OIL PLANT CALCULATION TOOL
Solvent Extraction Plant Output & Process Calculator
Planning a new solvent extraction plant or adding one to your oil mill? Enter your seed, daily capacity and oil content to estimate the machines your plant needs, expected oil and meal output, and whether solvent extraction or a mechanical expeller suits your target. Results update as you type, with no sign-up required.
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How to Use This Calculator
Follow these simple steps to estimate your plant requirements and output.
- Choose Your Seed Type
Pick your seed type from the list. Select Other if your seed is not listed. - Set Daily Capacity
Enter your daily seed processing capacity in tonnes per day using the slider or input box. - Enter Oil Content
Check your seed's oil content. Your seed supplier or a laboratory report can provide this figure. - Adjust Operating Days
Set the operating days per year and choose your target product. - View Results
Review the machine line-up, output and quality results, then use Request a Quote to contact the engineers.
Machine line-up explained
Every solvent extraction plant follows the same basic path. What changes with capacity is the size and model of each machine. Seed is first cleaned and, where needed, dehulled (its outer shell is removed). It is then cracked and pressed into thin flakes, a bit like making poha, and warmed with steam (conditioning) so the oil inside is easy to reach. High-oil seeds such as mustard and groundnut are usually pre-pressed in an expeller first, so the extractor only has to recover the oil left in the cake.
In the extractor, food-grade hexane, a clear liquid that dissolves oil, washes the oil out of the flakes. The oil and hexane mix, called miscella, is heated so the hexane boils off and the oil stays behind; the hexane is cooled back into liquid and used again. The de-oiled meal (what is left of the seed, sold as animal feed) then passes through a desolventiser-toaster (DT), which removes the leftover solvent and toasts the meal for animal feed, before it is cooled and packed. If you also want refined edible oil, an edible oil refinery is added after extraction.
Oil and meal output
The output estimate uses three figures: how much seed you process each day, how much oil that seed contains, and how much of that oil the plant recovers. Daily oil output is your daily seed quantity multiplied by the oil content and then by the recovery rate for your seed.
Yearly output multiplies the daily figure by your operating days. It is shown as a range because recovery changes with seed quality, moisture and how the plant is run. Meal output is the seed that remains once the oil is taken out. Hull removal and moisture change the final meal weight, which our engineers work out for your seed. Oil content also changes from crop to crop, so a figure from your supplier or a lab test gives the most useful estimate.
Solvent vs expeller
A mechanical oil expeller squeezes the oil out of the seed with a powered screw press, like a modern ghani. It needs no solvent and is simple to run, but more oil stays behind in the leftover cake (khal). A solvent extraction plant washes the oil out with hexane and leaves far less oil in the meal, so it recovers more oil from the same seed. Many mills use both: an expeller first, then solvent extraction on the pressed cake.
This calculator compares the two methods on oil recovery, oil left in the meal or cake, quality and safety only. At smaller capacities an expeller may meet your output target. Above a certain capacity, which differs by seed, the extra oil from solvent extraction usually matters more. Our engineers confirm the right choice after reviewing your seed and site.
Frequently Asked Questions
KNOWLEDGE BASE
How much oil can a solvent extraction plant produce per tonne of seed?
It depends on two things: the oil content of the seed and the plant's recovery rate. A well-designed solvent plant typically recovers 95 to 99% of the oil in the seed. For example, one tonne of soybean with 20% oil holds 200 kg of oil, so a solvent plant would get roughly 190 to 198 kg from it. Enter your own seed and oil content in the calculator above for an estimate, which our engineers confirm after a technical review.
Is solvent extraction better than an oil expeller?
For oil recovery, yes. Solvent extraction typically recovers 95 to 99% of the oil and leaves about 0.5 to 1% in the meal, while an expeller typically recovers 88 to 94% and leaves 6 to 8% in the cake. That means more oil from the same seed. An expeller is simpler, uses no solvent, and can suit smaller capacities or work as a first pressing stage before solvent extraction. The better choice depends on your seed, your capacity and the product you want to sell.
What machines are needed in a solvent extraction plant?
A typical line has seed cleaning and dehulling, flaking or cracking, conditioning, the solvent extractor, miscella distillation and solvent recovery, a desolventiser-toaster, and meal cooling and packing. High-oil seeds such as mustard and groundnut are usually pre-pressed in an expeller first, and the pressed cake then goes to the extractor. An edible oil refinery is added if you want refined oil. Some materials, such as rice bran, are pelletised instead of flaked.
What is residual oil in meal, and why does it matter?
Residual oil is the oil still left in the meal after extraction. A good solvent plant typically brings it down to about 0.5 to 1%, compared with 6 to 8% in expeller cake. The lower it is, the more oil you recover and sell from the same seed. It also affects the meal, because meal that holds more oil keeps less well in storage.
Is solvent extraction safe?
Yes, when the plant is designed and run correctly. Hexane is flammable, so plants use flameproof electrical fittings, closed equipment, vapour recovery and strict operating procedures. The solvent is recovered and reused, and the desolventiser-toaster and oil stripping steps are there to remove it from the meal and the oil.
What does a desolventiser-toaster do to meal quality?
The desolventiser-toaster uses steam to drive the leftover hexane out of the meal and then toasts it, which makes the meal safe to handle and better as animal feed. Temperature and time matter: too much heat darkens the meal and damages protein, while too little leaves solvent behind.