Groundnut Processing

Drying

• Groundnut pods are dried to a moisture content of 5 % and stored in gunny bags or in aerated bins. Improper drying leads to mould (Aspergillusflavus) growth, leading to aflatoxin contamination.

• Groundnut pods are cleaned for removal of foreign material by sieving and blowing air using the cleaners. Thecleaned groundnut are then graded to avoid over crushing of small size kernels.

• The outer shell of the groundnut is removed by hand operated or power operated decorticators. The outer seed coat does not contain oil and hence is removed.

• Heating helps in opening cell walls and increases oil yield. It inactivates the enzymes that deteriorate oil quality.

• The groundnut kernels are crushed using oil expellers or screw press. Pressing the groundnut kernels separates the oil.

• The extracted crude oil is filtered to remove dust or dirt,clarified in a setting tank and then pumped through the filter press. The deoiled cakes are bagged for storage.

• The filtered crude groundnut oil isrefined in stages through neutralization, bleaching and deodorization.
  The crude oil is refined for the production of edible grade oil

Groundnut decorticator power.	Groundnut decorticator

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