Project Success Story News: 100TPD Soybean Extraction Plant & 20TPD Dual-Purpose Refining Line for Soybean Oil & Palm Oil in Colombia
Date:Jul 3rd, 2026
Colombia sits at the heart of South America’s tropical agricultural belt, with rapidly expanding domestic soybean cultivation and large volumes of imported crude palm oil supplied for retail edible oil and food manufacturing. The project owner is a comprehensive local grain and oil group, which previously operated small-scale pressing lines plagued by multiple pain points: low oil extraction rate, high residual oil in soybean meal, and single-function refining equipment only capable of processing soybean oil. To complete its industrial chain layout, the enterprise planned two core production lines:
1. A brand-new 100-ton-per-day continuous soybean extraction workshop to replace traditional pressing technology, maximize oil yield and produce high-protein feed-grade soybean meal;
2. A matched single 20-ton-per-day dual-purpose refining workshop, freely switchable between crude soybean oil from extraction and crude palm oil (CPO). It produces standard Grade 1 refined soybean oil and fractionated palm oil to fulfill retail and food factory orders across the region.
The client’s core requirements covered energy-saving processes, low solvent loss, complete retention of protein in soybean meal, dual-mode refining supporting physical refining for palm oil and chemical refining for soybean oil, full automatic linkage of the whole system, and full compliance with Colombia’s food hygiene and environmental emission standards. Our company delivered a full turnkey solution including process design, equipment manufacturing, complete export, on-site installation & commissioning, and operator training. The entire production line has been running stably after successful commissioning.
I. Full Process Breakdown of the 100TPD Soybean Extraction Workshop
This plant adopts a complete continuous one-time extraction process: soybean pretreatment + continuous box chain extractor + DTDC desolventizing-toaster-dryer-cooler + negative-pressure double-effect evaporation + closed solvent recovery cycle. Optimized for soybeans’ low oil content characteristics, the fully sealed and explosion-proof system realizes multi-stage waste heat recovery, divided into five independent process sections.
1. Soybean Pretreatment Section (Precondition for Extraction)
Process flow: Soybean cleaning → cracking → conditioning & softening → flaking → pre-drying before extraction
1. Cleaning and impurity removal: Vibrating sieve, specific gravity stoner and magnetic separator remove straw, stones and metal impurities to avoid abrasion of internal scrappers inside the extractor;
2. Cracking: Whole soybeans are cracked into 4–6 pieces to break the outer cell wall of oil glands and improve solvent penetration efficiency in subsequent extraction;
3. Conditioning & softening: Closed softening pots maintain temperature at 65–70°C and moisture at 11%–12% to soften soybean flakes and prevent fragmentation during flaking;
4. Flaking: Double-pair rollers press soybean pieces into thin flakes of 0.3–0.4 mm, fully rupturing oil cells and drastically shortening solvent extraction duration;
5. Pre-extraction drying: Low-temperature hot air reduces flake moisture to below 9%, avoiding solvent dilution by water carried into the extractor and cutting evaporation energy consumption.
2. Box Chain Countercurrent Extraction Section (Core of Oil Extraction)
A large fully sealed box chain extractor receives pre-processed flakes via sealed screw conveyors. N-hexane solvent sprays countercurrently against raw materials under a stable material-liquid ratio of 1:1.0, with materials retained in the extraction chamber for 70–85 minutes to complete oil dissolution.
- Mixed oil with high concentration: Oil mixture with 28%–32% oil content is collected at the bottom, separated from fine meal powder via hydrocyclones, then delivered to the evaporation system;
- Wet meal discharge: Extracted wet meal containing 28%–32% solvent is conveyed by scrapers to the DTDC unit.
Process advantages: Multi-stage gradient spraying realizes graded displacement of concentrated and dilute mixed oil. Compared with rotary disk extractors, oil extraction rate rises by 2.5%, while residual oil in soybean meal stabilizes at ≤0.8%, far superior to the 6%–8% residual oil from traditional mechanical pressing.
