FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a process for producing dry press cake fibre. More particularly, the present invention relates to an integrated, interlinked, continuous and automated process in real-time mode for producing the dry press cake fibre.

BACKGROUND

The list of prior arts or published information in this specification should not be taken as an acknowledgement that this present invention is common general knowledge or is part of the state of the art.

ACC Screw Press operated by sensing input signal (amp) from the main gearbox electric motor and feedback electronically to control card in the electrical control box. Manual override is also included by means of manual control valve to continue production. This system suits all makes of new or existing screw presses fitted with conventional motor - gearbox main drives. The hydraulic system run continuously, exerting a constant pressure on the reaction cone through the hydraulic cylinder. Pressure level is pre-determined by the relief valve setting which is adjustable to suit varying fruit conditions. When screw press overloads, rising current of main electric motor automatically triggers an over-current relay to switch ‘on’ a solenoid valve to reduce hydraulic pressure. Cones are then pushed backwards, permitting faster discharge of press cake. As overloading diminishes, the falling of main electric motor current reaches a safe level, automatically triggers the overcurrent relay to switch ‘off solenoid valve. Cones advance once more, re-asserting pressure at the original level.

[Source: https:/ / www.keepital.com/company/my/novaflow-engineering-sdn-bhd/pro duct/hydraul.ic- power-unit-hpu-for-acc-screw-press-hydraulic-system]

This prior art document does not describe or disclose the process of the present invention.

SFB-Screw Press product features are as follows:-

• Capable for Pl0, PI 5 and P20 ton screw press;

• Automatic closed loop system for fast response via direct electronic feedback, can be tuned to very precise tolerance;

• Precision control of motor torque without overloading the motor, contributing to higher yield;

• Current sensing provide related measurement of total power used; • Pressure sensing provide constant related force/torque measurement over a wide range period for press control;

• Eliminates electric motor break down with added protection. Cone pressure could relief by setting relief point;

• Operating temperature from +15°c to +60°c; and

• System feedback requires no contact points to ensure longer life span of components.

[Source: http:/ /serumpunindah.com/sil/index.php?page=product&product=TE JARI]

This prior art document does not describe or disclose the process of the present inven tion.

Continuous screw palm oil press machine is an ideal option for palm oil production process. After palm fruit bunch reception, bunch sterilizing, threshing and digesting, the prepared palm fruit will be sent to continuous screw palm oil press machine. Mixture of oil and cake will be extracted by use of screw palm oil press machine.

Model: 15tph screw palm oil press machine

Power: 30KW

Working temperature: 90-95°C

Dimensions: 4880*1850*1020

Motor: 40HP X 4 POLE ELECTRIC MOTOR

GEAR BOX: SEW M3PSF50SPD

CONE CONTROL: Automatic Cone Control Hydraulic System with Amp Sensing, Digital Display, Hyd Cylinder & Accesories

PULLEY: SPB TAPER LOCK PULLEYOF 10-11 rpm

[Source: https:/ / www.palmoilextractionmachine.com /product /palm_oil .press .machine /screw _p)alm_oil_ press_machine_232. htmlj

This prior art documen t does not describe or disclose the process of the present inven tion.

Multi-ampere control (MAC) v.1 system operates by sensing input signal (Hi-Hi and Low-Low - Current -Ampere) from the main gearbox electric motor and feedback electronically to the PLC in the Panel, which regulates the cone pressure respectively to signal received providing an automatic pressing. MAC v.1 provides easy three pre-setting ampere control for operator to manipulate the press cone pressure control. 4 pre-setting ampere controls for various pressure control requirements and on-going current sensing and pressure sending to minimise oil loss, an instant tripping c/w reset (the off position of Auto / Off / Manual switch) for press motor on overloading. Automatic v.3a proportional reaction design to provide a much better cone response in relation to the main drive motor ampere to further reduce oil loss. The system operates by sensing input signal (ampere) from the main screw drive electric motor and amplified electronically to activate the electro-hydraulic pressure relief valve, which regulates the cone pressure proportionally based on 4-20mA signal to provide a continuous automatic closed loop constant pressing. A PLC with adequate analog / digital inputs and outputs provide more control and monitoring functions, w'hich can be easily programmed by a user-friendly dialog terminal comprising an interactive HMI touch screen with consistent current sensing together with pressure sensing to have minimize oil loss, an instant tripping c/w reset (the off position of auto/off/manual switch) for press motor on overloading, fully automatic function.

[Source: http://www.novaflow.com.my/wp-content/thcmes/webtemp/pdf/ICE -

PO%202(H2%20Part4a.pdf]

This prior art document does not describe or disclose the process of the present invention.

Chinese Utility Model Application CN215243065U describes a new double-screw oil mill, comprising a pressing oil tank (6), a bottom plate (20) and a feeding tank (24), wherein it further comprises an anti-blocking structure (5) for preventing the material from being conveyed and blocked, a filtering structure for improving the pure oil outlet and a pressing mechanism for reducing the waste of the material; one side of the top end of the bottom plate is transversely provided with an oil extracting tank, and one side of the bottom end of the oil extracting tank is provided with an oil outlet, the filtering structure is set at the bottom end of the oil outlet ; two ends of the inner part of the oil pressing tank are transversely and rotatably connected with an auger, and one side of the top end of the oil pressing tank is provided with a feeding box, the surface of the feeding box is provided with a heating pipe and one side of the top end of the feeding box is provided with a feeding port, the middle position of the top end of the feeding box is equipped with a servo motor and the output end of the servo motor is vertically installed with a stirring rod extending into the feeding box through the bearing, the upper end and the low er end of the stirring rod surface is equipped with a stirring blade, the anti-blocking structure is arranged at the bottom end of the surface of the stirring rod; the lower end of the oil pressing tank far away from one side of the feeding box is provided with a guide plate, and the top end of the bottom plate at one side of the guide plate is provided with a pressing box, the pressing mechanism is set in the pressing box; the bottom plate at one side of the oil pressing tank close to the feeding box is provided with a speed reducer and the upper end of one side of the speed reducer is fixedly connect ed with one end of the packing auger through a rotating rod, the upper end of the other side of the speed reducer is provided with a PLC controller and the top end of the bottom plate at the other side of the speed reducer is provided with a driving motor, the output end of the driving motor is fixedly connected w ith the lower end of the other side of the speed reducer through the rotating rod.

This prior art document does not describe or disclose the process of the present inven tion.

