Verified Material Grade
IS 2062 plate for structure and extractor body, SS 304 or SS 316 on miscella and oil contact parts, backed by mill test certificates in your company name.
Solvent Extraction Plant Manufacturer in Zimbabwe
Mecha Engineering designs, fabricates and commissions turnkey solvent extraction plants from its works in India for soyabean, cotton seed, maize germ, sunflower cake and de-oiled cake producers across Zimbabwe. Batch units from 10 TPD up to continuous lines of 500 TPD, engineered for maximum oil recovery and low hexane loss.
- Batch and continuous type
- 10 TPD to 500 TPD
- Soya, cotton seed, maize germ, cake
- Flameproof and safety compliant
- Turnkey erection in Zimbabwe
10 TPDSmallest batch unit
500 TPDLargest continuous line
Under 1%Residual oil in meal
10Provinces covered
Solvent Extraction Plant in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe crushes oilseed and imports crude oil at the same time, which is exactly the gap a solvent extraction plant closes. The Mashonaland soya belt around Centenary, Mvurwi, Bindura, Shamva, Chinhoyi and Karoi feeds crushers in Harare and Chitungwiza. The cotton belt of Gokwe, Sanyati, Muzarabani and Checheche produces seed that still holds oil after ginning and pressing. Maize millers in Harare, Bulawayo and Norton throw off germ every shift. Sunflower and groundnut expellers leave 8 to 12 percent oil in the cake, and the refineries have spent bleaching earth holding more again.
Buyers searching for a solvent extraction plant manufacturer in Zimbabwe are usually choosing between a trading agent and the works that actually builds the plant. Mecha Engineering is the works. We size the plant around the material you actually receive, not a catalogue model, because oil content, bulk density, moisture and how the feed behaves in a bed decide the preparatory section, the extractor type and the steam load. Design, fabrication, structural work and shop assembly all happen at our own Saharanpur works in India, so one engineering team stays answerable from the drawing to the first tonne of meal.
- Sized to the crop you receive. Soya through the harvest months, cotton seed after ginning, maize germ all year. We size the extractor and the boiler load around that pattern, not around a nameplate figure.
- Turnkey or section wise. Take the complete line, or only the preparatory section, the extractor, the DT or the distillation and recovery block to upgrade a plant you already run.
- Safety built into the design. Flameproof motors and panels, proper earthing, nitrogen purging points and vent gas recovery, documented in the form your statutory and insurance inspections ask for.
- A spares kit in the container. Chains, slats, wedge wire screens, gaskets, seals and condenser tubes are packed with the plant, so the first wear change does not wait on a fresh shipment.
What you get with every plant
Four Commitments Behind Each Zimbabwe Installation
These are the points a Zimbabwean oil miller checks before opening a letter of credit, so we put them in writing rather than in a brochure line.
Shop Assembly and Testing
Extractor drive, conveyors and vessels trial assembled and run at our Saharanpur shop. Hydro and leak tests are recorded before anything is loaded on a trailer.
Turnkey Erection by Our Team
Civil and foundation drawings, structural erection, piping, insulation, utility tie-in, commissioning and operator training at your Zimbabwe site, quoted inside the scope.
Direct Manufacturer Pricing
You buy from the fabricator, not a trading house. No dealer margin, and we quote ex works India as well as CIF Durban or CIF Beira so you can compare landed cost.
Build features
Features of Mecha Engineering Solvent Extraction Plants:
Every feature below protects one of three numbers your plant is judged on: oil recovered, solvent lost and steam burned per tonne.
01
Maximum Oil Recovery Efficiency
Extractor bed depth, sprinkler layout and miscella stage count are matched to your feed so solvent washes the bed evenly. Residual oil in the meal is held to under one percent on a dry basis instead of drifting up with load.
02
Energy Efficient Operation
Economiser, multi-stage evaporation and heat exchange between hot meal, vapour and incoming miscella cut live steam demand. Lower steam and power per tonne is where an extraction plant actually earns its payback.
03
Robust Safety Systems
Vapour recovery, nitrogen blanketing points, flameproof motors, starters and field instruments, bonded earthing and gas detection. The hexane section is treated as a hazardous area from the first drawing, not retrofitted later.
04
Customisable and Scalable Design
Layouts are drawn to your shed height, plot shape, boiler capacity and the power you can actually hold on site. The structure and utility headers are sized so a second extraction line or a refinery block can be added later without rebuilding.