3. DTDC Wet Meal Desolventizing, Toasting, Drying & Cooling Section (Key to Soybean Meal Quality)
Wet meal enters the integrated DTDC four-in-one unit with segmented temperature control:
1. Pre-desolventizing layer: Indirect steam flash vaporization removes 70% free solvent to avoid protein denaturation caused by direct high-temperature exposure;
2. Desolventizing & toasting layer: Indirect jacket steam plus low-pressure countercurrent live steam thoroughly strips residual solvent trapped inside meal particles, while passivating soybean urease to ≤0.05 pH increment, meeting South America’s feed export standards;
3. Drying layer: Low-temperature hot air lowers soybean meal moisture to below 10%;
4. Cooling layer: Sealed ambient air cooling reduces meal temperature to under 40°C to prevent thermal protein degradation. The finished soybean meal contains 47.5%–48% crude protein, commanding a premium price in feed markets.
All solvent vapor generated from desolventizing is collected uniformly into the condensation recovery system with no direct waste gas discharge.
4. Double-Effect Negative-Pressure Mixed Oil Evaporation & Stripping Section (Oil Separation & Energy-Saving Core)
Concentrated mixed oil undergoes three-stage negative-pressure separation: 1st falling film evaporation + 2nd falling film evaporation + vacuum stripping, making full use of waste heat to cut steam consumption by 30%.
1. Primary falling film evaporator: Heat exchange with high-temperature secondary steam from DTDC removes most solvent under negative pressure, lifting mixed oil concentration to 68%–72%;
2. Secondary falling film evaporator: Supplementary heat via thermal conductive oil further concentrates oil mixture above 92%;
3. Vacuum stripping tower: Low-pressure live steam is injected under high vacuum to strip trace residual solvent in oil. The final crude soybean oil carries solvent residue less than 45 ppm, meeting feedstock requirements for refining.
All hexane vapor produced from evaporation flows into a circulating condensation system for recycling, with overall solvent loss controlled at ≤0.4 kg per ton of soybeans processed.
5. Fully Closed Solvent Recovery & Tail Gas Environmental Treatment Section
The whole extraction system operates under complete sealed negative pressure to eliminate solvent leakage and volatile loss:
1. Condensation & water separation: Solvent vapor from evaporators, DTDC and stripping towers is liquefied via circulating water coolers, then sent to settling tanks for layering. Purified solvent from the lower layer is pumped back to the extractor for cyclic reuse, while wastewater from the upper layer is collected and treated hermetically;
2. Paraffin absorption system for tail gas: Minor uncondensed tail gas passes through paraffin absorption towers where low-temperature paraffin adsorbs residual hexane, which is later desorbed and recovered. Treated tail gas meets local Colombian environmental discharge limits;
3. Waste heat circulation network: High-temperature steam from desolventizing and waste heat from hot crude oil are recovered via heat exchangers to preheat feedstock for pretreatment softening and evaporation, forming cascade heat utilization and drastically reducing boiler steam demand.
II. 20TPD Dual-Purpose Refining Line for Palm Oil & Soybean Oil: Full Process Introduction
This semi-continuous dual-function refining set shares one unified tank, vacuum and heat exchange system with switchable pipelines, supporting two distinct technical routes: chemical alkali refining for soybean oil, and physical refining plus dry fractionation for palm oil. With stable daily throughput of 20 tons, it perfectly matches crude oil output from the soybean extraction plant and externally sourced crude palm oil. The complete workflow includes degumming, deacidification, bleaching, deodorization and palm oil-specific fractionation modules.
Module 1: Degumming Section (Dual-Oil Adaptation to Remove Phospholipids & Colloids)
1. Soybean oil (hydration degumming): Crude extracted soybean oil is heated to 70–75°C, mixed with 2%–3% hot water plus a small dosage of phosphoric acid under high-speed stirring for hydration. Phospholipids absorb water and agglomerate, then separated via centrifugation. Degumming efficiency reaches ≥98%, eliminating turbidity and oxidative re-coloration during oil storage;
2. Crude palm oil (dry acid degumming): CPO contains large volumes of non-hydratable phospholipids without requiring massive hot water. A small quantity of concentrated phosphoric acid is added for low-temperature reaction to flocculate metal ions and colloids, which are then directly sent to bleaching, cutting wastewater generation and fitting palm oil’s low-moisture processing characteristics.