Chinese Patent Application CN111844854B describes a full-automatic spiral oil press with high oil yield, comprising a spiral oil press main body and a multi-stage feeding device, the multi-stage feeding device comprises a raw material storage pipe and an oil cake storage pipe; the inner side wall of two sides of the raw material storage pipe are fixedly installed with a mounting rod. The fully-automatic spiral oil press with high oil yield is reasonable; the multi-stage feeding device comprises a raw material storage pipe and an oil cake storage pipe; when using, the raw material and the oil cake can be added separately, so that the raw material is not mixed with the oil of other raw materials and because the oil cake is pushed by the spiral pushing rod in the oil cake storage pipe, so on the one hand, it can crush the oil cake, avoid blocking, and obtain stable adding speed, on the other hand, the spiral pushing rod when pushing the oil cake, will make the oil cake and the oil cake storage pipe generate large friction force; which can remove the oil left last, improving the quality of the oil.

This prior art document does not describe or disclose the process of the present invention.

Chinese Utility Model CN214214849U claims an intelligent low temperature spiral oil press with pressure monitoring device, comprising a spiral oil press, comprising a machine frame; the pressing chamber of the machine frame is provided with a pressing screw shaft and is connected w'ith the motor through the speed reducer; the pressing cage is sleeved on the pressing screw shaft; the upper part is provided with multiple oil filtering sections; further comprising a pressure monitoring unit, a temperature monitoring unit, a cooling unit and an automatic control system. The pressure monitoring unit is set in each oil filtering section of the pressing cage; the pressure data of each oil filtering section is monitored in real time; the temperature monitoring unit is used for monitoring the temperature data of different positions in the pressing chamber, and sending to the automatic control system and the cooling unit is used for cooling the pressing chamber. The utility model can be widely applied to the field of oil press. The purpose of the utility model is to provide an intelligent low' temperature spiral oil press with pressure monitoring device, capable of automatically collecting the pressure change in the oil press explosion chamber and automatically controlling the oil press according to the collected pressure data. Further, each of the pressure monitoring unit is connected with the automatic control system, through the strain sheet sensor and the temperature compensation strain and two resistors are matched to form a half-bridge method.

This prior art document does not describe or disclose the process of the present invention.

Chinese Granted Utility Model CN2529762Y discloses a double-screw palm oil press, which consists of a transmission device, a press frame, a pressing cage and a pressure adjusting mechanism. The utility model is characterized in that the pressing mechanism consists of a feeding mechanism, two groups of parallel pressing screw shafts with a plurality of pressing screw's and a pressing cage shell, the tail part of the pressing cage is provided with the pressure adjusting mechanism which consists of a hydraulic pressure oil cylinder, a connecting shaft and a cake regulating head, the hydraulic pressure shaft of the hydraulic pressure oil cylinder is fixed with the connecting shaft which is provided with the cake regulating head that can move on the shaft, the other end of the connecting shaft is connected with the pressing screw' through a sleeve. The utility model solves the problem that the pressure of the prior oil press cannot be adjusted; the pressing is insufficient, in particular unsuitable for pressing palm oil. The utility model has the advantages of novelty and simple structure, simple pressure adjustments, convenient pressing screw changes, sufficient pressing and low cake dreg remained oil rate, in particular for pressing palm oil.

This prior art document does not describe or disclose the process of the present invention .

The palm oil industry is a significant contributor to the Malaysian economy and in terms of natural resources is second only to oil and gas. Total exports of Malaysian palm oil and its downstream derivatives in 2019 generated RM64.8 billion revenue (or 3.5 per cent of the gross domestic product) to the country. To progress while remaining globally competitive and relevant, palm oil milling industry particularly must adopt and equip itself with the latest technologies and innovations. New technologies should be the catalyst for modernisation of the whole industry, making it more productive and efficient while enhancing growth and value addition. It is important for the industry to move towards automation and capitalise on the Industry 4.0, the subset of the Fourth Industrial Revolution that concerns industry’. The adoption of Industry 4.0 w ill not only enhance the overall operational efficiency of the palm oil milling industry but also result in sustainable development, where precision operation is evident in the form of reduced labour inputs, reduced risks in stocks, process safety, quality and contamination, and improved productivity.

[Source: Malay Mail, Embracing Industry 4.0 in palm oil milling — Hong Wai Onn, 19 Feb 2020]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a process for producing dry press cake fibre. More particularly, the present invention relates to an integrated, interlinked, continuous and automated process in real-time mode for producing the dry press cake fibre.

The present invention provides an integrated, interlinked, continuous and automated process with a customised programmable logical controller (PLC) to produce dry press cake fibre, the process comprises tipping a sterilised fruit bunches (SFB) via a tipper system onto a first conveyor to be conveyed to a thresher to produce threshed mass passing digester (MPD), conveying the threshed MFD via a second conveyor to an elevated conveyor and to a third conveyor to be fed into a digester level system which consists of at least one digester to produce digested MPD and feeding the digested MPD to a press system which consist of at least one oil press with at least one press cone for pressing of the digested MPD to produce press cake and nuts (kernel), whereby oil loss in the press cake (on a wet basis) is less than 4.5% and minimum nut (kernel) breakage is less than 20%, wherein the press system contains a pressure sensing means to detect pressure of the at least one press cone and a first ampere sensing means to detect amperes (electric current) of at least one press motor, the digester level system contains at least one shaft leveller and at least two sensors to detect level of the threshed MPD or digested MPD in the at least one digester and the second conveyor contains a second ampere sensing means to detect amperes (electric current) of the second conveyor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above recited features of the present invention may have been referred by embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. The appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not considered limiting of its scope as the invention may perform effectively to other equally effective embodiments.

These and other features, benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following figures:

Figure 1 illustrates the process flow of the present invention which comprises the tipper system (1), first conveyor (2), thresher (3), second conveyor (4), elevated conveyor (5), third conveyor (6), digester level system (7) and press system (8).

Figure 2 illustrates the oil loss (%) in the press cake as obtained from the trials per Example 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

While the present invention is described herein by way of example using illustrative drawings and embodiments, it should be understood that the detailed description are not intended to limit the invention to embodiments of drawing or drawings described and are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed but in contrary the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention.

The present invention is described herein by various embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein reference numerals used in the accompanying drawing correspond to the features through the description. However, the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to embodiments set forth herein. Therefore, embodiments are provided so that this disclosure would be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Numeric values and ranges and materials as provided in the detailed description are to be treated as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Terminology and phraseology used herein is solely used for descriptive purposes and is not intended as limiting in scope. The words such as “including”, "comprising”, "having”, "containing” or “involving” and other variations is intended to be broad and cover the subject ma tter as described including equivalents and additional subject matter not recited such as other components or steps.

A. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

In a typical palm oil milling process, several operations are involved in extracting palm oil from fresh fruit bunches (FFB), which are sterilization, stripping, digestion and pressing, clarification, purification, drying and storage. [Source: Flow chart for the palm oil process (from Sivasothy, 2000; https://lipidlibrary.aocs.org/edible-oil-processing/palm-oil ]

Freshly cut fruit bunches and detached loose fruits are transported to the palm oil mill where they are sterilised to inactivate the lipolytic enzymes (as quality of the oil will deteriorate due to free fatty acids which increases through bruising and damaging of the fruitlets on FFB through harvesting and transportation to the palm oil mills), loosen the fruits on the bunch, soften the fruits, condition the kernels and cause protein to coagulate. The sterilization process uses live steam at about 3 bar for a certain period of time. In the conventional milling process, bunches and loose fruits are loaded into cages and pushed into sterilizers whereby the bunches are cooked in batches. The cooking of the fruits happens using steam which is let in by the opening of inlet valves which could be easily controlled by an automated programme. Once the fruits have been cooked in the cages, the steam is exhausted from the steriliser and the fruit cages are pulled out of the steriliser. The steriliser is usually a pressure vessel with the bottom part lined with liners of mild steel or stainless steel for easy replacement for wear and tear purposes. The body of the steriliser is insulated so that the heat loss is minimised.

Stripping the fruit from the sterilised bunches (threshing) is carried out in a rotating cage with bars that allows the fruits to pass through, but retains the empty bunches. The loosened fruits are collected by a conveyor below the cage and the empty bunches emerge at the end of the cage. The separated fruit is then fed to a digester, which is a cylindrical, steam -jacketed vessel kept at 90°C to 100°C by the injection of live steam. It is fitted with beater arms that break up the fruit and liberate the oil. The digested MPD are then fed continuously to a screw' press that produces a liquid stream consisting of oil, fines and aqueous phase, and a press cake containing the fruit fibre residue and the palm kernels. The liquid stream is passed to a settling tank via a vibrating screen that returns what it retains to the digester. The oil recuperated from the settling tank is first of all passed through a purifier to further remove the impurities from the oil and then dried using a vacuum dryer. The sludge collecting in the settling tank is passed to a decanter that separates this sludge into a heavy effluent phase and a light, oily phase that is returned to the store tank. Palm oil screw press is made of a rod-shaped punctured enclosure and a narrowly fitting twin screw that rotate in opposite directions running through it. Due to the commotion and massage action that is applied on the fruit pulp in the pressing cage, screw presses are known as the most effective machinery in breaking open the oil cells that remain unopened and hence extract more oil. Screw oil presses can be viewed as an extra digester. They are ideal for the extraction of palm oil and other kinds of vegetable oil. The pressure is normally automatically controller by a hydraulic system. The higher the pressure of the cone the more pressure is applied to the mesh. The hydraulic system gets feedback from the power consumed by the screw press motor (amperes). The correct pressure is w hen a small percentage of nut break <25% and the oil to dry matter of the press fibre is about 7.5%. If the pressure is set too high the nut breakage increases and kernel is lost. After pressing, oil palm fruit is divided into two parts: the mixture of oil, water and sohd impurities (crude palm oil), and the press cake (fibre and nut). The extracted oil is mixed with fruit particles, water, sand and dirt.. The press cake consists of palm fibre and nuts. The remaining fibres and nuts are recovered and dr-ed.

[Source: https:/ /www.L'iridis-engineering.com/solutions/pabn-oil/palm-oil-mi lls/digester-and-pressing/j

All prior arts as listed and referred to above do not specifically describe the process of the present invention. Apart from that, it is also not obvious by just reading the prior art documents or information as fisted above for experts in the field of interest to derive at the process of the present invention as the parameters for the present invention have been determined by the inventors based on numerous trials conducted, observations and discussions with combined expertise and experience in this field, w'hich parameters and/or combination could not be determined without much efforts, testing and/or analysis or by just reviewing prior art documents in this field of interest. Hence, there remains a need in the art to provide an integrated, interlinked, continuous and automated process in real-time mode with a customised programmable logical controller (PLC) for producing dry press cake fibre, whereby oil loss in the press cake (on a wet basis) is less than 4.5% and the minimum nut (kernel) breakage is less than 20% with benefits and objectives as further described below' which cannot be found from the prior art documents, hence, the inventors believe that this invention is novel and inventive.

B. OBJECTIVES OF PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention provides an integrated, interlinked, continuous and automated process with a customised programmable logical controller (PLC) operating in real-time mode for producing dry- press cake, whereby oil loss in the press cake (on a wet basis) is less than 4.5% and the minimum nut (kernel) breakage is less than 20%. A first object of the present invention is to provide a process moving towards automation in the palm oil milling process, in order to reduce dependence on humans for monitoring purposes. Most of the mill processes are done manually by operators at various stations in the mill whereby parameters such as temperature, speed, pressure and amperes and others are all adjusted manually based on observations by the operators in the mills.

A second object of the present invention is to provide an integrated, interlinked, automated and continuous process in real-time mode between the tipper system, SFB conveyor, digester level system and press system.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a process to produce dry press cake with oil loss of less than 4.5% (on a wet basis) per industry standards.

A fourth object of this present invention is to provide an automated means of controlling the level of the mass passing digester (MPD) in the digester to ensure the digester load is at least or more than 75% full for the best / effective stirring mechanism to allow liberation of oils as trapped in the cells of the MPD before being fed into the press system for the pressing stage.

A fifth object of the present invention is to provide an automated means for controlling movement (i.e. stop or go) of the sterilized fruit bunches (SFB) or the first conveyor (2). Whenever all the digesters in the digester level system (7) are over-loaded with threshed MPD, the threshed MPD will be dropped off onto the second conveyor (4). When this happens, the PLC will transmit signal to the first conveyor (2) (SFB conveyor) to stop moving or to be in a stationary position. As the SFB conveyor is interlinked with the tipper system, hence, the tipper system stops when the SFB conveyor stops and the tipper system moves when the SFB conveyor moves.

A sixth object of the present invention is to provide a pressure sensing means directly at the press cone to automatically regulate the pressure at the press cone of the press system for an efficient pressing mechanism in order to obtain the dry press cake with oil loss of less than 4.5% (on a wet basis).

A seventh object of the present invention is to provide for automatic notification signs / alert signs / warning signs to notify the operator of the present invention if there are any parts of digester level system and/or press system of this present invention that recjuires maintenance or change of parts.

An eighth object of the present invention is to provide an automatic recording of all data and parameters in the plurality of storage of electronic devices, portable mobile devices, cloud computing network or any combination thereof as obtained from the process of the present invention for recording, review' and investigation purposes as opposed to conventional means whereby data and parameters are recorded manually by the operators in the mills.

