water and oil.
The expeller powered by a 5hp electric motor was set into operation and known weights (7000 g) of each prepared
sample were fed into the machine through the feeding hopper. The interrupted helical screw drum conveyed, crushed,
squeezed and pressed the fishes in order to extract the oil. The oil and water phases (containing water-soluble proteins as
well) were separated from the solid phase (press cake). The fluid extracted and the press cake were collected and
weighed separately.
Clarification was done to separate the oil from its entrapped impurities. The fluid extracted out of the press was a
mixture of fish oil, water, cell debris, and non-oily solids. The fluid was allowed to stand undisturbed to settle by gravity
so that the oil, being lighter than water, will separate and rise to the top. The clear oil was decanted into a reception
container, sieved and heated to remove moisture in the oil.
Average value of the performance was reported after three independent tests were carried out. From the values obtained,
oil yield, extraction efficiency and extraction loss were calculated calculated according to Olaniyan and Oje (2007),
Olaniyan and Oje (2011) and Adesoji etal (2013) as:

OY =

100 W OE
W FE +W RC

23

100 W
OE = W OE
24
XW FSFE +W RC ) ]
100 [ FS(W
25
W FS
Where; WFS = Weight of fed sample, WOE =EWeight
L= of oil extracted, WFE = Weight of fish extract,
WRC = Weight of residual cake, X = Oil content of fish in decimal.
3. Results and Discussion
The average oil yield, extraction efficiency and extraction loss were 20.9, 78.11 and 12.11 % respectively. The result
obtained from the design calculations and the fabrication of the oil-extracting machine that will produce fish oil using
mechanical extraction shows that this process (mechanical extraction) is the most suitable method for extracting fish oil
because of its high yield and high oil purity, both in large or small quantity. In addition, the use of an electric motor to
drive the extractor produces less noise thereby reducing the cost of abating pollution. This process also generates little or
no waste since the fish cake will be used as animal feeds thereby reducing cost of waste disposal. Finally, from the
output of the machine, it will be concluded that further design and installation of a commercial plant is viable.
4. Conclusion
A screw press expeller was designed, constructed and tested for fish oil extraction. The expeller was simple enough for
local fabrication, operation, repair and maintenance. Powered by a 5 hp single-phase electric motor, the expeller has
average oil yield and extraction efficiency of 20.9 and 78.11 % respectively with a production cost of USD 650. The
expeller can be used for small-scale fish oil extraction in the rural and urban communities. A cottage fish oil processing
plant based on this technology can provide employment for at least two persons at the same time providing fish oil at
affordable costs, fish cake for livestock feed mill. An improvement in the design would involve the incorporation of a
tapered cone shape cake exit to enhance further material pressing, which is expected to improve the oil yield and
extraction efficiency; hence, this is highly recommended.
References
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kernel oil yield. Journal of Food Engineering, 93(4): 427-430.

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