Module 2: Deacidification Section (Switchable Chemical / Physical Refining Modes)
1. Chemical alkali deacidification for soybean oil: Degummed oil is heated to 60–65°C, neutralized with precisely metered 10%–14% caustic soda solution to react with free fatty acids under low-speed saponification for 25 minutes. Soapstock is separated via centrifugation. Low-temperature short-time neutralization minimizes neutral oil saponification loss and boosts refining yield by 1.2%. Collected soapstock can be further processed into fatty acid by-products;
2. Physical deacidification for palm oil (alkali-free process): Crude palm oil skips alkali neutralization. After degumming and bleaching, it directly enters the deodorization tower where free fatty acids are stripped under high temperature and vacuum simultaneously. This soapstock-free process generates nearly no wastewater and lowers operational costs, the mainstream energy-saving route for palm oil processing across South America.
Module 3: Negative-Pressure Bleaching Section (Unified Process to Eliminate Pigments & Oxidized Impurities)
Both oil types share identical bleaching equipment running under sealed vacuum to isolate oxygen and prevent oxidation:
- Soybean oil: Vacuum 0.07–0.09 MPa, temperature 100–105°C, 0.6%–1.2% activated clay by oil weight added and stirred for 20 minutes to adsorb lutein, trace metals and residual soapstock;
- Palm oil: Vacuum 85–95°C, 1.8%–3% activated clay dosage to adsorb natural carotenoids and dark oxidized impurities in palm fruit oil.
After bleaching, plate-and-frame filters separate spent clay. Peroxide value of finished oil drops to ≤2 meq/kg, significantly extending shelf life of end products.
Module 4: High-Vacuum Deodorization Section (Differentiated Temperature & Pressure Control for Customized Flavor Treatment)
Stainless steel packed vacuum deodorization towers adjust temperature and vacuum parameters based on oil feedstock to remove aldehydes, ketones, off-odors, residual solvent and free fatty acids:
1. Refined soybean oil: Vacuum residual pressure ≤200 Pa, temperature 230–240°C with low-pressure steam stripping to eliminate beany flavor and extraction solvent odor, delivering clear, mild-tasting edible oil;
2. Refined palm oil: Physical refining combines deacidification and deodorization in one step, vacuum residual pressure ≤150 Pa, temperature 245–255°C to remove pungent grassy palm odor and produce standard RBD refined palm oil.
Oil-to-oil waste heat recovery is integrated in this section: hot finished refined oil preheats incoming crude oil for refining, delivering remarkable energy savings.
Module 5: Exclusive Cooling & Fractionation Module for Palm Oil (Differentiated Advantage of Dual-Purpose Line)
Customized fractionation units are activated only during palm oil processing to satisfy local Colombian palm market demand. Hot deodorized palm oil undergoes slow gradient cooling for stearin crystal precipitation, then membrane filtration separates palm stearin and palm olein. Light olein is suitable for cold-salad edible oil, while high-melting stearin supplies frying plants and margarine manufacturers. A single production line yields two high-value palm derivatives to lift clients’ profit margins.
III. Synergistic Process Advantages of the Combined Complete Production Line
1. Closed industrial chain linkage: Crude soybean oil from the 100TPD extraction plant is delivered directly to the 20TPD refining workshop via pipelines for continuous processing without intermediate storage tanks, reducing secondary oxidation and transfer loss. Externally purchased crude palm oil has independent feeding channels, allowing two sets of processes to operate independently without mutual interference;
2. Digital automatic control of all process parameters: PLC centralized control covers extraction temperature, solvent liquid level, DTDC toasting temperature, alkali dosing volume in refining, vacuum degree and deodorization temperature. The HMI touchscreen enables one-click switching between soybean oil and palm oil processing modes, operable by ordinary local Colombian workers after simple training;
3. Specialized optimization for tropical working conditions: All tanks and pipelines are equipped with high-temperature anti-corrosion insulation, and vacuum systems adopt enlarged water ring vacuum pumps to adapt to Colombia’s year-round ambient temperature above 30°C, avoiding vacuum attenuation and excessive solvent volatilization;
4. Dual revenue streams from high-value by-products: The extraction workshop produces high-protein low-urease soybean meal with stable purchase orders from major local feed groups. Meanwhile, the refining plant outputs Grade 1 soybean oil and fractionated palm olein/stearin, covering supermarkets, bakeries and catering channels nationwide, strengthening resilience against edible oil market price fluctuations;
5. Integrated low-consumption & eco-friendly design: Closed solvent circulation in extraction, alkali-free physical refining cutting soapstock wastewater, and multi-stage waste heat recovery reduce steam, water and power consumption per ton of product by 18%–22% compared with equivalent imported equipment operating in South America, creating outstanding long-term operational cost advantages.