C. BENEFITS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Based on the expertise, observation and testing by the inventors to obtain the process of the present invention in the most efficient way as possible based on intended residts, the following were observed:-

The present invention provides an integrated, interlinked, continuous and automated process with a customised programmable logical controller (PLC) operating in real-time mode for producing dry press cake, whereby oil loss in the press cake (on a wet basis) is less than 4.5% and the minimum nut (kernel) breakage is less than 20%.

The present invention is moving towards automation in the palm oil milling process, in order to reduce dependence on humans for monitoring purposes. Most of the mill processes are done manually by operators at various stations in the mill whereby parameters such as temperature, speed, pressure and amperes and others are all adjusted manually based on observations by the operators in the mills. Further, the present invention provides an integrated, interlinked, automated and continuous process in real-time mode between the tipper system, SFB conveyor, digester level system and press system.

The present invention provides a pressure sensing means directly at the press cone to automatically regulate the pressure at the press cone of the press system for an efficient and continuous pressing mechanism in order to obtain the dry press cake with oil loss of less than 4.5% (on a wet basis). A good press operation conventionally depends on the alertness and responsiveness of the operator towards the discharge of oil from the press system. The operator would need to monitor the discharge conditions and check the temperature, cone pressure and manually adjust wherever necessary. The present invention allows for an automated monitoring of the press system using a customized PLC for this purpose and hence, moving away from manual means of monitoring and adjusting parameters with respect to the pressing process.

As digestion process is very important having direct link to the performance at the pressing stage, hence the present invention not only focuses on the press system, but also provides an integrated, interlinked and automated process between the SFB conveyor, tipper system, digester system and press system as controlled by a PLC in real-time mode to ensure efficient digestion and pressing performances to produce the dry press cake fibre. Overall, studies have shown that the effectiveness of the digester is based on the stirring effect of the stirring arms which is determine by the load of the digester for optimised digestion process. The digestion level system of the present invention contains at least one digester up to three or four or more depending on the capacity of the mill / preference of the user and each digester contains at least two sensors to ensure that the digestion process only takes place when the levels of the digesters are at least 75% full. The function of a digester level system of this present invention is to ensure that at least 75% of the digester is filled up with MPD, preferably more than 75% full at all times during the digestion process to obtain efficient stirring effect. This is to ensure as much oil as possible is liberated from the MPD before proceeding to the press system which consist of at least one oil press with at least one press cone installed with a pressure sensing means to provide a continuous and an automated pressure regulating mechanism for the pressing process.

The present invention provides an automated means for controlling movement (i.e. stop or go) of the sterilized fruit bunches (SFB) or the first conveyor. Whenever all the digesters in the digester level system are over-loaded with threshed MPD, the threshed MPD will be dropped off onto the second conveyor. When this happens, the PLC w ill transmit signal to the first conveyor (SFB conveyor) to stop moving or to be in a stationary position. As the SFB conveyor is interlinked with the tipper system, hence, the tipper system stops when the SFB conveyor stops and the tipper system moves when the SFB conveyor moves.

Pressure of the press cone of the screw press is important for optimal oil and kernel recovery and quality, therefore, it is preferred for the pressure of the press cone to be controlled directly at the press cone using pressure sensing means (i.e. use of at least one pressure sensor installed directly at the press cone) as opposed to conventional means. The pressure sensing means at the cone press would trigger a switch or valve at the oil press in order to control the pushing and pulling mechanism of the press cone towards the digested MPD for effective and efficient extraction of oil in order to obtain dry press cake fibre.

The press system of the present invention has both ampere and pressure sensing means. This means there is no requirement for the operator of the system to monitor the amperes (electric current) of the press motor, as the press system is able to self-adjust based on pre-determined and pre-set pressure of the press cone and ampere readings of the press motor of the oil press of a press system as controlled by the PLC. The oil press will perform the pressing mechanism on the digested MPD based on the pre-set data by the operator and if the system detects that the pressure and electric current are off-target, the press system via the PLC will automatically adjust and control the pushing and pulling mechanism of the press cone in order to allow the electric current (amperes) and/or pressure range of press cone to return to its pre-set range. The ampere sensing means at the press motor functions as a safety mechanism to ensure that the electric current (amperes) of the press motor is not higher that the established safety limit in the event of over- loading of the load of the digested MPD in the press system which could result in damage to the press motor (i.e. motor being burnt). Conventional means typically uses ampere sensing at the press motor, whereby if the press system detects high amperes (electric current), the press cone will be pulled back from pressing based on adjustments done by the operator of the press system. This is not done automatically but by the observation / alertness of an operator of the system. This is to prevent the main shaft from breaking and to avoid the press motor from being burnt. During this period, there will be no movement in the press system until the ampere reading is back to the desired range. In this conventional means, there is no automated link between the SFB conveyor, tipper system, digester level system and press system per present invention.

The present invention also allows automated release or discharge of oil drainage at the bottom of the digesters which is crucial as if oil is not released from the digesters, this would result in reduced oil extraction efficiency. The oil must also be collected at the bottom of the digesters to ensure that dry digested MPD are fed to the press system in order to achieve the oil loss of the press cake (on a wet basis) to below' 4.5%.

Maintenance of screw press is of utmost importance for the best performance of the pressing mechanism in the mill. The present invention provides for automatic notification signs / alert signs / warning signs to notify the users of the present invention if there are any parts of the digester level system and/or press system of this present invention that requires maintenance or change of parts. The present invention is also able to monitor and record running hours of the digester level system and press system for maintenance purposes. Maintenance of the systems if done periodically would result in no missed maintenance works and longer life span for the systems.

The present invention is to provide an automatic recording of all data and parameters in the plurality of storage of electronic devices, portable mobile devices, cloud computing network or any combination thereof w'hich is obtained from the process of the present invention for review' and investigation purposes as opposed to conventional / manual means of recording of doing so which is not as accurate or could contain missing data or no data at all for future review and audit purposes.

This present invention allows the elimination of human error as there is no need for an operator to manually observe and control the digester levels or to adjust the amperes of the press motor or pressure of the press system. All these parameters will be monitored, controlled, adjusted and stored by the PLC which has been customised for the purposes of this present invention

D. THE PRESENT INVENTION

Background Screw pressing is one of the most important process in the palm oil mill for extracting oil from the digested mass passing digester (MPD) to ensure minimum oil loss in the pressed fibre and minimum nut (oil palm kernel) breakage. During the digestion process, oil bearing cells are ruptured to facilitate oil extraction during the pressing stage. The press is controlled by adjusting the screw press speed (for example such as: P15 (15 tonnes FFB/hr at 10 to 12 rpm) and pressure of the cones at the discharge end of the screw press. The industry standards for cone pressure is in a range of between 50 to 70 bars with the cones located at the end of the screw press. The two parameters key in monitoring the pressing performance are the percentages of broken nuts (kernel) and oil losses in the press cake. It is generally desirable for the industry to obtain broken nuts percentage of below 20% and oil losses (on a wet basis) of below 4.5%.

