Manufacturing of Castor Oil

Process...

Castor Oil flow chart

Castor oil is extracted either by hot pressing or cold pressing to extract the initial oil content. The remaining oil content is extracted using a solvent extraction technique typically involving n-hexane as the solvent. The oil is refined and packed for dispatch in liquid form. The leftover extracted solid is known as de-oiled cake.

Castor Oil Characteristics

Chemical Composition
Castor oil is a triglyceride of fatty acids. It is unique in that it contains 85-90% of Ricinoleic Acid (12-hydroxyoctadec-9-enoic acid), a rare source of 18 carbon hydroxylated fatty acid with 1 double bond.

Grades of Castor Oil:

  • Commercial
  • First Special (FSG)
  • Pale Pressed (PP)
  • Pharmaceutical

Castor Oil Applications:

  • Engineering Plastics: Used to make monomers for nylon 6,10; nylon 10,10; nylon 11.
  • Surfactants: Surfactants made from castor oil are used in textiles, agrochemical formulations, pharmaceuticals and paints.
  • Cosmetics: Lipsticks, glosses, nail polish lacquers, eye mascara, rouge and skin creams.
  • Pharmaceutical: Excipients, laxatives.
  • Coatings: Used in polyurethane systems and alkyd based resins.
  • Adhesives: Used in polyurethane adhesives, rubber-based adhesives and binders.
  • Electrical: Used as a dielectric liquid impregnant for capacitors.

De-Oiled Castor Meal Applications.

  • Fertilizer: Used as an organic fertilizer due to its excellent blend of N:P:K (4:1:1) with micronutrients such as Zinc, Manganese and Copper. This nourishes the soil over longer periods of time. Used for tea, coffee, sugarcane, potato, tobacco, vegetables, fruits and pulses.
  • Fuel: Used as a renewable fuel due to its comparable calorific value with coal.

Producers:

  • Jayant Agro-Organics Ltd.
  • Adani Wilmar
  • N.K. Proteins Pvt. Ltd.
  • Gokul Agro Resources Ltd.
  • Gokul Agri International Ltd.
  • Kandla Agro
  • CastorGirnar Industries Pvt. Ltd.