IV. Project Operation Results & Our Market Strength in Latin America
The integrated 100TPD soybean extraction plant plus 20TPD dual-purpose refining line passed one-time joint commissioning and stable production after full installation in Colombia, with all technical indicators exceeding the client’s expectations. Residual oil in extracted soybean meal remains steady at 0.7%–0.9%, while acid value, color and solvent residue of refined edible oil fully meet South America’s export standards for food-grade oil. High-quality soybean meal has secured long-term fixed procurement contracts from large regional feed conglomerates, and fractionated palm oil products maintain strong market demand.
The client praised stable equipment operation, mature process technology and high automation levels. Our technical team provided dual support via on-site resident engineers and remote guidance to resolve adaptation challenges under tropical climate conditions, and the customer has initiated consultation on phase-two capacity expansion.
This landmark project represents one of our many successful turnkey references across South America’s grain and oil sector. Over years of market cultivation, we have customized complete processing lines targeting local raw material characteristics for Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and other Latin American countries, covering soybean extraction, palm oil refining, sunflower seed pressing and rice bran oil production with dozens of delivered operational cases. We undertake full turnkey factory projects ranging from 50TPD to 1000TPD large-scale continuous extraction lines, matched with 10–50TPD multi-oil dual-purpose refining workshops, and tailor exclusive process packages aligned with clients’ raw material mix, local climate and environmental policies.
Distinguished from general grain machinery suppliers, our in-house independent R&D team has developed two standardized mature process packages for Latin America’s core oil crops: local soybeans and tropical palm oil. Our technologies including high-efficiency extraction with minimal protein loss, complete solvent recovery systems adapted to hot humid tropical climates, and physical fractionation refining for palm oil have been verified across hundreds of overseas running production lines. We provide full-lifecycle one-stop service covering early-stage process planning, customized equipment manufacturing, containerized export, overseas on-site installation & commissioning, operator skill training and long-term spare parts supply, establishing ourselves as the preferred Chinese full-set oil engineering service provider for grain and oil manufacturers throughout Latin America.
If you are planning to build or upgrade an oil refinery, contact Dingsheng Machine now. We will recommend the optimal refining scheme and provide free project plan, technical proposal and accurate quotation according to your actual demands.
Contact Dingsheng Machine
Call: +86-159 3716 3029
Email: company@dingmachinery.com
Visit: http://www.dsoilpress.com
1. A brand-new 100-ton-per-day continuous soybean extraction workshop to replace traditional pressing technology, maximize oil yield and produce high-protein feed-grade soybean meal;
2. A matched single 20-ton-per-day dual-purpose refining workshop, freely switchable between crude soybean oil from extraction and crude palm oil (CPO). It produces standard Grade 1 refined soybean oil and fractionated palm oil to fulfill retail and food factory orders across the region.
The client’s core requirements covered energy-saving processes, low solvent loss, complete retention of protein in soybean meal, dual-mode refining supporting physical refining for palm oil and chemical refining for soybean oil, full automatic linkage of the whole system, and full compliance with Colombia’s food hygiene and environmental emission standards. Our company delivered a full turnkey solution including process design, equipment manufacturing, complete export, on-site installation & commissioning, and operator training. The entire production line has been running stably after successful commissioning.
I. Full Process Breakdown of the 100TPD Soybean Extraction Workshop
This plant adopts a complete continuous one-time extraction process: soybean pretreatment + continuous box chain extractor + DTDC desolventizing-toaster-dryer-cooler + negative-pressure double-effect evaporation + closed solvent recovery cycle. Optimized for soybeans’ low oil content characteristics, the fully sealed and explosion-proof system realizes multi-stage waste heat recovery, divided into five independent process sections.
