How to Make Castor Bean Oil

Castor is native to Egypt. Castor oil can be obtained by squeezing the fruit of castor. Because castor contains toxic protein, the pressed castor oil cannot be used for food, but it is widely used in industrial and medical fields.

Castor bean oil extraction process

1. The fruiting period of castor is from July to October, and castor beans of the same size can be obtained after cleaning the picked castor beans. The oil content of castor beans is about 50%, and the oil yield varies from 42% to 45% depending on the process and processing equipment.
2. Put the castor beans into the shell (the main component of the shell is cellulose pigment), and the castor beans after shelling are then put into the steamer for steaming and frying.
3. Pressing, medical castor oil should use a hydraulic press (hydraulic cold pressing machine), the pressing temperature is not higher than 50 degrees Celsius, and the castor oil obtained at a temperature higher than this is used in industrial and other fields.
4. After the castor oil obtained by pressing is filtered by alkali refining, hydration, decolorization, etc., the finished first-grade castor oil can be obtained.

Castor Oil Refining

Economic value of castor bean oil

The annual output of castor bean in my country is about 230,000 tons, ranking third in the world. Castor bean is a high-oil and high-protein seed, of which ricinoleic acid content is as high as 80%, and castor oil can be heated at 400 degrees Celsius It has the characteristics of not burning at low temperature and not solidifying at minus 19 degrees Celsius, and is used for industrial and medical purposes.

1. Industrial use: high-grade lubricating oil, protective oil, insecticide, artificial rubber, polyurethane adhesive, etc.
2. Medical use: medical laxative, relieve rheumatism, arthritis, treat skin burns, sunburn, etc.

After pressing the castor bean oil, it was found that the acid value of the castor bean rose significantly after flaking. This is because the castor bean contains more esterase, and the cell structure of the castor bean is destroyed after the flaking , this lipolysis acid will quickly promote the decomposition of fat in castor beans into fatty acids. As a result, the acid value rises faster, so the flaking process is not recommended for castor bean pretreatment.