Digestion has direct effect on the performance of the pressing stage as inefficient digestion will lead to oil still being trapped in the cells and cannot be extracted during pressing. In industry standards, a digester must be filled and maintain with at least three quarters of its designed volume (more than % or 75% is preferred) for the best performance in the digester. Volume of the MPD in the digester is directly related to the stirring effect efficiency. It is found that the stirring effect was at 55% efficiency if the digester was % (75%) filled with MPD and reduced to 35% if the digester is only filled with 60% of MPD. Therefore, the stirring inefficiency results directly in increased oil losses. Optimum digester level is able to achieve reduction in oil loss. Main screw speed and cone pressure results in good pressing mechanism. A good screw press operation conventionally depends on the alertness and responsiveness of the operator towards the discharge from the screw press. The operator would need to monitor the discharge conditions and check the temperature, cone pressure and manually adjust what is necessary’. Increasing the hydraulic cone pressure could increase the pressure exerted to the cake which could reduce oil loss but very high cone pressure would cause the nuts (kernel) to pulverize resulting in lauric acid contamination. Hence, the optimum cone pressure should not be set higher than 70 bar for accepted oil loss in press cake and broken nuts of less than 20%. The recommendation based on industry’ standards are operating hydraulic pressure in a range of between 50 bar to 70 bar with the motor load setting in a range of between 25 amperes to 50 amperes (P10 screw press), 45 amperes to 50 amperes (P15 screw press) and 60 amperes to 65 amperes (P20 screw press). Maintenance of screw press is of utmost importance for the best performance of the pressing mechanism in the mill.

[Source: Screw Press Operation Optimisation for Oil and Kernel Recovery Enhancement, Palm Oil Engineering Bulletin No. 130 - Feature Article]

Definition

‘Amperes of the press motor’ refers to the amperes (electric current readings) of the at least one press motor of the at least one oil press of the press system (8). ‘Ampere sensing means’ for this present invention refers to the use of at least one ampere sensor, whereby ‘first ampere sensing means’ for this present invention refers to the use of at least one ampere sensor at the at least one press motor of the at least one oil press of the press system (8) and the ‘second ampere sensing means’ for this present invention refers to the use of at least one ampere sensor at the second conveyor (4).

‘Dry Press Cake Fibre’ for this present invention means press cake with oil loss of less than 4.5% (on a wet basis) per industry standards.

‘Press system’ for this present invention consist of at least one oil press with at least one press cone for pressing operations to provide for effective and efficient breaking open of the oil cells that remains unopened to extract more oil. An oil press can be seen as an extra digester for extracting palm oil for the extraction of palm oil from the digested MPD.

‘Pressure sensing means’ for this present invention refers to the use of at least one pressure sensor directly at the location of the at least one press cone of the at least one oil press of the press system (8) in the palm oil mill.

Present Invention

The present invention provides an integrated, interlinked, continuous and automated process with a customised programmable logical controller (PLC) to produce dry press cake fibre, the process comprises: tipping sterilised fruit bunches (SFB) via a tipper system (1) onto a first conveyor (2) to be conveyed to a thresher (3) to produce threshed mass passing digester (MPD); conveying the threshed MPD via a second conveyor (4) to an elevated conveyor (5) and to a third conveyor (6) to be fed into a digester level system (7) which consists of at least one digester to produce digested MPD; and feeding the digested MPD to a press system (8) which consist of at least one oil press with at least one press cone for pressing of the digested MPD to produce oil, the dry press cake fibre and nuts (kernel), whereby oil loss in the press cake (on a wet basis) is less than 4.5% and minimum nut (kernel) breakage is less than 20%, wherein the at least one oil press of the press system (8) contains a pressure sensing means to detect pressure of the at least one press cone and a first ampere sensing means to detect amperes (electric current) of at least one press motor; the at least one digester of the digester level system (7) contains at least one shaft leveller and at least two sensors to detect level of the threshed MPD or the digested MPD in the at least one digester; and the second conveyor (4) contains a second ampere sensing means to detect amperes (electric current) of the second conveyor (2).

The PLC is configured to receive and transmit one or more signals from the pressure sensing means to automatically self-adjust the pressing of the digested MPD via the pushing and pulling mechanism of the at least one press cone to operate only in a pre-set minimum and pre-set maximum pressure range of the at least one press cone. The PLC receives one or more signals from the pressure sensing means of the least one press cone and then transmits one or more signals to the pressure sensing means of the at least one press cone to automatically self-adjust the pressing of the digested MPD via the pushing and pulling mechanism of the at least one press cone to operate only in a pre-set minimum and pre-set maximum pressure range of the at least one press cone.

The PLC is configured to receive and/or transmit one or more signals from the first ampere sensing means to automatically self-adjust the pressing of the digested MPD via the pushing and pulling mechanism of the at least one press cone to operate only in a pre-set minimum and pre-set maximum amperes (electric current) of the at least one press motor. The PLC receives one or more signals from the first ampere sensing means of the least one press motor and then transmits one or more signals to the first ampere sensing means of the at least one press motor to automatically self-adjust the pressing of the digested MPD via the pushing and pulling mechanism of the at least one press cone to operate only in a pre-set minimum and pre-set maximum pressure range of the at least one press cone.

The PLC is configured to receive and/or transmit one or more signals from the at least two sensors of the at least one digester in the digester level system (7).

The at least two sensors are a first sensor and a second sensor.

The first sensor is firstly activated when the at least one shaft leveller moves upwards as the level of the threshed MPD in the at least one digester of the digester level system (7) increases to at least 75% of its capacity. The PLC firstly receives one or more signals from the first sensor and then transmits one or more signals to activate the first sensor of the at least one digester in the digester level system (7). A second sensor is then activated when the at least one shaft leveller moves further upwards as the level of the threshed MPD in the at least one digester of the digester level system (7) further increases to more than 75% of its capacity. The PLC further receives one or more signals from the second sensor and then transmits one or more signals to activate the second sensor of the at least one digester in the digester level system (7).

At least one digester door of the at least one digester in the digester level system (7) is closed when the first sensor is firstly activated, followed by the second sensor.

The excess threshed MPD is dropped off onto the second conveyor (4) when all digester doors of all digesters in the digested level system (7) are closed.

The PLC is configured to transmit one or more signals to the first conveyor (2) to be in a stationary position when amperes (electric current) of the second conveyor (4) is higher than a pre-set maximum value based on the one or more signals as received by the PLC.

The tipper system (1) stops moving when the first conveyor (2) is in the stationary position.

