Unit operation purpose in small palm oil processing
1, Fruit fermentation
To loosen fruit base from spikelets and to allow ripening processes to abate
2, Bunch chopping
To facilitate manual removal of fruit
3, Fruit sorting
To remove and sort fruit from spikelets
4, Fruit boiling
To sterilize and stop enzymatic spoilage, coagulate protein and expose microscopic oil cells
5, Fruit digestion
To rupture oil-bearing cells to allow oil flow during extraction while separating fibre from nuts
6, Mash pressing
To release fluid palm oil using applied pressure on ruptured cellular contents
7, Oil purification
To boil mixture of oil and water to remove water-soluble gums and resins in the oil, dry decanted oil by further heating
8, Fibre-nut separation
To separate de-oiled fibre from palm nuts.
9, Second Pressing
To recover residual oil for use as soap stock
10, Nut drying
To sun dry nuts for later cracking