1. Soybean Pretreatment Section (Precondition for Extraction)
Process flow: Soybean cleaning → cracking → conditioning & softening → flaking → pre-drying before extraction
1. Cleaning and impurity removal: Vibrating sieve, specific gravity stoner and magnetic separator remove straw, stones and metal impurities to avoid abrasion of internal scrappers inside the extractor;
2. Cracking: Whole soybeans are cracked into 4–6 pieces to break the outer cell wall of oil glands and improve solvent penetration efficiency in subsequent extraction;
3. Conditioning & softening: Closed softening pots maintain temperature at 65–70°C and moisture at 11%–12% to soften soybean flakes and prevent fragmentation during flaking;
4. Flaking: Double-pair rollers press soybean pieces into thin flakes of 0.3–0.4 mm, fully rupturing oil cells and drastically shortening solvent extraction duration;
5. Pre-extraction drying: Low-temperature hot air reduces flake moisture to below 9%, avoiding solvent dilution by water carried into the extractor and cutting evaporation energy consumption.
2. Box Chain Countercurrent Extraction Section (Core of Oil Extraction)
A large fully sealed box chain extractor receives pre-processed flakes via sealed screw conveyors. N-hexane solvent sprays countercurrently against raw materials under a stable material-liquid ratio of 1:1.0, with materials retained in the extraction chamber for 70–85 minutes to complete oil dissolution.
- Mixed oil with high concentration: Oil mixture with 28%–32% oil content is collected at the bottom, separated from fine meal powder via hydrocyclones, then delivered to the evaporation system;
- Wet meal discharge: Extracted wet meal containing 28%–32% solvent is conveyed by scrapers to the DTDC unit.
Process advantages: Multi-stage gradient spraying realizes graded displacement of concentrated and dilute mixed oil. Compared with rotary disk extractors, oil extraction rate rises by 2.5%, while residual oil in soybean meal stabilizes at ≤0.8%, far superior to the 6%–8% residual oil from traditional mechanical pressing.
3. DTDC Wet Meal Desolventizing, Toasting, Drying & Cooling Section (Key to Soybean Meal Quality)
Wet meal enters the integrated DTDC four-in-one unit with segmented temperature control:
1. Pre-desolventizing layer: Indirect steam flash vaporization removes 70% free solvent to avoid protein denaturation caused by direct high-temperature exposure;
2. Desolventizing & toasting layer: Indirect jacket steam plus low-pressure countercurrent live steam thoroughly strips residual solvent trapped inside meal particles, while passivating soybean urease to ≤0.05 pH increment, meeting South America’s feed export standards;
3. Drying layer: Low-temperature hot air lowers soybean meal moisture to below 10%;
4. Cooling layer: Sealed ambient air cooling reduces meal temperature to under 40°C to prevent thermal protein degradation. The finished soybean meal contains 47.5%–48% crude protein, commanding a premium price in feed markets.
All solvent vapor generated from desolventizing is collected uniformly into the condensation recovery system with no direct waste gas discharge.
4. Double-Effect Negative-Pressure Mixed Oil Evaporation & Stripping Section (Oil Separation & Energy-Saving Core)
Concentrated mixed oil undergoes three-stage negative-pressure separation: 1st falling film evaporation + 2nd falling film evaporation + vacuum stripping, making full use of waste heat to cut steam consumption by 30%.
1. Primary falling film evaporator: Heat exchange with high-temperature secondary steam from DTDC removes most solvent under negative pressure, lifting mixed oil concentration to 68%–72%;
2. Secondary falling film evaporator: Supplementary heat via thermal conductive oil further concentrates oil mixture above 92%;
3. Vacuum stripping tower: Low-pressure live steam is injected under high vacuum to strip trace residual solvent in oil. The final crude soybean oil carries solvent residue less than 45 ppm, meeting feedstock requirements for refining.
All hexane vapor produced from evaporation flows into a circulating condensation system for recycling, with overall solvent loss controlled at ≤0.4 kg per ton of soybeans processed.
5. Fully Closed Solvent Recovery & Tail Gas Environmental Treatment Section
The whole extraction system operates under complete sealed negative pressure to eliminate solvent leakage and volatile loss:
1. Condensation & water separation: Solvent vapor from evaporators, DTDC and stripping towers is liquefied via circulating water coolers, then sent to settling tanks for layering. Purified solvent from the lower layer is pumped back to the extractor for cyclic reuse, while wastewater from the upper layer is collected and treated hermetically;
2. Paraffin absorption system for tail gas: Minor uncondensed tail gas passes through paraffin absorption towers where low-temperature paraffin adsorbs residual hexane, which is later desorbed and recovered. Treated tail gas meets local Colombian environmental discharge limits;
3. Waste heat circulation network: High-temperature steam from desolventizing and waste heat from hot crude oil are recovered via heat exchangers to preheat feedstock for pretreatment softening and evaporation, forming cascade heat utilization and drastically reducing boiler steam demand.