The second sensor is firstly activated when the at least one shaft leveller moves downwards as the level of digested MPD in the at least one digester of the digester level system (7) is less than 100% of its capacity.

The first sensor is then activated when the at least one shaft leveller moves further downwards as the level of the digested MPD in the at least one digester of the digester level system (7) further reduces to less than 75% of its capacity.

The at least one digester door of the at least one digester is opened when the second sensor is firstly activated followed by the first sensor.

The PLC is configured to transmit one or more signals to the first conveyor (2) to move when the amperes (electric current) of the second conveyor (4) is lower than a pre-set minimum value based on the one or more signals as received by the PLC.

The tipper system (1) starts moving when the first conveyor (2) begins to move.

If the shaft leveller is delayed in activating the first sensor after activating the second sensor, the PLC transmits one or more signals to an at least one inverter of the at least one press motor to reduce speed of the at least one press motor to at least half of a pre-set original speed. The PLC transmits one or more signals to the at least one inverter of the at least one press motor to return to the pre-set original speed once the shaft leveller has activated the first sensor.

The PLC transmits one or more signals to an at least one valve to automatically open to discharge oil collected from at least one drainage bottom of the at least one digester when the amperes (electric current) of the at least one digester of the digester level system (7) is below a pre-set minimum value.

The PLC transmits one or more signals to the at least one valve to automatically close the at least one drainage at the bottom of the at least one digester when the amperes (electric current) of the at least one digester of the digester level system (7) is above a pre-set maximum value.

The pressure sensing means consist of at least one pressure sensor at the at least one press cone of the at least one oil press of the press system (8).

The first ampere sensing means consist of at least one ampere sensor at the at least one press motor of the press system (8).

The second sensing means consist of at least one ampere sensor at the second conveyor (4).

The process is in real-time mode. Data obtained from the process is displayed and stored in plurality of storage of electronic devices, portable mobile devices, cloud computing network or any combination thereof.

Description

Fresh fruit bunches (FFB) are sent to the steriliser for sterilisation process which generates SFB.

Crude palm oil (CPO) is extracted from the material which passes through the extraction machine which is commonly known as mass passing digester (MPD). MPD is the total fruit, calyx leaves, under developed fruit and spikelets that have been threshed out of the sterilised bunches (total sterilised fruits without the empty bunches).

[Source: https:/ /pustaka.stipap.ac.id 7 files/ ta/..190214025645. Download.pdf]

Screw presses are most effective at current hence mostly used by the industry for pressing operations for effective and efficient breaking open of the oil cells that remains unopened to extract more oil. Screw oil presses can be seen as an extra digester for extracting palm oil. The concept is that the higher the pressure of the cone press, more pressure is applied to the digested MPD to extract more oil. However, based on industry standards it is preferred for the pressure of the press cone to not exceed 70 bars as this could lead to high percentage of breakage of the kernels which would result in lauric acid contamination in the extracted oil.

Conventionally, the press cone pressure is controlled by the amperes (electric current) of the press motor of the oil press to ensure the pressure of the press cone in the range of between 50 to 70 bars per industry standard based on the minimum and maximum amperes of the press motor. This is all done manually based on the observation, alertness and responsiveness of the operator in the mill.

Referring to Figure 1 , the present invention provides an integrated, interlinked, continuous and automated process with a customised programmable logical controller (PLC) for producing dry press cake fibre, the process comprises: tipping the sterilised fruit bunches (SFB) via a tipper system (1) onto a first conveyor (2) (SFB conveyor) to be conveyed to a thresher (3) to produce threshed mass passing digester (MPD); conveying the threshed MPD via a second conveyor (4) (bottom cross conveyor) to an elevated conveyor (5) and then to a third conveyor (6) (digester feeding conveyor) to be fed into a digester level system (7) which consists of at least one digester to produce digested MPD; and feeding the digested MPD to a press system (8) which consist of at least one oil press with at least one press cone for pressing of the digested MPD to produce oil, the dry press cake fibre and nuts (kernel), whereby oil loss in the dry press cake fibre (on a wet basis) is less than 4.5% and minimum nut (kernel) breakage is less than 20%, wherein the at least one oil press of the press system (8) contains a pressure sensing means to detect pressure of the at least one press cone and a first ampere sensing means to detect amperes (electric current) of at least one press motor of the at least one oil press, the at least one digester in the digester level system (7) contains at least one shaft leveller and at least two sensors to detect level of the threshed MPD or digested MPD in the at least one digester and the second conveyor (4) (bottom cross conveyor) contains a second ampere sensing means to detect amperes (electric current) of the second conveyor (2) (bottom cross conveyor).

The general concept of the press system (8) is to compress or press the digested MPD received from the digester level system (7) between the main screw of a press system (8) and press cones to extract palm oil. Oil is further pressed out from the hydrolysed and digested oil palm fruits at this stage. Output of the press system (8) is the crude palm oil and press cake. The preferred pressure range of the press cones for pressing the digested MPD is in a range of between 50 bar to 70 bar per industry standards. Higher than 70 bar is not preferred as although high pressure promotes better oil recovery but it causes high percentage of breakage of the fruit nut (kernel) which results in lauric acid contamination in the extracted oils.

The PLC is customised and configured for the purposes of the present invention to receive and/or transmit one or more signals from the pressure sensing means to automatically self-adjust the pressing of the digested MPD by the pushing and pulling mechanism of the at least one press cone of the at least one oil press to operate only in a pre-set minimum and pre-set maximum pressure range of the at least one press cone. The PLC receives one or more signals from the pressure sensing means of the least one press cone and then transmits one or more signals to the pressure sensing means of the at least one press cone to automatically self-adjust the pressing of the digested MPD via the pushing and pulling mechanism of the at least one press cone to operate only in a pre-set minimum and pre-set maximum pressure range of the at least one press cone.

The PLC is configured to receive and/or transmit one or more signals from the first ampere sensing means to automatically self-adjust the pressing of the digested MPD by the pushing and pulling mechanism of the at least one press cone of the at least on oil press to operate only in a pre-set minimum and pre-set maximum amperes (electric current) of the at least one press motor. The PLC receives one or more signals from the first ampere sensing means of the least one press motor and then transmits one or more signals to the first ampere sensing means of the at least one press motor to automatically self-adjust the pressing of the digested MPD via the pushing and pulling mechanism of the at least one press cone to operate only in a pre-set minimum and pre-set maximum pressure range of the at least one press cone.

