Twin-screw extrusion technology for vegetable oil extraction: A review

Vegetable oils present a valuable class of bioresources with applications in both food and non-food industries and a production that has been steadily increasing over the past twenty years. Their extraction from oilseeds is a key process, as it exerts a strong impact on the resulting oil characteristics and quality. In view of the recent pressure towards sustainability, oilseed processing industries are taking renewed interest in thermomechanical pressing as a means to obtain high quality oils. This work focuses on twin-screw extrusion for vegetable oil extraction and reviews recent technological advancements and research challenges for the design and optimization of novel oil extraction processes. It comprises a critical analysis of the application of twin-screw extruders against their more conventional single-screw counterparts. Further, a comprehensive overview of the key parameters influencing the process performance is provided, while considerable attention is given to the development of innovative green extraction processes using twin-screw extrusion.