Visit Report

Dear Sir:
Following are the details for 5 days training conducted at our plant Gajanan Solvex
At Khamgaon.

Visited By:
Sanket S Koyate
Projects and Marketing
+91 9689892606
projects@seplindia.co.in

Project Details:
Company Name:
1) Gajanan Solvex Ltd

Location& Date when visited:

Project Coordinator Name:

Visit Details:
Following is the details of 5 days training report to Khamgaon for study on solvent
extraction plant.

DAY 1
On 09/01/2014 I visited M/S Gajanan Solvex for the purpose of understanding the
machineries and its respective application. This plant was of solvent extraction. Mr.
Mahabale took me to the plant. Where, he showed me the different processes for
cotton seed. Total plant was of capacity 400mtpd and 150mtpd flakers each.
DAY 2
On 10/01/2014 Mr. Vimlesh sir explained me different processes for the same, also
Mr. Vipul helped me out to know different process one by one.
DAY 3
On 11/01/2014 i was involved in helping for the dispatch of cotton doc, cotton hull,
etc
Day 4
On 12/01/2014 as it was a Sunday we had went to plant for some paper works and
inspection of our material remaining. Also, counting of the bags remaining in cotton
DOC section.
Day 5
On 13/01/2014 I took Mr. Vipul for the revision of explanation of plant, where he
explained me all the processes.

Following is concept of Solvent Extraction which I understood

Cotton is both a food (cottonseed oil) and a fiber (cotton lint) crop. For each 100 kg
(220.46 lbs) of cotton fiber produced, the plant also produces about 150 kg (330.69 lbs)
of cottonseed. The cotton plant primarily is and has always been grown for the
textile fiber (cotton) component of the plant. Consequently, the production of
seed, which varies directly with cotton fiber production, is dominated by factors
determining the production of cotton fiber. Cottonseed is about 1520% of the value
of the cotton crop.
A typical cottonseed crushing operation will separate the seed into oil [160 kg/t
(320 lbs/t)], hulls [260 kg/t (540 lbs/t)], meal [455 kg/t (910 lbs/t)], and linters
[83.5 kg/t (167 lbs/t)]. The hulls and meal are sources of vegetable protein
Feed for animals; and the linters are used as a chemical cellulose source in personal
Care products, in batting for upholstered furniture and mattresses, and in high quality
paper.
Delinting is unique to cottonseed among all the oilseeds. The short
cellulose linter fibers must be removed from the seeds because leaving them on
the seed would lower the yield of oil due to absorption of the oil by the cellulose
fibers. Linters, are bulky and tend to hold the neutral oil or occupy valuable extractor
space during the extraction. Chemicals, such as sulfuric acid, have been used to
remove the linters, especially when seeds are prepared for replanting. However, all
commercial mills remove the linters mechanically as these short fibers have many
nonfood applications, serving as the starting material for pure cellulose, plastics,
and rayons, and are used in high-quality paper, batting or padding in bedding and
furniture, and automotive uses.
Once the lint is removed, the hulls are separated from the seeds. Hulls that
are allowed to remain with the kernels absorb oil during extraction and lower the
quality of the meal produced by lowering the protein level. The hulls cannot be
completely eliminated without a loss of kernel, so an acceptable level of hull retention
must be determined, depending on the desired protein level of the final meal.
Two types of hullers are used in the industry. The bar huller consists of a bar- or
knife-studded cylinder that rotates within another cylinder having similar knives
protruding from its interior. The hulls are cut as the seeds pass around the inner
cylinder. The seed decorticator has two hardened steel rolls, both of which have
longitudinal grooves cut in the surface. The seeds are fed between the rolls and
then cut by the grooves and the difference in speed between the two rolls. The hulls
and uncut seeds are removed from the kernels by screening and the hulls are aspirated
so that the seeds may be returned to the huller.

