# US 2018/0020714 A1 · Method and apparatus for increased recovery of oil from lemons and other citrus fruit using desorption

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- Number: US 2018/0020714 A1
- Document ID: US20180020714A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 15/731,651
- Filed: 2017-07-12
- Published: 2018-01-25
- Earliest claimed: 2016-07-21
- Assignees: Brown International Corporation
- Inventors: Roger Waters; Carlos Valentin Gallo; Santiago Manuel Sosa; Victor Francisco Onchi Navarro
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20180020714A1

## CPC

- A23N 15/06: Devices for other treatment of fruit, e.g. marking, maturing, polishing
- A23L 2/06: from citrus fruits
- A23N 1/003: {especially for citrus fruits}
- A23N 1/02: combined with disintegrating or cutting
- C11B 9/02: Recovery or refining of essential oils from raw materials
- C11B 9/022: {Refining}
- C11B 9/025: {Recovery by solvent extraction}
- A23N: MACHINES OR APPARATUS FOR TREATING HARVESTED FRUIT, VEGETABLES OR FLOWER BULBS IN BULK, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PEELING VEGETABLES OR FRUIT IN BULK; APPARATUS FOR PREPARING ANIMAL FEEDING- STUFFS (machines for cutting straw or fodder A01F29/00; disintegrating, e.g. shredding, B02C; severing, e.g. cutting, splitting, slicing B26B, B26D)
- A23L: FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF (preservation thereof A23B)
- C11B: PRODUCING, e.g. BY PRESSING RAW MATERIALS OR BY EXTRACTION FROM WASTE MATERIALS, REFINING OR PRESERVING FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES, e.g. LANOLIN, FATTY OILS OR WAXES; ESSENTIAL OILS; PERFUMES (drying-oils C09F)

## Abstract

A two stage system for extraction of oil from whole citrus fruit is provided. The first stage is known in the art and includes a first plurality of toothed rollers which convey citrus as the teeth penetrate and rupture oil glands. The oil passes into a first water pan. A novel second stage uses a second plurality of toothed rollers to continue the penetration and rupturing of oil glands. The second plurality of rollers are positioned in an isolated second pan to partially submerge the citrus. A middle phase liquor with extremely low oil concentration is transferred into said second pan to initiate desorption of oil from the citrus. The desorption technique in one embodiment increases yield by 4% or more. This technique is expected to increase yield even more as the recovery by the first stage is reduced.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A two stage method for extraction of oil from the peel of whole citrus fruit, including primary and secondary extraction wherein the primary extraction of oil is obtained by causing said fruit to be conveyed across a first plurality of generally parallel toothed rollers in a direction perpendicular to the axes of rotation of said toothed rollers, wherein said toothed rollers have projections which penetrate the oil glands in the peel of said citrus to cause oil to drain downwardly from said citrus, wherein said oil is collected in a first pan of water to form an emulsion of citrus oil and water, and wherein said emulsion is then transferred to a centrifuge or other separator to remove and collect most of the oil from said emulsion, wherein said emulsion after oil separation is a middle phase liquor, and
a secondary stage of extracting oil characterized by:
transferring said citrus from said first plurality of toothed rollers to a second plurality of toothed rollers, wherein said second plurality of rollers has projections which penetrate oil glands in the peel of said citrus, wherein said second plurality of rollers is positioned relative to a second pan to cause said citrus to be partially submerged in liquid introduced into said second pan,
moving said citrus across said second pan by said second plurality of rollers,
introducing at least a portion of said middle phase liquor into said second pan,
causing said middle phase liquor in said second pan to contact the surfaces of said
partially submerged citrus, said contact causing desorption of additional oil from said citrus into said middle phase liquor because of higher oil concentration remaining in said citrus than the oil concentration in said middle phase liquor.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1 wherein said middle phase liquor has an oil concentration less than 0.55% by weight.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1 wherein said middle phase liquor has an oil concentration less than 0.2% by weight.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1 wherein all of said middle phase liquor is introduced into said second pan, and comprising the further steps:
transferring said middle phase liquor with said desorbed oil into said first pan,
combining said desorbed oil with said emulsion of oil and water in said first pan, and
transferring said emulsion and said desorbed oil to a centrifuge or other separator for removal of oil

