Definition and Introduction of Oil Press

An oil press machine is a device that uses physical pressure to separate oil from oil-bearing materials like seeds and nuts. It is the key equipment for mechanical oil extraction, producing crude oil and solid cake.

Understanding the oil press is step one if you’re in the edible oil business or use vegetable oils industrially. It’s often the heart of the production line. As Zhengzhou Fude Machinery, we build these machines. We want to share this essential knowledge with you. Let’s explore what they do and how they work.

Introduction to oil presses

Oil press is a mechanical equipment used to extract the oil from oil crops (such as peanuts, soybeans, oil sunflower, walnuts, etc.). According to the working principle, structural characteristics and scope of application, the oil press can be mainly divided into the following types:

• Screw oil press
• Utilizing the screw shaft rotating in the press chamber, it generates high temperature and high pressure through mechanical squeezing and friction, so that the oil cell ruptures and the oil is separated from the oil.
• Wide range of application: it can handle many kinds of oil crops, such as sunflower, soybean, perilla, cottonseed, walnut and so on.
• High oil yield: through continuous pressing, the oil extraction efficiency is high.
• High degree of automation: modern screw oil press is equipped with automatic temperature control and vacuum filtration system, easy to operate.

• Hydraulic Oil Press
• The working principle is to use the hydraulic system to apply pressure to the oil material and separate the grease from the oil material by static squeezing.
• Suitable for special oilseeds: such as sesame, walnut, almond and other high oil content or hard shell oilseeds.
• High oil output quality: hydraulic press produces more pressure and higher oil purity.
• Lower energy consumption: Compared with screw presses, hydraulic presses consume less energy.
• Cold press single screw oil press
• Integration of various oil extraction technologies (e.g. screw press combined with hydraulic extrusion), equipped with vacuum oil filtration system.

What types of oilseeds can be processed by an oil press?

Are you unsure if your specific seeds or nuts are suitable for pressing? We list many common raw materials that oil presses handle well.

• High Oil Seeds:
  • Peanuts (Groundnuts): High oil yield, popular nutty flavor.
  • Sunflower Seeds: Very common, high oil content, often shelled first.
  • Sesame Seeds: Very high oil, prized for flavor, often cold-pressed.
  • Rapeseed (Canola): Major global source, good oil content.
  • Flaxseed (Linseed): Health oil (Omega-3), also industrial uses.
  • Castor Beans: High oil, BUT oil is for industrial use ONLY (raw bean is toxic). Requires special handling.
  • Oil Tea Seeds (Camellia seeds): Popular in parts of Asia.
  • Nuts (Walnuts, Almonds, Hazelnuts): Very high oil, often cold-pressed for gourmet oils.
• Medium Oil Seeds:
  • Soybeans: Lower oil percentage, large scale often uses pre-pressing then solvent extraction, but direct pressing is possible.
  • Cottonseed: Abundant byproduct, requires processing to remove lint and gossypol for food use.
  • Corn Germ: Separated from corn kernels during milling.
• Oil Fruits / Kernels:
  • Palm Fruit: Source of palm oil (usually large scale industrial process).
  • Palm Kernels: Seed inside the palm fruit, source of palm kernel oil.
  • Coconut (Copra): Dried coconut meat yields coconut oil.
  • Olives: Source of olive oil (pressing and centrifugation are common).
• Other:
  • Peony Seeds, Grape Seeds, Sea Buckthorn Seeds: Niche markets.
  • Rice Bran: Requires specific pre-treatment (stabilization, often extrusion/puffing) before oil extraction.

Uses of Oil Cakes

The oil cake produced after pressing by oil presses is a high-value byproduct with extensive and environmentally friendly applications spanning agriculture, animal husbandry, industry, and specialized fields, as detailed below:

• Oil cakes (such as peanut cake and rapeseed cake) are rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other elements. After fermentation and decomposition, they can be used as base fertilizer or top dressing.
• Oil cakes contain protein, amino acids, fats, and minerals, making them high-quality feed for livestock such as pigs, cattle, and sheep.
• Residual oil in oil cakes can be converted into biodiesel through ester exchange reactions, serving as an alternative to fossil fuels.
• Tea seed cakes and tung oil cakes contain special components suitable for manufacturing paint, soap, lubricants, and other products.
• Grape seed cake, when carbonized, can be processed into activated carbon for use as an environmental adsorption material.

Range of use of oil presses

• Screw oil press: up to 60 kinds of raw materials for oil extraction, stable oil yield, suitable for continuous production, dual-use hot and cold press, stable market prospects.
• Hydraulic oil press: processing sesame, walnut and other hard raw materials, hydraulic operation, pure oil.
• Single screw oil press machine: processing palm kernel, palm oil can be used in edible, industrial, daily chemical and other multi-functional scenarios.

Oil Press Parameters

Customize equipment output according to customer requirements

How to buy an oil press

The first step is to choose the type of oil press, the output requirement, and the oil filtering/refining configuration according to the material you are pressing. Zhengzhou Fude Machinery recommends the right oil press equipment for you, with professional manufacturer and mature equipment, to give you favorable offer.