05
Low Hexane Loss Per Tonne
Shell and tube condensers, a solvent water separator and a mineral oil vent gas absorption column recover solvent that most plants send out of the vent. Hexane is a running cost, so every litre recovered is margin.
06
Feed Grade Meal Protected
Controlled steam sparging and residence time in the desolventiser toaster strip solvent without scorching the meal, so protein and colour hold up and your de-oiled cake sells into poultry and cattle feed at the better rate.
Systems we supply
Solvent Extraction Plant Range for Zimbabwean Processors:
Pick the line that matches your feed material, or send your material analysis and we will tell you which of these fits.
Soyabean Extraction Plant
Full preparatory line with cracking rolls, dehuller, conditioner and flaker feeding a continuous extractor, with a DTDC where white flakes or feed grade soya DOC is the target. The standard choice for the Mashonaland soya belt.
Cotton Seed Extraction Plant
Delinting, decortication and flaking ahead of the extractor, sized for seed coming out of the ginneries at Gokwe, Sanyati, Muzarabani and Checheche after expelling.
Sunflower and Groundnut Cake Plant
Cake breaking, sizing and conditioning to pull the remaining 8 to 12 percent oil out of expeller cake. The quickest payback available to an existing expeller operation.
Maize Germ Extraction Plant
Conditioning and flaking tuned to germ from a roller mill, so the maize millers at Harare, Bulawayo and Norton convert a by-product stream into crude oil and feed grade meal.
Mini and Batch Type Extraction Plant
Batch percolation extractors for 10 to 30 TPD duty, lower capital and simpler operation. A practical first plant for a miller moving from expeller only to solvent extraction.
Non-Edible Seed and Spent Earth Unit
Jatropha, moringa, marula and mafura seed for soap, oleochemical and biodiesel streams, plus recovery of the 20 to 30 percent oil held in refinery spent bleaching earth.
Technical data
Solvent Extraction Plant Specifications:
Standard build for a continuous solvent extraction line. Every line below is changed to order, so treat this as the starting point for your enquiry rather than a fixed model list.
| Parameter | Standard offering | Options on request |
|---|---|---|
| Plant Capacity | 10, 20, 30, 50, 100, 150 and 200 TPD | Up to 500 TPD, and parallel lines for staged expansion |
| Plant Type | Continuous extractor for commercial oilseed duty | Batch percolation type for mini plants and herbal lines |
| Feed Material | Soyabean, cotton seed, sunflower and groundnut cake, maize germ | Sesame, macadamia, rice bran, jatropha, moringa, marula, castor, spent earth |
| Solvent Used | Commercial food grade hexane to IS or equivalent specification | Ethanol, IPA or ethyl acetate for herbal and oleoresin duty |
| Residual Oil in Meal | Under 1 percent on a dry basis | 0.5 to 0.7 percent with expander prepared feed |
| Hexane Consumption | Around 1.5 to 2.5 litres per tonne of material | Lower with vent gas absorption and mineral oil scrubber |
| Material of Construction | IS 2062 plate for structure and extractor body | SS 304 or SS 316 throughout for food, herbal and pharma duty |
| Preparatory Section | Cleaner, magnetic separator, cracking roll, conditioner, flaker | Expander, pelletiser, dehuller and cooker for higher bulk density |
| Extractor Type | Rotocel or shallow bed chain type with wedge wire screens | Loop type, sliding cell or basket type to suit the material |
| Desolventising | Desolventiser toaster with steam sparging trays | DTDC with dryer and cooler for finished feed grade meal |
| Miscella Distillation | Two stage evaporation with vacuum stripping column | Economiser plus rising film stages to hold FFA down |
| Solvent Recovery | Shell and tube condensers with solvent water separator | Vent gas absorption column with mineral oil circulation |
| Heating Utility | Low pressure steam from your boiler, at 3 to 10 kg per sq cm | Thermic fluid, waste heat recovery and economiser tie-in |
| Safety Fittings | Flameproof motors and panels, bonded earthing, purging points | Nitrogen blanketing, gas detectors, sprinkler and hydrant tie-in |
| Control System | Local panel with interlocks, level and temperature indication | PLC with HMI, SCADA link, batch reporting, flameproof instruments |
| Power Supply | 415 V, 3 phase, 50 Hz, flameproof in the hexane area | Supply voltage changed to suit another site, generator sized with the load list |
| Export Packing | Sea worthy packing with a container loading plan and spares kit | Flat rack or open top for tall vessels and structural sections |
| Documentation | GA drawing, P and ID, MOC certificates, test report, manual | Third party inspection, statutory approval support, IQ and OQ protocols |
Scroll the table sideways on a mobile screen. Send your material, daily tonnage and available steam and we will fill this sheet in against your process.