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1 wherein a portion of said middle phase liquor is transferred directly into said first pan.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5 wherein a portion of said middle phase liquor which passes through said second pan and includes desorbed oil is transferred to a centrifuge for removal of oil.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1 wherein said middle phase liquor flows through said second pan in a direction opposite from the direction of travel of said partially submerged citrus through said second pan.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1 wherein the residence time of citrus on said first and second pluralities of rollers is increased by 30% or more, and the oil recovery is increased by 4% compared with the closest known prior art.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1 wherein the speed of said first and second pluralities of rollers is increased by 20% and achieves the same percentage of oil extraction compared with the closest known prior art.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1 wherein as the percentage of original oil extracted y the primary extraction decreases, the percentage of oil extracted by the secondary extraction increases.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10 wherein as the percentage of original oil extracted by the primary extraction decreases to 70%, the percentage of original oil extracted by the secondary extraction is 10% or more.

### Claim 12

A two stage apparatus for automatic extraction of oil from the peel of whole citrus fruit, comprising:
a first stage in which a first plurality of parallel toothed rollers rotate around parallel axes of rotation,
each of said first plurality of rollers having a plurality of teeth for penetrating oil glands of the peel of said citrus,
first drive means for causing rotation of each of said first plurality of rollers in the same rotational direction to propel said citrus across said first plurality of rollers while penetrating said oil glands,
a first water pan positioned below said first plurality of rollers to receive oil passing downwardly from said whole citrus to form an emulsion of water and citrus oil,
a centrifuge or other separator for receiving said emulsion and separating oil from said emulsion, forming a middle phase liquor,
a second stage in which a second plurality of toothed rollers rotate around parallel axes of rotation,
each of said second plurality of rollers having a plurality of teeth for penetrating oil glands in the peel of said citrus,
second drive means for causing rotation of each of said second plurality of rollers in the same rotational direction to propel said citrus across said second plurality of rollers while penetrating said oil glands,
transfer means for transferring said citrus from said first plurality of rollers to second plurality of rollers,
a second water pan positioned relative to said second plurality of rollers so that as citrus is propelled across said second plurality of rollers it is partially submerged in liquor in said water pan,
pump means for transferring said middle phase liquor to said second water pan,
whereby said citrus on said second plurality of rollers is at least partially submerged in said middle phase liquor to cause desorption of citrus oil into said middle phase liquor, and
means for transferring said middle phase liquor with said desorbed citrus oil either into said first water pan, or into said centrifuge or other separator for recovery of oil.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said middle phase liquor has an oil concentration less than 0.55% by weight.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said middle phase liquor has an oil concentration less than 0.2% by weight.

### Claim 15 (depends on 12)

The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said middle phase liquor flows through said second pan in a direction opposite from the direction of travel of said partially submerged citrus through said second pan.

### Claim 16 (depends on 12)

The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the residence time of citrus on said first and second pluralities of rollers is increased by 30% or more, and the oil recovery is increased by at least 4% compared with the closest known prior art system.

### Claim 17 (depends on 12)

The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the speed of said first and second pluralities of rollers is increased by 20% and achieves the same percentage of oil extraction compared with the closest known prior art system.

### Claim 18 (depends on 12)

The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the residence time of citrus on said first and second pluralities of rollers is increased by less than 30% compared with the closest known prior art system, and wherein the speed of said first and second pluralities of rollers is increased by less than 20% compared with the closest known prior art system, and wherein the oil recovery is increased by less than 4% and throughput capacity is increased by less than 20%