II. 20TPD Dual-Purpose Refining Line for Palm Oil & Soybean Oil: Full Process Introduction
This semi-continuous dual-function refining set shares one unified tank, vacuum and heat exchange system with switchable pipelines, supporting two distinct technical routes: chemical alkali refining for soybean oil, and physical refining plus dry fractionation for palm oil. With stable daily throughput of 20 tons, it perfectly matches crude oil output from the soybean extraction plant and externally sourced crude palm oil. The complete workflow includes degumming, deacidification, bleaching, deodorization and palm oil-specific fractionation modules.
Module 1: Degumming Section (Dual-Oil Adaptation to Remove Phospholipids & Colloids)
1. Soybean oil (hydration degumming): Crude extracted soybean oil is heated to 70–75°C, mixed with 2%–3% hot water plus a small dosage of phosphoric acid under high-speed stirring for hydration. Phospholipids absorb water and agglomerate, then separated via centrifugation. Degumming efficiency reaches ≥98%, eliminating turbidity and oxidative re-coloration during oil storage;
2. Crude palm oil (dry acid degumming): CPO contains large volumes of non-hydratable phospholipids without requiring massive hot water. A small quantity of concentrated phosphoric acid is added for low-temperature reaction to flocculate metal ions and colloids, which are then directly sent to bleaching, cutting wastewater generation and fitting palm oil’s low-moisture processing characteristics.
Module 2: Deacidification Section (Switchable Chemical / Physical Refining Modes)
1. Chemical alkali deacidification for soybean oil: Degummed oil is heated to 60–65°C, neutralized with precisely metered 10%–14% caustic soda solution to react with free fatty acids under low-speed saponification for 25 minutes. Soapstock is separated via centrifugation. Low-temperature short-time neutralization minimizes neutral oil saponification loss and boosts refining yield by 1.2%. Collected soapstock can be further processed into fatty acid by-products;
2. Physical deacidification for palm oil (alkali-free process): Crude palm oil skips alkali neutralization. After degumming and bleaching, it directly enters the deodorization tower where free fatty acids are stripped under high temperature and vacuum simultaneously. This soapstock-free process generates nearly no wastewater and lowers operational costs, the mainstream energy-saving route for palm oil processing across South America.
Module 3: Negative-Pressure Bleaching Section (Unified Process to Eliminate Pigments & Oxidized Impurities)
Both oil types share identical bleaching equipment running under sealed vacuum to isolate oxygen and prevent oxidation:
- Soybean oil: Vacuum 0.07–0.09 MPa, temperature 100–105°C, 0.6%–1.2% activated clay by oil weight added and stirred for 20 minutes to adsorb lutein, trace metals and residual soapstock;
- Palm oil: Vacuum 85–95°C, 1.8%–3% activated clay dosage to adsorb natural carotenoids and dark oxidized impurities in palm fruit oil.
After bleaching, plate-and-frame filters separate spent clay. Peroxide value of finished oil drops to ≤2 meq/kg, significantly extending shelf life of end products.
Module 4: High-Vacuum Deodorization Section (Differentiated Temperature & Pressure Control for Customized Flavor Treatment)
Stainless steel packed vacuum deodorization towers adjust temperature and vacuum parameters based on oil feedstock to remove aldehydes, ketones, off-odors, residual solvent and free fatty acids:
1. Refined soybean oil: Vacuum residual pressure ≤200 Pa, temperature 230–240°C with low-pressure steam stripping to eliminate beany flavor and extraction solvent odor, delivering clear, mild-tasting edible oil;
2. Refined palm oil: Physical refining combines deacidification and deodorization in one step, vacuum residual pressure ≤150 Pa, temperature 245–255°C to remove pungent grassy palm odor and produce standard RBD refined palm oil.
Oil-to-oil waste heat recovery is integrated in this section: hot finished refined oil preheats incoming crude oil for refining, delivering remarkable energy savings.
Module 5: Exclusive Cooling & Fractionation Module for Palm Oil (Differentiated Advantage of Dual-Purpose Line)
Customized fractionation units are activated only during palm oil processing to satisfy local Colombian palm market demand. Hot deodorized palm oil undergoes slow gradient cooling for stearin crystal precipitation, then membrane filtration separates palm stearin and palm olein. Light olein is suitable for cold-salad edible oil, while high-melting stearin supplies frying plants and margarine manufacturers. A single production line yields two high-value palm derivatives to lift clients’ profit margins.