The digestion level system (7) contains at least one digester and can be two, three, four or more depending on the capacity of the mill / preference of the user. Each digester contains at least two sensors to detect levels of the threshed MPD in each of the digester to ensure that the digestion process only happens when the levels of the digesters are at least 75% full. The digestion process is also crucial as it has direct effect to the pressing process as it is known that inefficient digestion would cause oil to be still trapped in the cells which is not able to be extracted during the pressing process. As stirring effect of the digester arms is directly related to the level of the MPD in the digesters, therefore, it is key to ensure that the digester to be at least 75% or more filled with threshed MPD before the digestion process begins.

In usual circumstances via conventional means, the MPD level in the digester hardly reaches 75% of its capacity which does not allow' efficient release of oil from the MPD as it is found that the stirring effect of the digester reduces in efficiency if the MPD levels or load in the digester is below 75% capacity. Conventionally, the digestion takes place even if the levels of the digesters are not 75% full. This is mainly because the oil palm milling process is not automated, interlinked and integrated between one section/part to another. Therefore, whenever there is a delay in one section for an example, other section continues on with its operations and hence this results in the digesters not being fully loaded or even 75% full during digestion process. Some mills practice stopping the digesters in the event the load is not at least 75% full (all done manually by the observation of the operator), however, this could result in other issues in the milling process as each section is not inter-connected and therefore is not the best means of handling the load of the digesters.

The PLC is configured to receive and/or transmit one or more signals from the at least two sensors of the at least one digester in the digester level system (7). The at least two sensors are a first sensor ('three-quarters full’) and a second sensor (‘full’).

For the purposes of the present invention, the first sensor (‘three-quarters full ) of the at least one digester in the digester level system (7) is to detect the level of the threshed MPD or digested MPD at 75% of the capacity in the at least one digester and transmits one or more signals to the PLC.

For the purposes of the present invention, the second sensor (full) of the at least one digester of the digester level system (7) is to detect the level of the threshed MPD or digested MPD at more than 75% or 100% capacity in the at least one digester and transmits one or more signals to the PLC.

The first sensor is activated when the at least one shaft, leveller moves upwards as the level of the threshed MPD in the at least one digester in the digester level system (7) increases to at least 75% full. A second sensor is activated when the at least one shaft leveller moves further upwards as the level of the threshed MPD in the digester level system (7) further increases to more than 75%, preferably to 100% of its capacity (or 100% full). The digester door of the at least one digester in the in the digester level system (7) is closed when the first sensor is firstly activated followed by the second sensor.

Excess threshed MPD will be dropped off onto the second conveyor (4) (bottom cross conveyor) when all the digesters in the digested level system (7) are full with threshed MPD and all the doors of the digester are closed.

The PLC is configured to transmit one or more signals to the first conveyor (2) (SFB conveyor) to stop moving or to be in a stationary position when the amperes (electric current) of the second conveyor (4) (bottom cross conveyor) is higher than a pre-set maximum value based on one or more signals received by the PLC due to the excess threshed MPD being dropped off on the second conveyor (4) via a MPD chute which causes over-loading, hence, increasing the amperes to above the pre-set maximum value. The pre-set minimum and maximum values are determined based on the capacity of the mill and the preference of the user of the present invention. The excess MPD w ill be dropped off to the second conveyor (4) which is equipped with at least one ampere sensor. If the amperes (electric current) is higher than the pre-set maximum value at the PLC, the SFB conveyor (2) carrying the SFB will automatically stop moving and feeding the SFB into the thresher (3). The tipper system (1) which is interlinked with the second conveyor (4) stops or halts its operations immediately when the first conveyor (2) (SFB conveyor) stops moving or is in the stationary position to avoid over-spilling of the SFB onto the SFB conveyor (2).

The movement of the second conveyor (4), elevated conveyor (5) and third conveyor (6) still continues on in a loop. The threshed MPD will be conveyed via the second conveyor (4) to the elevated conveyor (5) to a third conveyor (6) and back to the second conveyor (4) via the MPD chute and this continues on until the doors of the digesters in the digester level system (7) are opened to receive the threshed MPD.

When the digestion process is completed in the digester level system (7), the at least one shaft, leveller then moves downwards when the level of the digested MPD in the digesters of the digester level system (7) is less than 100% full and firstly activates the second sensor. The at least one shaft leveller moves further downwards when the level of the digested MPD in the digesters of the digester level system (7) further reduces to less than 75% full and then activates the first sensor. The at least one digester door of the at least one digester in the in the digester level system (7) is opened when the second sensor is activated first followed by the first sensor.

When this happens, the load of the first conveyor (2) will start to decrease when threshed MPD are fed into the digesters and hence, the amperes (electric current) of the second conveyor (4) wall reduce to below a pre-set minimum value. The PLC is configured to receive one or more signals from the ampere sensing means of the second conveyor (4) and to transmit one or more signals to the first conveyor (2) (SFB conveyor) to move when the amperes (electric current) of the second conveyor (4) (bottom cross conveyor) is lower than the pre-set minimum value. The tipper system (1) continues its operations when the first conveyor (2) (SFB conveyor) begins to move.

Upon completion of the digestion process, the digested MPD are fed to the press system (8). If the shaft leveller is delayed for any purpose whatsoever in activating the first sensor (when the level of the digested MPD is reduced to below 75% in the at least one digester) after activating the second sensor which results in the delay of discharging the digested MPD to press system (8), the PLC will then transmit one or more signals to an at least one inverter at the press motor to reduce speed of the press motor to at least half of its pre-set or original speed - for example, from 50Hz to 25Hz. This provides allowances for the system to self-adjust during this delay to reduce the speed of the oil press in the press system while waiting for the press system (8) to be fed with the digested MPD. Reducing the speed of the press motor is much preferred rather than stopping the oil press completely during this process, as this could result in other problems (i.e. clogging) in other parts of the milling process.

The PLC then transmits one or more signals to the at least one inverter at the press motor to return to the original or pre-set speed once the first sensor has been activated (with second sensor already activated prior to the first).

The PLC transmits one or more signals to an at least one valve to automatically open to discharge oil collected from the digestion process via at least one drainage at the bottom of the at least one digester when the PLC receives one or more signals from an ampere sensor of the at least one digester when the amperes (electric current) of the at least one digester of the digester level system (7) is below a pre-set minimum value. The PLC transmits one or more signals to an at least one valve to automatically close when the amperes (electric current) of the at least one digester of the digester level system (7) is above a pre-set maximum value. The opening and closing of the at least one valve is an automated looping process to remove / discharge oil collected from the digestion process as the auto-drainage at the bottom of the digesters are important to feed dry digested MPD into the press system (8) in order to produce dry press cake fibre.

The systems are integrated, interlocked, automated and continuous in real-time mode to operate as efficiently as possible with the objective of producing dry press cake fibre.

The pressure sensing means consist of at least one pressure sensor at the at least one press cone of the at least one oil press of the press system (8). The first ampere sensing means consist of at least one ampere sensor at the at least one press motor of the at least one oil press of the press system (8). The second ampere sensing means consist of at least one ampere sensor at the second conveyor (4).

