Novel technique to enhance the disintegration effect of the pressure waves on oilseeds

A novel technique for continuous disintegration of oilseeds was designed. The operating principle consists of gasification of deshelled oilseeds mash using small amounts of gas. These were subsequently subjected to the pressure waves generated externally by underwater high-voltage discharges, which are then followed by expansion of the water plasma. It was observed that gasification using small amounts of gas may enhance the destruction effects of the edges of the pressure waves, resulting in deeper lignocellulose disintegration. Breakage of the cell walls increased the level of oil extraction from oil-rich vacuoles upto 93% and also accelerated the subsequent anaerobic fermentation of the presscake residue. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.