Dry fractionation in palm oil production

Dry fractionation is used to separate RBD palm oil into olein and stearin. The typical process consists of a crystallisation section and a filtration section. During crystallisation, RBD palm oil is heated and then cooled under a controlled cooling program. The fractionation system uses a vertical cylindrical vessel full of water which is temperature regulated and mechanically agitated at a low speed. When the palm oil enters the vessel, crystal formation and growth occurs as the oil is agitated and cooled by the chilled water. The cooling rate is regulated by controlling the water temperature. The oil becomes a slurry of crystals and remaining liquid oil. The slurry is then fed into a plate and frame type filter press to separate the RBD palm stearin from the RBD palm olein. The solid crystals of the palm stearin are retained on the filter plates.

The OPTIBAR DP 3050 is our product highlight in this process. The device is an extremely compact differential pressure transmitter, which incorporates the latest calibration technology, making it accurate even under widely varying temperatures. Each OPTIBAR DP 3050 is calibrated to take account of three variables: differential pressure, ambient temperature and static pressure. This makes the DP3050 a robust and accurate differential pressure transmitter, even under changing process conditions.