International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

New Concept Development for Oil Extraction

for Producing Biodiesel
*2

Chandra Kumar R#1, M M Benal , B Durga Prasad&3, M S Krupashankara#4

#

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R V College of Engineering

Bangalore, India
1

chandrakumarr@rvce.edu.in
krupashankara@rvce.edu.in

4
*

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Government Engineering College

Kushalnagar, India
2

&

mmbenal@gmail.com

Department of Mechanical Engineering, JNTUA College of Engineering

Anantapuramu, India
3

mukdhad@sify.com

Abstract Biodiesel is obtained by processing oils. These

oils are widely available from a variety of sources and
have low sulphur contents and hence cause less
environmental damage. The processing of oil seeds to
extract oil is achieved through oil expeller. In this study, a
standard method of product development has been
carried out to arrive at various concepts that can improve
oil expelling process. The concept evaluation has been
done with the help of concept screening matrices. Further
the selected concept has been tested to check its feasibility.
Keywords Product Development,
Expeller, Concept Evaluation.

Biodiesel,

Oils,

I. INTRODUCTION
The traditional techniques that are followed in the
rural areas of the country for oil expelling are very
labor intensive and relatively inefficient [1]. Therefore
any improvement in the techniques of oil processing
tends to close the technological gap and increase
availability of oil. Hence improvements in the
traditional techniques and transfer of appropriate
technology for local production of oil can be seen as a
contribution to improve the social and economic living
conditions of the rural people.
The oil expelling industry is still in its traditional
state. It is understood that the methods followed for oil
extraction need an essential revival both in design and
its operation. Therefore, this study aims at generating
concepts, the incorporation of which may improve the
system.

expeller to expel oil in a single pass.

The assumptions in the project mission statement are:
A hopper feeds oil seeds into the barrel.
A motor drives the worm shaft using the
transmission system.
A progressive screw shaft conveys the seeds into
the crushing chamber.
The operation is based on the axial movement of
the material in the screw press.
The oil drains through the cage bars and is
collected at the bottom.
The Basic needs of the system are translated into the
target specifications. The Target specifications included
the following:
A 5 HP motor is required.
Constant supply of seed is to be maintained.
Operating pressure in the range of 50 to 150 Bar
is essential.
Processing time should be reduced relatively.
Throughput should be in range of 25-30 kg/hr.
Fig.1 shows the function diagram containing sub
functions connected by energy and material flow.

Fig. 1 Function Diagram of an oil expeller arising from

functional decomposition

II. CONCEPT GENERATION

The concept generation process is carried out using
the following steps:
A. Step 1 - Clarification of the problem
The mission statement of this study is Design an oil

B. Step 2 External search

Through external search following information is
gathered:
The machine requires continuous human
intervention.

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There is immediate need for advancement in

expelling technology as there is increased
demand for biodiesel.
Flour mill concept can be used to crush the oil
seeds both in wet and dry conditions
C. Step 3 Internal search
The authors generated several ideas which served as
a stimulus to even more ideas. This process also
encouraged the authors to propose new ideas.
D. Step 4 Generation of Concept
Combination Table

Sequential: In this method, there are two shafts that

are placed parallel to each other. However the direction
of movement of the seeds in the shafts is opposite. The
seeds are conveyed from the hopper end to the tapered
end as the worm shaft rotates during which the seeds
are crushed. The flakes fall down by means of gravity
and are again conveyed by the shaft below. Because the
first shaft rotates in opposite direction to that of
previous shaft and hence the direction in which the
seeds convey are also opposite. Oil extraction takes
place in the bottom whereas upper shaft is only used to
powder the seeds.

It provides a way to consider combinations

fragments systematically. Fig. 2 correspond to the
solutions of the sub problems identified i.e. chopping
mechanism and movement of seeds through the barrel.
Various methods in which chopping and movement of
seeds can be achieved are explained below.
1) Chopping Mechanisms:
The first concept of chopping is by direct feed
method, wherein the seeds are conveyed along the
length of the shaft inside the barrel. As the seeds
approach the constriction, the volume available for the
seeds is considerably less compared to that at the entry
zone of the barrel. This causes the chopping or rather
crushing of seeds.
The second concept involves a mixer where an
attempt to combine the conventional mixer to the oil
expeller is made. The principle used in cutting the seeds
is the same as in conventional mixer where the cutting
blades are attached to a vertical shaft that rotates at a
high rpm.
The third concept involves a flour mill. Its principle
is to feed the seeds axially in between the two rotating
blades which are used to crush the seeds.

