ETHOS Technical Reports
Document Type
Report
Publication Date
9-2-2018
Abstract
This past summer, the team travelled to Durban, South Africa to work with Rocket Works and ACON, both owned by Adrian Padt, on developing an essential oil extraction machine. Durban is on the east coast of South Africa lying along the Indian Ocean and home to one of the largest ports in the African continent. Housed in the same building, Rocket Works and ACON essentially act as one unit. The team primarily worked under ACON which focuses on designing air conditioning systems for a variety of automotive companies, such as Toyota. Directly requested by a company in Malawi, the team’s project was to continue the development of an electrically driven and completely automated oil extraction machine that would take any biomass and extract the essential oils using R134a liquid refrigerant as a solvent. To develop this machine, one member designed a latch-handle system that would allow any user to open the cylinders containing the material, swivel the lid out of the way, close the cylinder, and maintain the internal pressure under working conditions. The other member assisted in the mechanical construction of the machine ensuring no leaks were present and created the electrical panel that drove the automated processes. Expecting little amounts of oil to be produced, the machine properly executed its task and produced about two teaspoons of oil from two kilograms of raw thyme. The process was not as efficient as planned, so further changes were made to the machine. No further testing was able to be implemented.
eCommons Citation
Padt, Adrian, "South Africa: Biomass Oil Extraction" (2018). ETHOS Technical Reports. 8.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/ethos_reports/8
COinS
Comments
Note: The students signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement, advising them not to release any specific details about the oil extraction machine that was developed. Therefore, these details are not present within this report to maintain the confidentiality of the project.