Choosing a configuration
Which Feed Material Fits your Zimbabwean Plant?
The feed material decides the preparatory section and the extractor, not the other way around. This is the shortlist we work through with a Zimbabwean buyer on the first call.
| Feed material | Oil available | Preparation needed | Typical Zimbabwe source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soyabean | 18 to 20 percent | Cracking, dehulling, conditioning, flaking | Centenary, Mvurwi, Bindura, Shamva, Chinhoyi, Karoi |
| Cotton Seed | 15 to 20 percent | Delinting, decortication and flaking | Gokwe, Sanyati, Muzarabani, Checheche |
| Sunflower Cake | 8 to 12 percent residual | Cake breaking, sizing and conditioning | Expeller units countrywide, Midlands and Mashonaland |
| Groundnut Cake | 6 to 10 percent residual | Cake crushing and sizing only | Mashonaland, Midlands and Masvingo expellers |
| Maize Germ | 18 to 24 percent | Conditioning and flaking | Maize millers at Harare, Bulawayo, Norton and Gweru |
| Sesame and Macadamia Cake | 8 to 15 percent residual | Cake sizing, gentle conditioning | Sesame growers and Chipinge macadamia processors |
| Jatropha, Moringa and Marula Seed | 20 to 40 percent | Decortication, drying and flaking | Soap, oleochemical and biodiesel producers |
| Spent Bleaching Earth | 20 to 30 percent held oil | Direct charging, no flaking needed | Edible oil refineries at Harare and Chitungwiza |
Not sure which row you belong to? Share the material name and a recent oil content report and we will confirm the configuration along with an indicative recovery figure.
How the plant runs
The Solvent Extraction Cycle, Step by Step
Six stages from raw cake to crude oil and de-oiled meal. The solvent runs in a closed loop throughout, which is what keeps hexane cost and fire risk under control.
01
Material Preparation
Feed is cleaned, de-stoned and passed through cracking rolls, a conditioner and a flaker or expander so the oil bearing cells open and the bed drains freely.
02
Extraction With Hexane
Prepared material moves through the extractor while hexane is sprayed counter-current across the bed. Oil dissolves into the solvent and leaves as miscella.
03
Desolventising and Toasting
Wet meal enters the desolventiser toaster, where steam sparging strips residual hexane and toasts the meal to stable moisture and temperature.
04
Miscella Distillation
Miscella is heated through the economiser and evaporation stages, then vacuum stripped so the crude oil leaves free of solvent traces.
05
Solvent Recovery
Vapour condenses in shell and tube condensers and passes to the solvent water separator. Vent gas goes to the absorption column so uncondensed hexane is recovered.
06
Oil and Meal Handling
Crude oil is cooled and pumped to storage or onward to refining. De-oiled cake is dried, cooled and conveyed for bagging or bulk despatch.
Where these plants are used
Application Areas of Solvent Extraction Plants:
Soyabean Crushers and Oil Mills
Crushing groups adding extraction behind the press so the cake gives up its remaining oil, which is where the margin on a soya line actually sits.
Cotton Ginners and Oil Expressers
Ginneries and expeller units recovering oil from seed that would otherwise leave the site as cake, with the meal going straight into the stockfeed trade.
Maize Millers and Starch Units
Germ separated during roller milling is a steady year round feed, so a small extraction line converts a by-product into crude oil and feed grade meal.
Stockfeed Manufacturers
De-oiled cake producers are judged on protein, colour and residual solvent, so the desolventiser toaster design matters here as much as the extractor.
Oleochemical, Soap and Biodiesel Units
Non-edible seed processing for jatropha, moringa, marula and mafura, feeding soap, oleochemical and biodiesel production streams.
Refineries and Recovery Units
Edible oil refineries re-extracting spent bleaching earth and residues to recover held oil rather than paying to dispose of it.
