From peanut feed to crude oil, confirm the route before sizing the press
Start with pods or kernels, shelling and grading scope, hot or lower-temperature pressing, crude-oil filtration or settling, and how peanut cake will be collected or reused.
A peanut process guide organized around feed condition, hot or low-temperature route, hydraulic pressing, filtration, storage, and peanut cake handling.
Feed condition
Pods, shelled kernels, and graded kernels carry different preparation, cleaning, and handling assumptions.
Pressing route
Hot pressing needs a clear roasting window and loading rhythm; lower-temperature positioning needs cleaner kernels and tighter post-press handling.
Post-press handoff
Crude oil may move to pneumatic filtration, settling, buffer storage, or later refining, while cake handling should be planned beside the press.
Peanut shelling and cleaning before pressing
Use this clip to confirm whether shelling and cleaning belong in the current phase before sizing the press room.
Useful before quoting when shelling, cleaning, and feeding may belong in the same phase.
Feed, pressing, filtration, and peanut cake in one route
Keep pods or kernels, hot or lower-temperature route, crude-oil filtration, and cake flow on one project path.
Process map
From raw material to crude oil
The press is one node inside a seed-specific process. When upstream prep is weak, downstream yield and filtration become unpredictable.
Peanut hydraulic pressing process clip
Use this clip to understand hot pressing, barrel loading, hydraulic pressing, and oil discharge rhythm.
Confirm crude oil and cake routing together
Filtration, storage, and cake collection after pressing directly affect layout and quotation scope.
Clean, shell, and grade the peanut feed
Remove stones, metal, and damaged kernels. Shell pods (shell 30-40% of weight). Grade kernels by size. Reject moldy/damaged kernels (aflatoxin risk). Target moisture 5-8%.
Roast or warm to the chosen operating window
Hot route: roast 160-180°C in electric flat-bottomed woks or drum roasters until moisture 3-5% and golden color. Cold route: gentle warming ≤60°C or ambient crushing. Roast temperature must be recorded per batch.
Load the hydraulic press by a repeatable batch rule
300-325 ton (hot) or 355-500 ton (cold). Standard barrel 390×800 mm, ~100 kg. 14 partitions. Hot cycle 30-40 min. Cold cycle 60-90 min. Residual oil target: hot 6-8%, cold 8-10%.
Filter crude oil immediately after pressing
Plate-frame filter 200-300 mesh (stainless steel) or pneumatic filter. Remove sediment and fines. Crude oil clarity: sediment ≤0.1%, moisture ≤0.2%. Transfer to settling tank or storage.
Collect and plan the peanut cake
Cake protein 45-50%. Options: food-grade peanut flour (defatted, 60-80 mesh), animal feed (high protein), or secondary solvent extraction. If cake is sold, protect quality by controlling roast temperature and avoiding burn.
Control points
Variables that matter before pressure is applied
Peanut feed form and aflatoxin control decide the whole line
Peanut pods contain 30-40% shell and 60-70% kernel. Shelled kernels contain 44-56% oil, 5-8% moisture, 25-30% protein. Optimal pressing moisture is 5-8%; above 10% causes low yield and mold risk, below 4% causes excessive friction and cake brittleness. Aflatoxin B1 (produced by Aspergillus flavus) concentrates in damaged, moldy, or insect-injured kernels. EU limit <20 μg/kg, US FDA <20 ppb. If shelling is weak, kernel size is mixed, moisture drifts between batches, or damaged kernels are not removed, the press will be blamed for problems that actually belong to preparation and aflatoxin management.
Hot press 80-100°C vs cold press ≤60°C: different temperatures, different yields, different markets
Hot pressing is the practical route for most edible-oil plants: roast kernels at 160-180°C to develop flavor and reduce moisture to 3-5%, then press at 80-100°C using 300-325 ton hydraulic presses. Oil yield 40-48% on kernel weight, residual oil 6-8%, batch cycle 30-40 min per 100 kg barrel. Cold pressing for premium bottled oil: ≤60°C with 355-500 ton presses, oil yield 35-42%, residual oil 8-10%, batch cycle 60-90 min. Cold-pressed oil has a smoke point of ~160°C (unrefined), so it is unsuitable for high-heat frying without refining. Refined peanut oil smoke point 230°C. The route must match the market: bulk edible oil → hot press; premium bottled brand → cold press.
Operator checkpoints
Batch-to-batch consistency comes from material grading, stable moisture, and a clear rule for when to recondition instead of forcing a cycle.
Quality discipline
Practical checkpoints before you promise oil quality
- Reject moldy, damaged, or insect-injured kernels before pressing. Aflatoxin B1 limit <20 μg/kg (EU) / <20 ppb (US).
- Keep roast temperature 160-180°C and moisture 3-5% consistent for hot press. Log every batch.
- Record oil appearance (clarity, color) and cake condition (residual oil, protein, temperature) per shift.
- Define filtration mesh (200-300 for hot crude, 1-5 μm for cold premium) and settling tank capacity early.
- Use cold-press language only when the full chain (≤60°C, clean kernels, 1-5 μm filtration, dark glass) supports it.
Quote prep
Information that speeds up engineering discussion
- Feed form: pods (shell 30-40%) or shelled kernels. Kernel oil content 44-56%? Moisture 5-8%? Tested?
- Aflatoxin control: color sorter? Manual picking? Lab test frequency? Target B1 <20 μg/kg (EU) / <20 ppb (US).
- Route: hot press (roast 160-180°C, press 80-100°C) or cold press (≤60°C) or both?
- Capacity: barrels per shift or kg per hour. Hot cycle 30-40 min/barrel; cold cycle 60-90 min/barrel.
- Scope: shelling, roasting, pressing, filtration 200-300 mesh (or 1-5 μm for cold), storage, refining, bottling?
- Cake plan: waste, animal feed (protein 45-50%), or food-grade peanut flour (60-80 mesh + nitrogen packaging)?
- Power: 200-400 kW. Workshop dimensions, ceiling height, and photos of existing equipment.
Questions to confirm next
Do peanuts need shelling before hydraulic pressing?
Is peanut oil usually hot pressed or cold pressed?
What output data should I expect?
Read this next
These next pages move the peanut discussion forward
Ready to size a line for your oilseed?
Share peanut feed form, shelling status, target output, roasting method, filtration requirement, and cake destination so the scope can be narrowed to the right machine class and project boundary faster.