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Soybean Oil Processing Plants
Cocoa, Shea, Palm Oil & Oilseed Processing

Soybean Oil Processing Plants

A soybean oil plant prepares whole beans, then recovers the oil by pressing or solvent extraction and toasts the de-oiled meal, so the project makes two products, oil and protein meal.

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Two stainless-steel extraction vessels with condensers on a raised platform with yellow stairs and railings, in a clean plant hall with a green floor

Soybean Oil Processing Plants

Soybeans are low in oil and high in protein, which makes the meal at least as important as the oil, so the meal market matters to the plant's economics. The buyer should first settle how the meal will be sold, because the protein target decides whether the beans are dehulled and how the meal is toasted. The next questions are the scale, since solvent extraction is more usual at larger scale while smaller operations tend to press, whether crude oil will be sold or refined, and whether the site can handle a flammable solvent with hazardous-area design, trained operators and steam. Bean moisture, cleanliness and storage affect both oil and meal. The bean supply across the year and the route for hulls, gums and wastewater also decide what size of plant makes sense in the first place.

Beans are cleaned, cracked into pieces, conditioned with heat and flaked. Cracking sets the flake size, and flake size sets how much material fits in the extractor, so these settings are linked. Dehulling removes hull and lowers fibre, which raises the protein of the meal, and it can be done before flaking (front end) or after (tail end). Oil is then recovered in one of two ways. A screw press, usually after an expander, squeezes the oil out and leaves more oil in the cake. Solvent extraction washes flakes with hexane and leaves very little oil behind, but it needs a closed extractor, solvent recovery and hazardous-area design because hexane vapour and air are flammable. In either case the meal must be toasted: heat removes the solvent and reduces anti-nutritional factors, and the desolventiser-toaster is designed for the seed it handles. The meal is then dried, cooled and ground. Crude oil deposits gums in storage, so degumming (hydrating and removing the gums) comes before the storage tank, and refining (neutralising, bleaching and deodorising) is added where a bland, stable oil is needed.

Indicative Capacity Range

  • 1–20 tonnes beans/day

Key Specification Inputs

Dehulling, oil recovery, meal quality, refining and solvent safety.

Technical Specifications

TechnologyBean preparation, then screw pressing or hexane extraction, meal toasting and oil degumming, with optional refining
Working PrincipleCracked and flaked beans give up oil to a press or solvent, and the de-oiled meal is heat-treated and dried
FeedWhole soybeans; moisture, cleanliness and storage condition set the cleaning and conditioning duty
Seed PreparationCleaning, cracking, dehulling, conditioning and flaking, with dehulling placed front-end or tail-end
Oil Recovery RouteExpander and screw press, or closed hexane extractor, chosen by scale, safety capability and meal needs
Meal TreatmentDesolventiser-toaster or heat treatment sized to the seed, then drying, cooling and grinding
Solvent SafetyClosed circuit, solvent recovery, flame-proof electrics and vapour detection where hexane is used
Heat SourceSteam from a boiler on local fuel, as the process needs heat for conditioning and toasting
Oil TreatmentGum hydration and separation before storage; neutralising, bleaching and deodorising only where refined oil is needed
Contact MaterialMild steel for the seed and meal sections; stainless steel on oil-contact surfaces

Typical Process Route

1

Bean Receiving and Cleaning

Beans are received, screened to remove stones, dust, stems and metal, and dried if damp. Foreign matter damages cracking rolls and presses, and wet beans spoil in storage.

2

Cracking and Dehulling

Rolls crack the beans into pieces and the hulls are aspirated off. How much hull is removed sets the fibre and so the protein level of the meal.

3

Conditioning and Flaking

Pieces are heated so they flake rather than crumble, then rolled into thin flakes. Thin, even flakes let the solvent or the press reach the oil, and the flake thickness has to match the extractor loading.

4

Pressing or Solvent Extraction

Flakes go to a screw press, often after an expander, or into a closed extractor washed with hexane. Pressing leaves more oil in the cake, while solvent extraction removes almost all of it but brings flammable-solvent duty.

5

Desolventising and Toasting

On the solvent route the meal is heated with steam to drive off the solvent, which is condensed and reused, and to reduce anti-nutritional factors. Under-toasted meal is poor feed, and over-toasted meal loses protein quality.

6

Meal Drying, Cooling and Grinding

Toasted meal is dried to a trading moisture, cooled and ground, then bagged or stored loose. Warm, damp meal moulds and cakes, and fine dust is a fire hazard.

7

Degumming and Crude Oil Storage

Gums are hydrated and removed from the crude oil before it is stored, otherwise they settle out as a deposit in the tank. The gums form a separate stream with their own use or disposal.

8

Refining and Packing

Where a bland oil is needed, the crude oil is neutralised, bleached and deodorised, then packed. Crude oil can instead go straight to a refiner.