Fig. 2 Concept combination table for oil expeller

The various combinations of concepts considered for

the oil expeller are discussed below.
E. Concept 1-Mixer blade oil expeller
An additional mixer blade mechanism that fits in the
hopper, designed to powder oil seeds is assembled on
the top of the oil. It is driven by the same motor that
drives the expeller. The Fig. 3 shows the combination
of Mixer mechanism with the progressive shaft. The
Fig. 4 shows the concept of oil expeller with mixer
blade attachment.

2) Movement of Seeds:
Progressive shaft: It is a shaft used in a conventional
oil expeller. Here the seeds are conveyed with a
positive lead from the hopper base to the nozzle [2]-[8].
Screw shaft with Reverse worm: This shaft differs
from the progressive shaft in terms of the reverse worm
added near to the discharge end. The presence of the
reverse worm pushes back the seeds conveyed with
respect to the progressive direction. Due to the back
flow, there is an increase the residence time of the seeds
in the barrel improving oil expelling.
Twin screw: This is a method used in plastic industry
in extruding various polymers. The shafts are placed
closely to each other and made to rotate in the opposite
direction. The seeds which are fed are conveyed as the
shafts rotate and are crushed in the space between the
two shafts.

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Fig. 3 Concept combination table for flour mill concept

International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

The main advantage of this system is that fed seeds

interact with the expeller shaft for longer duration
compared to other concepts and they are expected to
undergo complete crushing.

Fig. 4 Schematic diagram of Mixer blade oil expeller

The primary function of the attachment is to deliver

the powdered seeds at the feeding section. A bevel gear
fitted at the bottom of the hopper is driven by a shaft
that is connected to pulley from the motor. Speed ratio
of 1:20 can be achieved through this system which is
very essential for the blades to chop the seeds
continuously.
F. Concept 2 -Sequential type
The Sequential type oil expeller as shown in Fig. 6
consists of two horizontal shafts placed parallel to each
other [9]. These shafts rotate in same direction with the
help of belt drives (although speed may vary). The shaft
at the bottom has opposite lead with respect to upper
shaft. Upper shaft is designed only to crush the seeds
and obtain flakes. Due to forward pressure and
gravitational force, the crushed seeds fall into the feed
of the bottom shaft. At this moment, flakes are present
in the vertical junction between shafts and they are
again subjected to crushing by the lower worm shaft.
Majority of the oil is expelled in this step. Oil flows
down from the machine through cage bar assembly
provided around the lower Shaft. The Fig. 5 shows the
Concept combination of direct feed mechanism with the
sequential concept. The Fig. 6 shows the schematic
diagram of the sequential concept.

Fig. 6 Schematic diagram of Sequential type oil expeller

G. Concept 3 - Twin screw Expeller

Twin-screw machines provide an alternative to
traditional procedures but have until now received little
study in the field. The principle of twin-screw
technology is to subject the material to intense
mechanical action provided by two conveying screws
or counter-screws turning within a fixed barrel [10][12]. The processing of the matter is thus extremely
tough.
Twin-screw presses exist but are rarely used due to
their complexity in design and manufacturing cost. The
Fig.7 shows the combination of direct feed with the
twin screw concept. Fig. 8 shows the views of the twin
screw expeller.

Fig. 7 Concept combination table for twin screw oil expeller

Fig.5 Concept combination table for sequential type oil expeller

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Reverse worm shaft involves a reverse worm

(opposite lead) incorporated in the main shaft design as
shown in Fig. 11. At the same junction, diameter of the
shaft is kept slightly less. During the crushing process,
seeds flow along the forward screw path. When the
flow faces the reverse worm major part of it is sent
back. This increase the retention time of the seeds
inside the barrel thus improves crushing. Crushed seeds
are again sent back, a step down in the diameter helps
the seeds to flow over the reverse worm.

Fig. 8 The principle of twin-screw technology

It is a unique concept that involves combination of

flour mill and oil expeller performing together as shown
in Fig. 9. Flour mill converts the seeds into flakes that
are fed to the oil expeller.

