Looking For a Coconut Oil Machine Powered By Steam Turbine

Why not use the waste product to produce electrical power? It can be sold if there is a surplus.

Are you sure that the energy obtained by burning the shells (considering all losses: boiler, turbine, gear aso...) will be sufficient to press the oil off ?

What you are referring to is a biomass power boiler that can be operated not only with coconut shells but all agro waste(saw dust/baggase waste/rice husk/wood etc.) but these needs to be briquetted to burn.

These are expensive pojects for it involves high pressure boilers and steam turbines to generate electricity as well as provide steam to any process mill/s.

thinking with borrowed brains is like living on borowed time however it might improve the iq of both the loser and the recipient

To the best of my meagre knowledge, bagasse (sugar cane waste) burning power boilers DO NOT have to use briquetted material. Most sugar cane mills in Australia & Fiji use the waste products as is. Bagasse is considered to have a high moisture content, which obviously cools the combustion process. I believe loose sawdust [when used] is 'blown' into the firebox, the induced air providing the requisite draught.(draft for those who can't spell).

Also check out bagasse fired steam locomotives..they still exist - Cuba etc,..and 'Detroit' stokers.

As for coconut oil, I've seen a story about a guy in Vanuatu or the Solomons using straight coconut oil in his diesel truck - he does make it and sell it.

over the years i have seen many diesel engines(fixed and transport) "run" on pure coconut copra and mixtures of same with diesel- some add catylsts and get some more milage but I have never seen many run for more than a few thousand hrs at best before they gum up with glycerine- mechanics and maintenance are not strong points in PIC's especillay remote areas where spare etc are a major problem- ask Toyota and others if they will warranty their new diesel vehicles running on anything other than HSD and they will ALL say -emphatically- no- they make excellent engines (in eu, us, and brazil - that I know of) that run on mixtures of various biofuel but to think that you are going to squeeze a coconut into your tank and get away with it for very long- I believe is a bit naive and mis-directed.

Is there a special reason for wanting to use a steam cycle? I ask because steam machinery is not ideal, from either the cost or the efficiency standpoint. In your shoes, I would gasify the coconut shells and use the gas to power a conventional internal-combustion engine/generator set. This would provide electrical power in the usual way, and you could sell any excess. All the hardware except the gasifier and gas-cleaning hardware would be conventional, bought off the shelf and maintained by mechanics without special training.

There are many understandable reasons to avoid a steam cycle power generation, but inefficiency is not one of them. The Rankine cycle is one of the most efficient methods to convert thermal energy into mechanical energy. At the same time the systemic hazards to machine and personnel make the engineering a challenge. So I agree that the OP's choice of a steam turbine may not be the preferred choice but not from inefficiency.

"So I agree that the OP's choice of a steam turbine may not be the preferred choice but not from inefficiency."

A small, low-pressure steam plant - which this will have to be - will be inefficient. This is the result of high boiler losses, low operating pressures and no regeneration.

The plant will also be more expensive than a converted IC engine, per unit of capacity.

Hi,

charcoal from coconut shells is the best quality available worldwide!

So heat the shells without oxygen access and burn the gas evolved.

Burn the other fuels you have too and produce steam.

If you have enough and continuous supply of burnable material then a turbine would be great else an old fashioned piston type steam machine may be better.

Simplest would be to use the steam directly in a a steam cylinder to produce the force for oil extraction. What pressure is needed for oil extraction? What size of the extractor press? What pressure of the steam supply needed? Which quantity per day?

Why do you need rotation? If rotation then make elektricity as suggested above.

RHABE

GA

Experience always trumps theory.

I agree with RedFred, GA... I was fortunate to see a similar manufacturing process in operation while enjoying a short vacation away from the mid-Ohio chill quite a few years back.

Just one suggestion, I would forego putting your e-mail in a forum post and send it through a PM instead. There are quite a few lurking trolls around here that might exploite it otherwise.

JavaHead

Thanks for the advice I don't use these things much and am only trying to help I seem to be getting replies from everyone except the person that asked so then I ask why bother

best regards

Please do not let lack of response from the original posted deter you. Especially, in this case, this is their very first post.

As such, their settings may not send them e-mail when replies are sent, they may have forgotten how they got here in the first place, they may have gotten the response they needed and moved on, they may have forgotten their log in information, there may be any number of reasons.

The majority of the threads in which I have been involved, rarely does the OP ever return. But, the value of the thread is not lost there. The secondary result of any thread is the discussion that ensues amongst the active members.

So, be secure in the fact that although the OP may not return, often times your knowledge, experience, insight, and comments benefit so many others…

So keep posting…

JavaHead

Thanks java - I know you are right and being an old sailor I never give up the ship even if it is a lifeboat I have both given and received info in this fine forum and am pleased to be a part of the free and unemcumbered flow of information

try looking on-line under cotton-seed mill. Its uses similar husks.