Downtime resulting from unexpected maintenance can be detrimental for oilseed processors. Unplanned maintenance is costlier than planned maintenance because it halts production while overhead continues to grow, and the financial consequences can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars in just a few days. The fact is your machine will eventually go down due to an…
How to Avoid Expensive Downtime, Part 1: Plant Layout and Maintenance
Capital costs and operating costs are at the core of discussions when talking with manufacturers about building or expanding an oilseed processing facility. An initial investment in high-quality machinery and time spent on proper planning will likely reduce operating costs down the road, while poor planning may cost a facility more in the long run.…
5 Factors Affecting Fines in Your Screw Press
No matter how similar two oilseed processing facilities are, even when processing the same material on the same type of machine, the final product will inevitably be different. Certainly, there is a science to the oil milling process, and a majority of the processors we work with document settings for each seed type and strategically…
Setting the Proper Drainage Gaps in Your Oilseed Press
The goal of a mechanical screw press is simple: put pressure on oilseeds, drain as much oil as possible, and keep the solids in the barrel until discharge. The slotted barrel design allows for the efficient phase separation of liquid from solid and can be applied to an excess of 100 different materials. But what…
Why Process Matters: The Right Way to Handle Solids Downstream
Just like with the oil, the processing of solids does not end at the press. Solids must be handled properly after the press or it can lead to inferior product quality in the best cases and an unmarketable product in the worst cases. Luckily, Anderson can guide you through every step of the oil milling…
Choosing the Right Clarification System for Oilseed Processing
A common misconception we hear from oil millers is that after the pressing process, oil extraction ends with a perfectly clean oil product. In reality, the oil leaving the press tends to contain solid contaminants, consisting of small pieces of seed husks and hulls to dust and other impurities and a certain level of phospholipids.…
Moisture Control is Key to Consistent Oilseed Processing
In the oilseed industry, processors strive for consistency in oilseed moisture content to maintain efficient operation and promote high-quality product formation to maximize their profits. Many processors, however, rely solely on mechanical friction inside the extruder to generate heat and dry the product to appropriate levels. Under ideal conditions, the frictional heat removes excess moisture…
The Difference Between Anderson Expanders and Extruders
The invention of Anderson Expanders Often when Anderson engineers visit oilseed processing plants to talk to potential clients about their operations, one question inevitably arises: What is the difference between traditional extruders and what Anderson calls its “expander” machines? And sometimes we’ll hear that a competitor told the potential client that Anderson does not make…
The Truth About Dehulling
As many in the oil seed processing industry know, dehulling can be a valuable tool when it comes to maximizing profits in any oil mill. But what some might not know is that there are many ways this can be done and targeting minimal hulls in the meal is not necessarily the best approach. Two…