For the purposes of the present invention, the PLC is configured to receive and/or transmit one or more signals from the pressure sensing means to automatically self-adjust the pressing of the digested MPD via the at least one press cone to operate only in a pre-set minimum and pre-set maximum pressure range of the at least one press cone.

Conventional means typically uses ampere sensing at the press motor, whereby if the press system (8) detects high amperes (electric current) above pre-determined maximum value, the press cone w'ill be pulled back from pressing based on manual observations and adjustments done by the operator of the press system (8). This is to prevent the main shaft from breaking and to avoid the press motor from being burnt. During this period, there will be no movement in the press system (8) until the ampere reading is back to the desired range. In this conventional means, there is no automated link between the SFB conveyor (2), tipper system (1), digester level system (7) and press system (8) per present invention. There is also no use of pressure sensing means directly at the press cone of the oil press via the conventional means.

The process of the present invention allows the press system (8) to operate in the pre-set ranges by the operator of the present invention via the PLC for the conditions such as amperes of the press motor and pressure of the press cone of the oil press. The system is able re-adjust itself in real- time mode if the conditions are out of the range as pre-set by the operator of the system and to ensure that the pressing process is continuous.

The present invention provides a pressure sensing means directly at the press cone to control the pressure of the press cone which is programmed to be controlled by a PLC to automatically obtain / read / detect / adjust the pressure reading of the press cone in real-time mode and also the ampere reading of the press motor of the press system (8) and automatically adjust based on pre-set data by the operator of the present invention.

As the present invention comes with both pressure sensing means at the press cone and ampere sensing means at the press motor, therefore, the PLC can self-adjust, and control the press system (8) in real time mode based on actual conditions in the press system (8).

If the amperes (electric current) of the press motor is higher than pre-set data, the oil press will automatically retract back the press cone from continuing with the pushing and pulling mechanism. This will prevent / eliminate the risk of the press motor from getting burnt / spoilt. Similarly, if the pressure of the press cone exceeds pre-set range with the PLC, the system will automatically adjust itself based on the pre-set data. With both pressure and ampere sensing means present, the press system (8) is able to self-adjust based on readings obtained from the at least one pressure sensor at the press cone and/or the at least one ampere sensor at the press motor.

The pushing and pulling mechanism of the press cone is standard as provided by cylinders or mechanical actuators of the press system (8). Generally, the press system (8) is set at a max power supply of 37 amperes. When the electrical current exceeds 37 amperes, then the cylinders or mechanical actuators will back off from the pressing mechanism to prevent damage to the press motor. The max of 37 amperes is pre-set by the user of the system as it is not preferable for the electrical current to be above 37 amperes as this could cause damage to the motor of the cone press. When the electrical current drops below 34 amperes, the cylinder or mechanical actuators will be prompted back to continue the pressing mechanism. In this case 37 amperes is the maximum electric current and 34 amperes is the minimum for illustration purposes. The min and max amperes may vary for different mills based on the load of the digested MPD as received by the press system (8). Adjustments to the amperes of the press motor in the conventional system will need to be done manually to ensure the pressure of the press cone is in the range of 50 bar to 70 bar per industry standards as opposed to the process of the present invention.

Conventional means do not have pressure sensing means located at the press cone of the oil press but only comes with ampere sensing means whereby the operator needs to adjust manually the amperes of the press motor in order to achieve the desired pressure range of between 50 to 70 bars per industry standards.

The data obtained from the process is displayed and stored in plurality of storage of electronic device, portable mobile devices, cloud computing network or any combination thereof. The present invention is able to provide an automatic recording of all data and parameters in the servers as obtained from the process of the present invention for review and investigation purposes as opposed to conventional / manual means of recording which is not as accurate or could contain missing data or no data at all for future review' and audit purposes.

The process of the present invention is also able to provide automatic notification signs / alert signs / warning signs to notify the users of the present invention if there are any parts of the digester level system (7) and/or press system (8) of this present invention that requires maintenance or change of parts. The present invention is also able to monitor and record running hours of the digester level system and/or press system for maintenance purposes. Maintenance of the systems if done periodically would result in no missed maintenance wnrks and longer life span for the systems. Maintenance of screw' press is of utmost importance for the best performance of the pressing mechanism in the mill.

EXAMPLES

Example 1

The operator of the present invention sets the customized PLC with pre-set electric current (amperes) and pressure data / readings based on optimum conditions for the most efficient oil reduction in press cake. Pressure range is set to be in the range of between 50 bar to 70 bar. Ampere readings are set to be in a range of between 34 to 37 amperes. All digesters in the digester level system is at least 75% full if threshed MPD before the digestion process begins.

The percentage of nuts to press cake was assessed based on Sime Darby Plantation Berhad’s internal palm oil mill laboratory process control procedures. The oil content in the press cake fibre was measured using Sime Darby Plantation Research Sdn. Bhd. ’s internal oil mill laboratory operations and test methods. The following conditions were tested - as summarized in Table 1 below:

Table 2 shows the oil loss % obtained from the trials:

Figure 2 illustrates the oil loss (%) in the press cake as obtained from the trials per Example 1.

E. SUMMARY

It can be summarized the present invention is able to provide an integrated, interlinked, continuous and automated process with a customised programmable logical controller (PLC) to produce dry press cake fibre whereby the oil loss in the press cake (on a wet basis) of less than 4.5% and minimum nut (kernel) breakage of less than 20%.

Based on the knowledge of the inventors of the present invention, there is no known prior art. that describe the process of the present invention. Apart from that, it is also not obvious by just reading the prior art documents or information as listed above for experts in the field of interest to derive or arrive at the process of the present invention as the parameters have been determined by the inventors based on numerous trials conducted, observations, discussions with combined expertise and experience in this field, which parameters and/or combination could not be determined without much efforts, testing and/or analysis or by just reviewing prior art documents in this field of interest. Hence, there remains a need in the art to provide an integrated, interlinked, continuous and automated process w ith a customised programmable logical controller (PLC) for producing dry press cake fibre, whereby oil loss in the press cake (on a wet basis) is less than 4.5% and the minimum nut (kernel) breakage is less than 20% with benefits and objectives as further described below which cannot be found from the prior art documents, hence, the inventors believe that this invention is novel and inventive.

Various modifications to these embodiments as described herein are apparent to those skilled in the art from the description and the accompanying drawings. The description is not intended to be limited to these embodiments as shown with the accompanying drawings but is to provide the broadest scope possible as consistent with the novel and inventive features disclosed. Accordingly, the invention is anticipated to hold on to all other such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the scope of the present invention and appended claims.