Solvent Distillation Unit

After extraction, the miscella (a mixture of oil and solvent) undergoes distillation to separate the solvent from the oil. The distillation unit uses controlled heating and vacuum conditions to evaporate and recover the solvent, which is then condensed and reused in the extraction process. Steam is used in the heaters as well as the vacuum system. Maintaining the set temperature profiles across each heater is crucial to ensure the desired FFA and optimise steam consumption.

Typical issues include

• Temperature variation due to inadequate condensate evacuation and higher steam consumption.
• Variations in temperature lead to variations in oil color.
• Bypassing the steam trap to evacuate condensate leads to steam loss.