Gas assisted Mechanical Expression of oilseeds

It is the objective of this thesis to show the general applicability of the Gas Assisted Mechanical Expression (GAME) process for recovery of oil from oilseeds with high yields. In this process, the oilseeds are saturated with supercritical CO2 before mechanical pressing. The CO2 displaces part of the oil during the pressing and therefore increases the oil yield. To prove the general applicability of GAME, a number of oilseeds with a wide range of properties was chosen: sesame, linseed, jatropha, palm kernel and rapeseed. These seeds all produce high added value oils with a low market volume and their properties range from soft (sesame) to hard (jatropha, palm kernel) and from high (sesame) to low oil contents (palm kernel). A lab scale hydraulic press was used to determine the oil yields and expression rates that can be obtained for both conventional expression and GAME expression under a wide range of process conditions.