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There are numerous methods of avocado oil extraction. At Vitone, we extract oil via the Cold Press Process.

The Cold Press extraction process involves the mechanical separation of oil from the fruit. Traditionally, the cold press would not involve the application of heat; however, we found that introducing heat significantly increased the yield quality of the avocado oil extract.

At Vitone, the avocado oil extraction process can be categorised into the following main steps:

1. Quality Control
2. Destoning/crushing
3. Malaxing/kneading
4. Decanter extraction (First extraction)
5. Clarifying (Final Separation

 

 

 

1. Quality control and washing

This is the first stage of the oil extraction process. Ripe avocado fruit is essential to ensure maximum yield. In some cases, overly ripe fruit is acceptable depending on the quality of oil needed. The sorting is vital to ensure that unripe fruit is returned to storage to ripen completely. The Vitone Quality Control and Washing Unit allow one to select the best quality fruit and clean them before processing, ensuring the production of high-quality oil.

2. Destoning/Crushing

The fruit once sorted can go through either of two processes.

• Destoning: The separation of the pulp from the skin and seed. The skin and seed are disposed of whilst the pulp continues the process.
• Crushing: The skin, seed and pulp are crushed into a paste

 

3. Malaxing/Kneading

This is the mechanical mixing of the paste to break the emulsion and improve the oil extraction process. After the fruit has been destoned/crushed, the pulp/paste is pumped into stainless steel tanks (malaxers) with rotors that spin to knead/malax the paste. The optimal operational temperature within the tanks is approximately 50°C, necessitating the use of a boiler. The entire procedure is limited to 90 minutes. Going beyond this threshold may negatively affect the oil quality. This process allows the smaller oil particles to be released and merged into larger oil particles, making it easier for the decanter to separate the oil.

4. Decanter (1^stSeparation)

A decanter, also known as a centrifuge, is a machine that uses centrifugal forces to separate the solid from the liquid. Following malaxation, the paste is pumped into the decanter with some water.

Decanters can be either 2 phase or 3 phase:

• 2 phase is whereby the paste is separated into solid and liquid.
• 3 phase is whereby the paste is separated into solid, oil and water.

Vitone decanters utilise the 3 phase method, offering a richer oil extract.

5. Final separation

This is also known as clarifying. The oil from the decanter will contain a small percentage of residual water. Reducing this percentage to the smallest amount possible is vital for optimum extraction. Using Vitone’s Vertical Separator, the oil is purified by significantly reducing the amount of residual water, leaving high-quality avocado oil as the end product.