Farm-scale recovery and filtration characteristics of sunflower oil for use in diesel engines

The “Hander,” new Type 52 oil expeller was evaluated to determine its performance in expressing sunflower oil for use in diesel engines. Strain gauges were mounted on the barrel of the expeller and were used to give a relative indication of barrel pressure. Relative barrel pressure was then used as the independent variable in determining performance. Filterability of four commercial sunflower oils and blends of these oils with No. 2 diesel fuel were determined at various temperatures and pressures. Oil extraction efficiency ranged from ca. 56% to 84% at low and high relative barrel pressures, respectively. The greatest oil extraction rate was 12.3 kg/hr at a feed rate of 40 kg/hr with an extraction efficiency of ca. 80%. Dewaxed sunflower oils and blends filtered much better than nondewaxed oils and their blends. Increasing temperature, pressure and percentage of diesel fuel in the blends increased filterability of dewaxed sunflower oil.