Desmet is pleased to announce that Renova, an Argentine joint-venture consisting of three major players in the oils & fats industry (Oleaginosa Moreno Hnos – a Glencore subsidiary, Molinos Rio de la Plata and Vicentin), has recently commissioned the world’s largest soybean crushing complex ever built. The solvent extraction plant was engineered and delivered by Desmet utilizing their latest developments and best in class technology.
Located in Timbues, 40 km from the Argentinean city of Rosario, this outstanding industrial complex has a crushing capacity of 20,000 metric tons per day (mtpd) of soybeans. At the heart of this complex, the solvent extraction plant has two parallel lines based on the patented Reflex® extractor and Dimax™ desolventizer technology.
Beyond the spectacular crushing capacity, the Renova solvent extraction plant has impressive results in terms of efficiency. At its initial crush rate of 15,000 mtpd, the facility is achieving a white flake residual oil content of 0.35%, and has achieved similar results when occasionally operating at a much higher crushing capacity (20,000 mtpd). Financially, the exceptional performance represents extra oil yield value of approximately US$ 4.4 million per year. Even more remarkable is the fact that these results have been achieved without specific constraints on the preparation process, utilizing soybean flakes at 0.45-0.50 mm (0.017-0.020 inch) thickness.
This successful achievement is above all due to the professionalism of all teams involved to ensure excellent coordination, from project conception through plant erection to commissioning of the solvent extraction plant.