Cottonseed Oil Extraction Flow Sequence

Storage

Cleaning

Delinting

Dehulling

Separating Hulls

Cotton seed kernel

Cooking

Flaking

Expanding

Miscella
(Oil Solvent Mixture)

Desolventization

Crude Cottonseed
Oil

Foreign Matters

Cottonseed linters

Solvent Ladden Flakes

Desolventization/Toasting

Cottonseed meal

After hulling, the meats, or kernel, are reduced in size or flaked to facilitate
oil removal. This rolling process minimizes the distance through which the
free oil must pass, but it does not necessarily rupture the walls of the oil cells. Proper
moisture content of the seeds is essential for flaking, and if the moisture level is
too low, the seeds must be conditioned to raise the moisture to about 11% .
Cottonseeds may be flaked by passing between two rolls mounted side-by-side;

however, they are more often flaked in a series of five stacked-crushing rolls
because a thinner flake may be achieved with the vertical rolls. The ultimate thickness
of the flake is determined by the method of extraction used. For mechanical
pressing, a thickness of 0.1270.254 mm (0.0050.010 inch) is common, and for
solvent extraction, flakes of not less than 0.2300.254 mm (0.0080.010 inch)
are common. Thinner flakes tend to disintegrate during the solvent process.
Prior to extraction, the flakes are heated or cooked. Ward summarized
the purpose of cooking the flakes as follows: cell walls are broken down
allowing the oil to escape; oil viscosity is reduced; moisture content is controlled;
protein is coagulated; enzymes are inactivated and micro-organisms
are killed; gossypol is bound to protein, to some extent, by the action of heat
in combination with moisture and physical treatment and thus some portion of it
is detoxified; and certain phosphatised are fixed in the cake, which helps to
maintain subsequent refining losses.
Cottonseed flakes are usually cooked in stack cookers that are 48 kettles high.
The sides and floors of each kettle are steam-jacketed to heat the flakes. The flakes
are fed into the top kettle, heated for a specific time, and then swept into the kettle
below. The temperature of lower kettles are usually maintained at higher temperatures
than the top kettle. If the flakes are relatively dry, moisture may be added to
the top kettle to reach a level of 1112%. As the flakes progress toward the bottom
kettle, water is evaporated and removed by vents in each of the lower kettles until
the final moisture level is reached. The desirable level is 56% moisture for seeds to
be hydraulically pressed and about 3% for seeds to be expeller or screw pressed. Cooking
seeds at low temperatures and moisture content may result in less
protein binding of gossypol. Higher gossypol levels will then develop in the oil
and affect the color of the crude oil .
The flakes are heated to over 190_F (87.8_C) in the upper kettle. Flakes with
high phosphatide content may benefit from being cooked at slightly lower temperatures
to avoid elevating refining losses. The temperature of the flakes is raised to
230270_F (110132.2_C) in the lower kettles. The seeds are cooked for up to
120 minutes and, depending on the size of the cooker, 81136 metric tons (90
150 short tons) of meats may be cooked in a 24-hour period.
Overcooking lowers the nutritional quality of the meal and darkens both the oil
and the meal. Poor-quality seeds with high levels of free fatty acids cannot be
cooked for as long a period as high-quality seeds because of darkening. Darker
oil requires additional refining to achieve the desired bleach colour.
Four types of processing systems are used to extract oil from oil-bearing
materials: hydraulic press, expeller or screw press, prepress
solvent extraction, and direct solvent extraction. These systems employ the
two techniques in common practice for the extraction of cottonseed oil. These
are mechanical by means of a press or the solvent process with the use of hexane.
Mechanical pressing is normally applied to oilseeds that are relatively high in
extractable oil. Hull-free cottonseed kernels contain as much as 34% oil and are
suitable for the mechanical extraction process . The prepress solvent system

employs a combination of the two techniques, where seeds are lightly screwpressed
to reduce the oil by one-half to two-thirds of its original level before solvent
extraction completes the job. After 1980, more than 80% of the cottonseed crushed
in the United States was accomplished by the expander solvent extraction procedure.
In most cases, solvent extraction and refining processes are coupled together
for quality and efficiencies as reviewed in Miscella Refining of Section 4.3. On a
worldwide basis, due to available transportation infrastructure, hardware, solvent,
and skilled labour, cottonseed is still being processed with all four extraction systems.

Post-project Visit:
Have you contacted the project coordinator after your visit?
Yes, I have contacted Mr. Gurjar Sir.

Have you taken support documentation that you may have collected (like photographs
taken, reports, documents, etc.)?
Yes, I have taken photographs, catalogue and also video of different operations