III. Synergistic Process Advantages of the Combined Complete Production Line
1. Closed industrial chain linkage: Crude soybean oil from the 100TPD extraction plant is delivered directly to the 20TPD refining workshop via pipelines for continuous processing without intermediate storage tanks, reducing secondary oxidation and transfer loss. Externally purchased crude palm oil has independent feeding channels, allowing two sets of processes to operate independently without mutual interference;
2. Digital automatic control of all process parameters: PLC centralized control covers extraction temperature, solvent liquid level, DTDC toasting temperature, alkali dosing volume in refining, vacuum degree and deodorization temperature. The HMI touchscreen enables one-click switching between soybean oil and palm oil processing modes, operable by ordinary local Colombian workers after simple training;
3. Specialized optimization for tropical working conditions: All tanks and pipelines are equipped with high-temperature anti-corrosion insulation, and vacuum systems adopt enlarged water ring vacuum pumps to adapt to Colombia’s year-round ambient temperature above 30°C, avoiding vacuum attenuation and excessive solvent volatilization;
4. Dual revenue streams from high-value by-products: The extraction workshop produces high-protein low-urease soybean meal with stable purchase orders from major local feed groups. Meanwhile, the refining plant outputs Grade 1 soybean oil and fractionated palm olein/stearin, covering supermarkets, bakeries and catering channels nationwide, strengthening resilience against edible oil market price fluctuations;
5. Integrated low-consumption & eco-friendly design: Closed solvent circulation in extraction, alkali-free physical refining cutting soapstock wastewater, and multi-stage waste heat recovery reduce steam, water and power consumption per ton of product by 18%–22% compared with equivalent imported equipment operating in South America, creating outstanding long-term operational cost advantages.
IV. Project Operation Results & Our Market Strength in Latin America
The integrated 100TPD soybean extraction plant plus 20TPD dual-purpose refining line passed one-time joint commissioning and stable production after full installation in Colombia, with all technical indicators exceeding the client’s expectations. Residual oil in extracted soybean meal remains steady at 0.7%–0.9%, while acid value, color and solvent residue of refined edible oil fully meet South America’s export standards for food-grade oil. High-quality soybean meal has secured long-term fixed procurement contracts from large regional feed conglomerates, and fractionated palm oil products maintain strong market demand.
The client praised stable equipment operation, mature process technology and high automation levels. Our technical team provided dual support via on-site resident engineers and remote guidance to resolve adaptation challenges under tropical climate conditions, and the customer has initiated consultation on phase-two capacity expansion.
This landmark project represents one of our many successful turnkey references across South America’s grain and oil sector. Over years of market cultivation, we have customized complete processing lines targeting local raw material characteristics for Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and other Latin American countries, covering soybean extraction, palm oil refining, sunflower seed pressing and rice bran oil production with dozens of delivered operational cases. We undertake full turnkey factory projects ranging from 50TPD to 1000TPD large-scale continuous extraction lines, matched with 10–50TPD multi-oil dual-purpose refining workshops, and tailor exclusive process packages aligned with clients’ raw material mix, local climate and environmental policies.
Distinguished from general grain machinery suppliers, our in-house independent R&D team has developed two standardized mature process packages for Latin America’s core oil crops: local soybeans and tropical palm oil. Our technologies including high-efficiency extraction with minimal protein loss, complete solvent recovery systems adapted to hot humid tropical climates, and physical fractionation refining for palm oil have been verified across hundreds of overseas running production lines. We provide full-lifecycle one-stop service covering early-stage process planning, customized equipment manufacturing, containerized export, overseas on-site installation & commissioning, operator skill training and long-term spare parts supply, establishing ourselves as the preferred Chinese full-set oil engineering service provider for grain and oil manufacturers throughout Latin America.
If you are planning to build or upgrade an oil refinery, contact Dingsheng Machine now. We will recommend the optimal refining scheme and provide free project plan, technical proposal and accurate quotation according to your actual demands.
Contact Dingsheng Machine
Call: +86-159 3716 3029
Email: company@dingmachinery.com
Visit: http://www.dsoilpress.com
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