Juice extraction using multiple pairs of juice extractors and comminutors which reduce the food pieces into successively smaller pieces with juice extraction occurring after each comminuting step. Coarse food pieces are pressed with extracted juice directed to a juice holding tank. The pressed coarse chop food pieces fall into the hopper of a second comminutor which performs a medium chop on the now pressed but still coarse chopped food pieces. The medium chopped food pieces are then fed from the second comminutor into the juice extraction chamber of a second juice extractor whereupon the medium chopped food pieces are pressed with extracted juice directed to a juice holding tank. Any number of comminutor and juice extraction pairs may be used in serial fashion to optimize the percentage of juice extracted in a minimum amount of time.

A mechanical press is provided that utilizes linear actuation driven by an electric power source and two opposing horizontal platform mounted press plates, an upper fixed plate and a lower traveling plate arranged vertically and tracked via vertical track posts to press resin, oils, extracts, or compounds from a raw plant material. The press plates are heated during press operation and function to heat and melt the desired plant products and the force from the press plates squeezes the melted materials out of the plant and onto a parchment paper or into a melt groove to flow to a collection tray.

Disclosed is a piston press of the type used in the field of the dehydration of products to be dehydrated such as sludge from a purification plant. More particularly, it relates to a piston press including a pressing chamber supplied with sludge and able to manage air streams that it generates, and to a method for using such a press. In a preferred mode of embodiment, the piston press includes a pipeline having a water removal branch and arranged so as to remove water extracted during a sludge-pressing operation, and an air circulation branch that can channel the volumes of air circulating in the press during the operation thereof, so as to direct the vitiated air, i.e. air that has been brought into contact with the sludge during the implementation of the press, towards a deodorization system.

The carbonate bonded, press-moulded article is produced by press-moulding a particulate, carbonatable material that contains water and by carbonating the obtained compact with carbon dioxide gas. In order to be able to ensure an optimal compressive strength of the article two types of tests are provided. In the first type of test a sample of the particulate material is compressed with an increasing compaction pressure and when water starts to be expelled from the material as from a particular compaction pressure, the press-moulding step is performed with a compaction pressure which is at least 7 MPa smaller than this compaction pressure. In the second type of test different samples of the particulate material are press-moulded with different compaction pressures and, after having released the compaction pressure, the density of the compact is determined. In case this density decreases instead of increases as from a particular compaction pressure, the press-moulding step is performed with a compaction pressure which is smaller than this particular compaction pressure.

A juicer cartridge includes a liquid impermeable compartment at least partially surrounding food matter. An information region may be disposed on the liquid impermeable compartment, wherein the information region includes information for controlling at least one pressing parameter for pressing the juicer cartridge, such as a desired pressing speed, force profile, pressing temperature, total pressing stroke, number of pauses, number of press and/or retract cycles, and a distance of a press and/or retract cycle. The juicer cartridge may be used by placing it in the pressing chamber of a juicer that reads information from the information region and presses the juicer cartridge using the information.

A deep fat fryer with continuous oil filtering and purging of sediments therefrom during uninterrupted fryer operation is provided. The filter includes a cylindrical hollow housing with a first end and a second end and a hollow cylindrical screen with a longitudinal axis and first and second ends. The screen is disposed coaxially within the hollow housing to define an annulus therebetween. A piston mounted within the screen and reciprocatingly movable along the longitudinal axis between the first and second ends of the screen. A pump, seal, and associate motor are provided to provide continuous oil flow through the filter and the remainder of the fryer. A heat exchanger is provided downstream of the pump to transfer heat from the fryer to the oil flowing through the heat exchanger.

A portable heated press device is disclosed that has an upper and lower member, each having an electrically heated platen, hingedly attached to one another near the platens. The lever design allows for multiplying the force applied to the member. An insulator ring is used to thermally insulate the heat from the platens from the handles of the device. The device can include a locking mechanism at the end opposite the platens to apply and maintain pressing force at the platens. The device can also be opened to 180 degrees to allow one platen to be used as a hot plate.

A heat press for extracting fluid, such as oil, from a biological plant. A lower heat platen is fixedly attached to a main frame and an upper heat platen is retractably positioned opposite to the lower heat platen. A pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder or a manual or electronic linear actuator provides pressure to an actuation means that is operatively connected to the upper heat platen for initiating movement. A control mechanism that consists of a single pressure regulator system or a dual pressure regulator system is used to control pressure of a pressing operation of the heat press. Alternatively, a digital regulator system can be used to control pressure, time, and temperature of a pressing operation of the heat press. At least one of the upper and lower heat platens has embedded heating elements and an isolated thermocouple. A user interface panel, having an LCD display, a user keyboard, or a touchscreen display is also mounted to the main enclosure.

A filtration assembly for separating solids from liquids contained in a sample, and a method for preparing such a sample are disclosed herein. According to one embodiment, the filtration assembly includes an inner element (100) with proximal and distal ends (102,103) and a sample (200) disposed therein. A reinforcing sleeve (300) is disposed around the inner element (100) to form a sample receiver (250) with proximal and distal ends (252,253). A filter (400) is disposed at the open proximal end of the sample receiver (252) and a filtrate receiver (500) is placed over the filter (400) and threadedly engaged with the sample receiver (250) to clamp the filter (400) therebetween. Then, the receivers (250,500) are inverted and a pressure is applied to the sample (200) to force a liquid component (200a) through the filter (400) into the filtrate receiver (500), while solids (200b) are retained in the sample receiver (250).

An oil extraction unit is provided. The extraction unit applies temperature and pressure to a sample to increase the yield of high quality essential oils while avoiding undesirable material phase changes. The extraction unit applies heat and pressure to upper and lower heat platens that are placed above and below the sample. The upper and lower heat platens include embedded heating elements that are used to draw the extracted oils from the material. In use, the extracted oils are drawn away from the higher temperature heating elements and towards an area outside of the heat platens. A cooling plate may be applied outside of the heat platens to further draw out the extracted oils away from the heat platens and limit exposure of the oils to elevated temperatures.