NCI’s Oilseed Processing Lab: Pilot-Scale Solutions for Oil Extraction and Refining
NCI’s Oilseed Processing Lab offers full pilot-scale capabilities to support oil extraction, refining, and meal production across a wide variety of oilseed crops. NCI helps clients evaluate oil content and quality while producing defatted meals for human food applications or protein analysis.
Full Pilot-Scale Oilseed Extraction
The Oilseed Processing Lab supports oil extraction from numerous oilseeds, including sunflower, canola, hemp, flax, camelina, and other specialty crops.
Whether your goal is to assess oil yield, analyze quality attributes, or generate defatted meal, our team works closely with you to design a project that delivers meaningful, actionable results.
Key Equipment and Capabilities
Komet Screw Expeller: A dual-head mechanical extraction system that removes oil from seeds without the use of solvents. Featuring full temperature control, this expeller is especially effective for oil extraction from small-seeded crops such as sunflower, canola, hemp, flax, and camelina. This system allows clients to evaluate mechanically extracted oils and better understand how processing conditions affect oil quality and yield.
Armfield Solvent Extractor: This system extracts oils or other soluble components from solid materials, such as oilseeds or plant matter, using a solvent like hexane. Capable of processing up to 10 kg of oilseed meal, the extractor enables efficient, high-yield oil extraction and supports comparative studies between mechanical and solvent-based methods.
Armfield Neutralizer / Bleacher: As part of the edible oil refining process, this machine is used to remove impurities, free fatty acids, and pigments from crude oils. By combining chemical neutralization with bleaching using alkali solutions and adsorbent clays, this system improves oil clarity, stability, and color, preparing the oil for deodorization or final use.
Armfield Deodorizer: The final step in refining edible oils often involves deodorization. It removes undesirable odors and flavors by applying heat, vacuum, and steam to strip volatile compounds. This process results in a neutral-tasting, neutral-odor oil suitable for consumption or further processing.
Supporting Food, Feed, and Ingredient Innovation
The Oilseed Processing Lab supports a wide range of applications, including:
Edible oil processing and refining
Protein and defatted meal production for human food applications
Oil and meal quality analysis
Process optimization and validation
Expert Support from Seed to Finished Product
NCI’s scientists bring practical industry experience to every project, working collaboratively with clients to ensure processing methods align with product goals. From initial oil extraction to refined, finished oils, the Oilseed Processing Lab offers a comprehensive environment for testing, learning, and innovation.