Fig. 11 Schematic diagram of reverse worm

H. Step 5- Review
The ideas from authors, Lead users and field experts
have been accepted and integrated in the process .The
authors decided that the reduction of time involved in
expelling and increase in retention time of the material
inside the barrel formed the core problem.
Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of flour mill concept

The two shafts are driven by single powerful motor.

The shaft connecting the flour mill is provided with
gear reduction which provides for the increased speed
for crushing of seeds in the flour mill component. The
outlet of the flour mill is directed towards the feed
section of the screw press.
Fig. 10 shows the concept of reverse worm shaft.

I. Step 6-Combination and

improvisation of the concepts
Having rated and ranked the concepts, it was
considered if there are ways to combine and improve
certain concepts. A decision was made on noticing that
the concepts 4 and 5 could be combined to improve the
ratings and hence a new concept 4-5 to be considered in
the next round.
In the Table 1, a rating of 3 is assigned for the design
criteria for the combination concept which implies that
the relative performance is same as the reference
concept [13]. It can be explained by the reason that the
design of the reverse worm screw shaft and flour mill
component is contributing factors.

Fig.10 Concept combination with reverse worm

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TABLE I
Concept Screening Matrix

Selection
criteria
Design
Ease of
manufacture
Ease of Use
Ease of
Maintenance
Ergonomics
Sum of +s ,
Sum of 0s
Sum of -s
Net score
rank
Continue?

Concepts
Twin Flour
screw mill
0
0

Mixer
Blade
-

Sequential

0
2
3
-3
5
No

+
1
3
1
0
3
Yes

0
1
2
2
-1
4
No

0
1
4
0
1
2
Combine

+
3
1
1
2
1
Combine

0
0

Reverse
Worm
+
+

However the designs of the above components are

available and the assembly requires to be done.
Similarly, a rating of 4 for the ease of use criteria
explains the reduction in the work involved and
movement of seeds to extract oil in a single pass and
hence is better than the reference concept.
J. Step 7-Selection the one or more concepts
At this stage, there was a clear understanding of each
concepts and its relative quality in deciding which
concepts are to be selected for further refinement and
analysis. In this context, concept 2 was considered
along with the new concept 4-5.
The final selection was achieved by choosing the
concept that achieved the highest ranking in the
selection matrix The concept 4-5 i.e., the combination
concept of flour mill and reverse worm obtained a score
of 3.00 which was greater than that for sequential which
was 2.60. Hence, the concept 4-5 was selected for the
further development.
The final selection was achieved by choosing the
concept that achieved the highest ranking in the
selection matrix as shown in Table 2.The concept 4-5
i.e., the combination concept of flour mill and reverse
worm obtained a score of 3.00 which was greater than
that for sequential which was 2.60. Hence, the concept
4-5 was selected for the further development.

TABLE II
Concept Scoring Matrix

2
Sequential
Selection
criteria
Design
Ease of
manufacture
Ease of use
Ease of
maintenance
Ergonomics

Weight

Rating

Concepts

4-5
Flour mill Reverse
worm
Rating
Weighted
score
3
0.75
3
0.45

25%
15%

2
2

Weighted
Score
0.5
0.3

20%
20%

4
2

0.8
0.4

4
3

20%
Net
score
rank
Continue
?

0.6

2.6
2
No

0.8
0.6
3
1

Continue

Reverse worm incorporated in the present design will

increases the residence time of the flake in the barrel by
restricting the material flow. It has been said that about
20% of the material can be pushed backward. This
increases the built up pressure which in turn increases
the oil yield.
If the position of reverse teeth is at the discharge end,
then it would lead to jamming of screw. If the reverse
worm is positioned towards the feeding end, then its
effect is limited as expelling process takes place at the
cage bar assembly, located near discharge end. Thus,
the worm shaft is designed to accommodate the reverse
teeth at the second position for a seven tooth screw
shaft. However, the position of the reverse teeth in the
worm shaft can be optimized.
V. CONCLUSIONS

The new concepts for oil extraction have been

generated using standard method of product

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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

development. Most promising concept has been

proposed for further development. This concept aims at
expelling oil in a single pass thus resulting in decreased
human intervention and increased throughput. Further,
the reverse tooth in screw shaft helps in increasing the
retention time of crushed seeds in the barrel, improving
pressure build up and oil recovery.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Authors would like to thank Karnataka State Biofuel

Development Board (KSBDB) and Karnataka State
Council for Science and Technology (KSCST) for
supporting this project.
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[10]

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