The vacuum dryer is an essential piece of equipment in the edible oil solvent extraction process, designed to remove residual solvent and moisture from wet meal or miscella under vacuum conditions. By operating under reduced pressure, the vacuum dryer ensures that oilseed meals are safe, stable, and suitable for further processing or as protein-rich animal feed. For edible oils, this step is critical to guarantee product safety and compliance with food-grade standards.

Why Use a Vacuum Dryer?

During the solvent extraction process, oilseeds and crude oil inevitably retain a certain amount of solvent and moisture. If these are not effectively removed, they may:

1. Affect product safety – residual solvent in oil or meal is harmful and not allowed under food regulations.
2. Reduce storage stability – high moisture leads to mold growth and oxidation.
3. Impact oil quality – residual solvent affects taste, color, and consumer acceptance.

The vacuum dryer solves these issues by ensuring:

• Efficient solvent removal under low pressure.
• Low drying temperature, preserving the quality of proteins in oilseed meal.
• Improved oil stability for downstream refining and edible consumption.

Design Features and Advantages

Voson’s vacuum dryers are designed with advanced engineering for reliable and safe operation in oil plants.

• Vacuum drying system: Creates low-pressure conditions to evaporate residual solvent and water.
• Gentle heat application: Prevents thermal damage to oil or meal while ensuring complete drying.
• Energy efficiency: Reduced steam and energy consumption compared with conventional drying.
• Safety assurance: Ensures oil and meal meet food-grade safety standards by minimizing residual solvent content.
• Durable construction: Built with corrosion-resistant materials for long-term performance.

Application in Oil Solvent Extraction Process

The vacuum dryer is mainly applied in the solvent extraction section of edible oil plants. Its functions include:

• Drying wet meal after solvent extraction, making it safe for use as animal feed.
• Reducing solvent content in crude oil miscella, ensuring oil quality before refining.
• Applicable to a wide range of oilseeds, including soybean, rapeseed, cottonseed, sunflower seed, peanut, corn germ, and more.

Voson vacuum dryers are available in multiple models to suit small-scale plants with 50 tons/day up to large-scale oil production lines exceeding 1000 tons/day. The equipment can be customized based on raw material type, processing scale, and integration with other extraction equipment such as rotocel extractors and desolventizer-toasters.