Oil content: 42–55% by weight
Press yield: 38–53% (hot vs cold press)
Hot press temperature: 120–130°C barrel
How do you make peanut oil? What temperature does a soybean oil plant run at? How does DBDW refining work? These technical guides answer the questions engineers, investors, and plant operators ask — with exact process parameters from real plant operations.
Every guide is built from real plant installation data — not textbook theory. Each includes exact process parameters, equipment specifications, and yield data.
Use this table to quickly compare oil types before reading the full process guides.
| Oil Type | Seed Oil Content | Press Yield | Refinery Needed? | Key Process Challenge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peanut (Groundnut) | 42–55% | 38–53% | Optional for natural; required for retail cooking oil | Aflatoxin management; hot vs cold press decision |
| Soybean | 17–22% | 17–19% (screw); 18–22% (solvent) | Required — full DBDW | Low oil content; high phospholipid; flavour reversion from linolenic acid |
| Sunflower | 38–50% | 35–45% | Required for standard; optional for cold-pressed | Wax content requires winterization; hull removal critical |
| All Types — Refinery | Degumming → Neutralizing → Bleaching → Deodorizing (DBDW) | FFA output <0.1% | Deodorizing at 220–260°C, 2–5 mbar vacuum — most energy-intensive stage | |
The most expensive mistakes in oil plant projects happen before a single machine is ordered.
Before buying equipment, know the process. Plants fail not because of machine quality, but because of process design errors — wrong conditioning temperature, skipped dehulling, undersized refinery. A correctly designed process with average equipment outperforms a poorly designed process with premium equipment every time.
These guides come from 500+ real plant installations. Not textbook theory. Every figure has been validated in commercial production across Africa, Asia, and South America. When we say conditioning at 105–110°C gives 2% more yield than 95°C, that is data from multiple plants, not a laboratory experiment.
Use these guides to evaluate any equipment supplier. If a supplier cannot explain why conditioning temperature affects oil yield, or why soybean needs flaking before pressing, their application knowledge is limited. Process competence is the leading indicator of project support quality.
Profitability depends on local raw material price, market oil price, and plant scale. Generally: peanut oil has the highest oil yield (42–53%) and best margin for small-scale (5–20 TPD) processing in Africa and Asia. Soybean oil has the largest global market volume but lower oil content (17–22%) requiring larger investment. Sesame oil commands the highest retail price premium (2–4×) but has limited raw material supply. For a first plant, match the oil type to locally available raw material.
Viable commercial operations start at 5 TPD for high-yield seeds (peanut, sesame, sunflower) and 10 TPD for low-yield seeds (soybean, cottonseed). Below these thresholds, the capital cost per tonne of oil output makes it difficult to compete with imported oil on price. A 10 TPD peanut oil plant requires approximately $20,000–$30,000 investment and can generate meaningful commercial volumes.
For premium natural/artisan oils (cold-pressed sesame, groundnut, coconut VCO), pressing and simple filtration is sufficient — the natural colour and flavour are part of the product's value. For retail cooking oils sold against imported competition, a full refinery (degumming, neutralizing, bleaching, deodorizing) is needed to achieve the neutral colour, odour, and low FFA that consumers expect. The refinery adds 40–70% to capital cost but enables entry to the mainstream cooking oil market.
Our process engineers have designed 500+ edible oil plants. Tell us your seed type, capacity, and market — we will recommend the optimal process configuration free of charge.