Process & Equipment Modules

  • Bean intake hopper and cleaning screen
  • Cracking rolls
  • Hull aspirator or dehulling section
  • Conditioner
  • Flaking mill
  • Expander with screw press
  • Solvent extractor with solvent recovery, where used
  • Desolventiser-toaster
  • Meal dryer, cooler and mill
  • Degumming vessel and separator
  • Crude oil storage tank
  • Refining train, where refined oil is needed

Plant Output

Crude degummed soybean oilRefined soybean oilSoybean meal or cakeSoy gumsSoybean hulls

Applications

  • Crude degummed soybean oil sold to refiners
  • Refined soybean oil for household and catering use
  • Soybean meal for poultry, pig and fish feed
  • Full-fat or partly de-oiled soybean cake for feed compounders
  • Soy gums (lecithin) from degumming for food and feed use
  • Soybean hulls as a fibre feed or boiler fuel
  • Soybean meal as a protein base for further food processing

Key Features

  • Meal as a Design Target

    The seed preparation and toasting sections are specified against the meal protein and quality wanted, not just the oil recovered.

  • Front- or Tail-End Dehulling

    Dehulling can be placed before or after flaking, and it sets the fibre and protein of the meal.

  • Press or Solvent Route

    A screw press suits small scale and simple sites, while a hexane extractor suits larger scale and higher oil recovery.

  • Safety Designed In for Solvent Duty

    A closed circuit, solvent recovery, flame-proof items and vapour detection are part of any hexane plant, not an add-on.

  • Toaster Designed for the Seed

    The desolventiser-toaster residence time depends on the seed, so a line built for soybean does not automatically suit rapeseed.

  • Degumming Before Storage

    Removing gums before crude oil goes to the tank prevents a sludge deposit and gives a separate gum stream.

Country Pages for Soybean Oil Processing Plants

This product is listed on the pages of the countries below, each with its own enquiry route. Where Kadali has no office in a country, enquiries are handled from the Accra office.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What information is needed to size Soybean Oil Processing Plants?
The inputs that decide sizing are the tonnes of beans per day, the hours the plant will run, the oil route (press or solvent), whether beans are dehulled and to what meal protein level, the bean moisture and cleanliness, whether crude or refined oil is wanted, steam and water on site, and whether the site can accept a flammable-solvent plant. State how the meal will be sold.
What capacity range does Soybean Oil Processing Plants cover?
The indicative capacity range is 1–20 tonnes beans/day. It is stated on a beans basis per day, so restate your own volume on that basis and say how many hours a day the plant will run.
Should a small plant press the beans or use solvent extraction?
Pressing is simpler, safer and needs no hazardous-area design, but it leaves more oil in the cake. Solvent extraction recovers almost all of the oil, uses less power and needs less maintenance per tonne, but it brings a flammable solvent and a recovery system. Many smaller sites press; consider solvent extraction when volume and the site justify it.
How does dehulling change the meal?
Hulls are fibre, so removing them raises the protein level of the meal. Dehulling can be done at the front end before flaking or at the tail end on the meal, and the choice depends on the protein you must sell. Settle the protein target with your feed buyers first, because it is cheaper to design in than to retrofit.
How do I know the meal has been toasted enough?
Toasting is judged by laboratory testing, normally a urease activity test, plus residual oil, solvent and moisture checks against the limits your buyer sets. Under-toasted meal carries anti-nutritional factors that harm animals, and over-toasted meal loses protein quality. Ask for sampling points on the toaster outlet and a batch record.
Is hexane extraction a fire risk?
Yes. Hexane vapour mixed with air in a certain range is flammable, and processing plants have had fires and explosions with serious damage. A buyer should ask how solvent vapour is contained, how the extractor and recovery are vented, what flame-proof items and detection are used, and how operators are trained. Do not treat these as optional extras.
Can a soybean line also process rapeseed or sunflower seed?
Not without checking each section. Seeds with a much higher oil content do not build enough pressure in an expander to gain the effects seen with soybeans, and the meal toaster needs a much longer steam residence time for rapeseed meal than for soybean meal. Multi-seed plants need to be specified for each seed.
Why is degumming done before storage?
Crude oil deposits gums when stored, forming a sludge at the bottom of the tank. Hydrating the gums and separating them before storage prevents that. The gums are a separate stream, sold as lecithin or added to the meal. For the later refining stages see edible oil filtration and refining systems.
How do I request a proposal for Soybean Oil Processing Plants?
Use the Request a Quote page and describe your project. Know your bean supply, your oil and meal markets, and whether you will press or use solvent extraction and refine.

Enquire about Soybean Oil Processing Plants

Send your raw material, target product and capacity to Kadali Africa Ventures for a technical proposal.

Request a QuoteWhatsApp