Main steps of making rapeseed oil

Cooking oil production line

Main steps of making rapeseed oil

1. Seed Cleaning:

It is the first step to help ensure that a quality oil and meal are obtained. Aspiration, indent cleaning, sieving, or some combination of these are used in the cleaning process. During processing, meal quality can be affected by temperature and other factors.

2. Pre-conditioning and Flaking:

The cleaned seed is first heated to about 30-40ºC to prevent shattering.  Some moisture adjustment may also be required. The preheated seed is then flaked on roller mills, set to very tight clearance.

3. Cooking:

The flaked seeds are then heated to about 75-100ºC in cookers. An important function of the cooking operation is to control enzymatic activity in the flaked seed, which depends on temperature and moisture content.

4. Pressing:

The heat-conditioned seed is passed into continuous screw presses or expellers to reduce the oil content of the seed from about 42% (8% moisture basis) to 16-20% mechanically.

5. Refining:

To ensure good stability and shelf-life, the crude oil goes through a series of refining processes to remove compounds like phospholipids, mucilaginous gums, free fatty acids, colour pigments and fine meal particles.