World Grain - February 2023 - 37

expected to weaken due to increasing attention to sustainability
concerns and the aging of oil palm trees
in Indonesia and Malaysia. Those two countries account
for more than one-third of the world's vegetable
oil production and more than 80% of global palm
oil production.
New technologies
Oilseed crushing plants are characterized by higher
protein content in the meal, higher oil yield, lower
maintenance,
better availability
and serviceability,
Ziemann said.
Improvements can be seen in the process technologies
and the machines used in crushing.
" The process technology improvements are made to
gain the highest oil yield and highest protein content in
meal, which can be achieved by a very efficient seed
cleaning, dehulling and extraction process, " he said.
These new technologies also offer sustainability, energy
efficiency and transparency in the process through
sensor technology. One of these new products includes
Bühler's OLCC corrugated roller mill, which is designed
to make operation easier and maintenance simpler.
Features include removable maintenance doors,
integrated sampling gates, electronic roller gap adjustment,
integrated product bypass and strong permanent
magnets. An optional smart human-machine interface
allows for full local and remote control over all
key functions.
Roller replacement time takes less than two hours per
pair. The roller shell is detached from the shaft, so that
just the shell is extracted; the complete transmission assembly
remains inside the machine. This reduces labor
time and handling weight.
Balaguer Rolls, based in Alicante, Spain, is focused
on helping customers obtain the best performance in
their roller mills and flaking mills. A good profile of the
teeth of the rolls is critical for the crushing, said David
Balaguer, sales director.
The company recently developed the optical flute
test for quality control within the manufacturing facility.
It discovered that the test is a great way for monitoring
the rolls when they are running.
" We can check the performance of the cracking considering
different stages of wear and determine the optimal
time for replacing rolls, " Balaguer said. " We also
are able to observe the relationships between different
variables of the process, such as temperature, moisture,
capacity and more. All this technology helps the operators
obtain a desirable size distribution. "
Another recent development is the K70 cast that add
to the lifetime of the teeth and therefore the roll. This
cast leads to a big savings in material and time between
roll replacement, Balaguer said, reducing the probabilWorld-Grain.com
/ World Grain / February 2023
ity of accidents and eliminating the need for excessive
intervention on the equipment.
" The fast evolution of the market and the need of efficiency
in oilseed processing is leading to the processors
wanting more automation for the overall plant, "
he said. " This requires real-time measurement of the
product in each step. We are working on higher levels
of automation in the maintenance of the flaking rolls,
such as in-site roll grinders and roll measurement devices.
Also, our fluting machines are designed to be
fully automated and faster. "
Future challenges
The oilseed processing industry also is facing some
challenges, including the availability of suitable raw
materials, Bühler said.
" Oilseed processors are trying to counter this with
flexible plant design, " Bühler said. " Multi-seed purpose
crushing plants, such as for processing soybeans,
rapeseed and sunflower seed, are considered to be able
to react flexibly on the market demands. "
Price fluctuations in raw material procurement and
the general inflationary effects in plant engineering are
important topics. These are countered by long-term
contracts and higher standardization in plant engineering.
Also, long delivery times must be taken into account,
Bühler said.
Additionally, the storage, monitoring and handling
of the products is an ongoing issue, but suitable technologies
for monitoring and filtration are available.
" The shortage of skilled workers will lead to an increasingly
high level of automated equipment with
minimal maintenance, " Bühler said. " The desire for
high protein and oil yields poses high cost and processrelated
hurdles. A clear business plan is required to
avoid unnecessary investments. "
We want to hear from you - Send comments and inquiries
to worldgrain@sosland.com. For reprints of WG articles,
email reprints@sosland.com.
37
Bühler's OLCC
corrugated
roller mill is
designed
to make
operation
easier and
maintenance
simpler.
Photo courtesy of Bühler
http://www.World-Grain.com
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