Direct extraction of sunflower seed by filtration‐extraction

Conclusions The influence of certain variables upon the direct, continuous, solvent extraction of sunflower seed meats has been discussed. It has been shown that the ideal preparation consisted of first reducing the hull content to about 10% by weight. Then the dehulled meats were rolled, cooked, crisped, and re‐rolled prior to solvent extraction. Drying before rolling, followed by cooking and crisping, was also helpful in the reduction of residual lipids content but to a lesser degree than was re‐rolling after cooking. It has been shown that the use of relatively low solvent/meats ratios required initially high mass velocities and that mass velocity during extraction was higher than that realized during cake washing. The full industrial‐scale run confirmed the experimental findings; thus the direct, continuous, solvent extraction of sunflower seed meats is a commercial reality. An oil‐content reduction from 53% to 1.68% in one operation is a technological advance of great magnitude. Except for periods when rice bran is processed, the plant is in continuous operation on sunflower seed meats and consistently produces meals containing between 1.5% and 1.7% oil content.