What are the steps in palm oil production?

Global palm oil production
 

Small scale palm oil production machine

First, the palm fruits go through a process known as sterilizing.This process can be done by either roasting/smoking which is done after threshing process or by steaming/boiling which should be done before threshing process.

Palm fruit sterilization machine utilizes high temperature to cook palm fruit bunches which can easily separate palm fruit

Next, the palm fruits go through a process known as threshing, in which each piece of fruit is separated from the rest of the bunch. Large palm oil mill plant place the fruit in rotary drums to complete this process, while small palm oil production facilities perform threshing by hand.

Palm fruuit threshing machine mainly used to separate palm fruit from palm fruit bunches

After threshing, the next step in palm oil production involves pressing the fruit to separate the oil from the skin and pulp. Some facilities place the fruit into large rotating drums, which start to break down the fruit and release some of the oil. This is followed by pressing, wherein heavy metal plates are mechanically pressed into the fruit to squeeze out the oil. Palm oil press machine may use hydraulic or pneumatic power to process large batches at once. The oil is then diluted with water and filtered through a screen to help remove debris and impurities.

Double screw palm oil press machine

At this stage, the palm oil can be sold as a low-quality palm oil or sent on for further processing. For further processing of palm oil,the palm oil refining process and palm oil fractionation process is necessary.The palm oil refining process can get rid of the harmful impurities and needless substance in the crude edible oil, getting standard edible oil by utilizing the physical methods and chemical processes.

During fractionation, palm oil is heated to separates out the various triglycerides contained within. This helps to separate low-quality oil from higher quality oils, which are rich in essential fatty acids but contain less saturated fat than unpurified palm oil.