Mobile plant for vegetable oil extraction and processing into biofuel has been developed at the Industrial Research Institute of Agricultural Engineering (Przemysłowy Instytut Maszyn Rolniczych, PIMR) in Poznań. Farmers can use it to produce biofuels from their own materials.
Produced biofuel can be used for tractors, construction machines and vehicles, as well as fuel for heating purposes.
The mobile plant prototype has been assembled by PROMAR in Poznań. The trailer has been equipped with all components of biofuel processing plant: estrifier, plant oil mill, containers for raw materials and finished products.
According to Ryszard Chmielewski of PIMR, it is probably the only device of this type.
"We have not found, either in Europe or in the U.S., this idea to fit all these components on a trailer and to be able to get to the grain and the farmer" - he said
Plant performance is about 500 litres of biofuel per cycle, the production of this quantity of fuel takes about 4 hours. The plant can process rapeseed, sunflower, soybean, mustard, flax and false flax. The cost of the device is about PLN 170 thousand.
The device consists of a processing unit utilising a patented method of obtaining renewable fuel from vegetable oils, as well as latest generation press enabling extracting oil from various oil seeds, at low energy consumption.
Ryszard Chmielewski believes that the unit may of interest to farmers affiliated in producer groups.
"We are talking to commune mayors in Wielkopolska, we want to go with the mobile plant directly to farmers, convince them that it is a good investment. The difference between costs of fuel generated from own materials and the purchase price of fuel at gas stations is considerable" - he said.
According to the solution authors, the mobile plant allows to reduce capital expenditures associated with the construction of production facilities, reduce production costs by minimizing the cost of transport, and increase the use of variety of oil seeds.
The patented technology of biofuel production has been developed in cooperation with Poznań University of Technology. It won numerous awards at trade fairs in the country and abroad. Fuel manufacturing unit has already found buyers in Poland and Ukraine. Mobile plant for vegetable oil extraction and processing into biofuel received the Gold Medal at this year\'s Greenpower International Renewable Energy Fair in Poznań.
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