Drying Groundnut pods are dried to a moisture content of 5 % and stored in gunny bags or in aerated bins. Improper drying leads to mould ( Aspergillusflavus ) growth, leading to aflatoxin contamination. Cleaning Groundnut pods are cleaned for removal of foreign material by sieving and blowing air using the cleaners. Thecleaned groundnut are then graded to avoid over crushing of small size kernels. Decortication The outer shell of the groundnut is removed by hand operated or power operated decorticators. The outer seed coat does not contain oil and hence is removed. Heating Heating helps in opening cell walls and increases oil yield. It inactivates the enzymes that deteriorate oil quality. Pressing The groundnut kernels are crushed using oil expellers or screw press. Pressing the groundnut kernels separates the oil. Clarification and Filtration The extracted crude oil is filtered to remove dust or dirt,clarified in a setting tank and then pumped through the filter press. The deoiled cakes are bagged for storage. Refining

• Groundnut pods are dried to a moisture content of 5 % and stored in gunny bags or in aerated bins. Improper drying leads to mould ( Aspergillusflavus ) growth, leading to aflatoxin contamination.

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• Groundnut pods are cleaned for removal of foreign material by sieving and blowing air using the cleaners. Thecleaned groundnut are then graded to avoid over crushing of small size kernels.

• The outer shell of the groundnut is removed by hand operated or power operated decorticators. The outer seed coat does not contain oil and hence is removed.

• Heating helps in opening cell walls and increases oil yield. It inactivates the enzymes that deteriorate oil quality.

• The groundnut kernels are crushed using oil expellers or screw press. Pressing the groundnut kernels separates the oil.

• The extracted crude oil is filtered to remove dust or dirt,clarified in a setting tank and then pumped through the filter press. The deoiled cakes are bagged for storage.

• The filtered crude groundnut oil isrefined in stages through neutralization, bleaching and deodorization. The crude oil is refined for the production of edible grade oil

Groundnut decorticator power.

Groundnut decorticator