- Project Name: Coconut Oil Press
- Produce at least 1-2 liters per hour of pressing labour, minimize the labour required to prepare the coconut for pressing
- Yield at least 60% of the available oil in the coconut (180ml of oil per kg of fresh coconut meat, or 360ml of oil per kg of dried coconut meat)
- Easy to construct with non-electric, hand tools
- Inexpensive, target price $30 or less (labour @ $2/hr)
- Simple design
- Made of readily available materials, with minimal fabrication, assembly and repair outside of the village, or in urban centers, or foreign countries
Target Benefit
Coconut oil is currently produced in rural households using a labour-intensive, and inefficient method. A more efficient, less time consuming method would encourage the production of oil and its use to advantage in the rural communities. Cost will be a very important factor. When I first visited rural communities in northwest Ambae, their first question was, “How much will the oil press cost?” When I told them $30-50, they nodded approval – it would be affordable enough for each household, preserving social equity and distributing the benefits widely throughout the community.Background
Fresh coconut flesh (or ‘meat’) is composed of mainly 3 substances; fiber, oil, and water. In order to produce coconut oil, the oil must be separated from the other two substances. The ‘wet process’ first separates the oil and water from the fiber producing coconut ‘cream’which is then separated into oil and water. The ‘dry process’ separates the oil and fiber from the water by drying the coconut meat and evaporating the water - then separates the oil from the fiber by mechanical pressing. More about coconut oil…Features
Current Ideas
Straight Barrel Oil PressRejected Ideas
Cast Aluminum PressTwisted Cloth Method (Wet Process)
Catalyst Methods of Extraction (Wet Process)
Modified Meat Grinder (Wet Process)
Caulking Gun Press (Wet Process)
Hydraulic Cylinder Presses
Commercially Available Mini and Micro Oil Expellers