Supply and service network
Our Solvent Extraction Plant Network Across Zimbabwe
Plants are packed at our Saharanpur works and shipped through Mundra or Nhava Sheva to Durban or Beira, then moved by road to site, with flat racks for the tall vessels and structural sections. These are the centres we quote for most often.
- Harare
- Chitungwiza
- Norton
- Chegutu
- Kadoma
- Chinhoyi
- Karoi
- Mvurwi
- Centenary
- Bindura
- Shamva
- Marondera
- Macheke
- Rusape
- Mutare
- Chipinge
- Gweru
- Kwekwe
- Gokwe
- Sanyati
- Masvingo
- Chiredzi
- Bulawayo
- Beitbridge
Town not on the list? The list is only where we quote most often. Erection and after-sales service cover all ten provinces of Zimbabwe, and we supply other markets in southern and eastern Africa including Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and Botswana.
Questions we are asked
Solvent Extraction Plants in Zimbabwe: FAQs
Straight answers to what Zimbabwean buyers ask before placing an order.
Who manufactures solvent extraction plants for Zimbabwe?
Mecha Engineering Pvt. Ltd. designs and fabricates solvent extraction plants at its own works at Village Meharbani on Behat Road, Saharanpur, India. The company was set up in 2022 and supplies extraction, distillation, drying and process equipment to edible oil, agro-processing, stockfeed, herbal and chemical units in Zimbabwe, across India and in other export markets.
What capacity range can you supply to a Zimbabwe site?
Batch type mini plants start at around 10 TPD, and continuous lines are built from 20 TPD up to 500 TPD. Tell us the material you receive each day and whether it arrives seasonally or through the year, and we work backwards to the extractor size, the boiler load and whether one line or two staged lines make better commercial sense.
Which materials can the plant process?
Soyabean, cotton seed, sunflower and groundnut cake, maize germ, sesame and macadamia cake, rice bran, and non-edible seed such as jatropha, moringa, marula and castor, plus refinery spent bleaching earth. Stainless steel versions handle spice oleoresin and botanical material. The preparatory section changes with the material, which is why we ask for an oil content and moisture report before quoting.
How much residual oil is left in the meal?
A properly prepared and correctly loaded plant leaves under one percent oil in the meal on a dry basis, and 0.5 to 0.7 percent is achievable where the feed goes through an expander. Preparation matters more than the extractor here, which is why we quote the preparatory section and the extractor together rather than separately.
What is the hexane consumption and how is loss controlled?
Typical consumption runs around 1.5 to 2.5 litres per tonne of material processed. Loss is controlled by condenser sizing, a properly working solvent water separator, sealed conveyors and a vent gas absorption column that scrubs uncondensed vapour with mineral oil before anything leaves the plant. On an imported solvent that figure is worth watching closely, because it is a hard currency running cost.
What safety arrangements are included?
The hexane area is designed as a hazardous zone from the start. Flameproof motors, starters and field instruments, bonded earthing across the structure, nitrogen purging connections, gas detection points and a vapour recovery loop are part of the standard scope, and drawings are prepared in the form your statutory, environmental and insurance inspections ask for.
Will the plant run on Zimbabwean power and boiler steam?
Yes. The standard build is wired for a 415 V, 50 Hz three phase supply, with flameproof equipment in the hexane area. Heating runs on low pressure steam at 3 to 10 kg per sq cm from your boiler, and we size the steam and power load list at quotation stage so you can check it against your boiler, your grid connection and any generator you run.
Can you supply only one section instead of a full plant?
Yes. Common jobs are adding a preparatory or expander section ahead of an existing extractor, replacing a worn extractor chain and screen assembly, upgrading a DT to a DTDC, rebuilding the distillation and recovery block to cut steam, and adding a PLC panel to a manually run plant. Send photographs, your current layout and a nameplate reading to start.
Is installation and commissioning included for Zimbabwe sites?
Foundation and civil drawings, structural erection, equipment installation, piping, insulation, utility tie-in, water and solvent trials, the first production run and operator training at your Zimbabwe site are quoted inside the supply scope. Our engineers travel for erection and commissioning and back your maintenance team afterwards with drawings, video support and a planned spares schedule.
How long does delivery take, and how is the plant shipped?
Mini and batch plants are generally ready in 12 to 16 weeks. Continuous lines take 20 to 30 weeks depending on capacity and the degree of automation, with erection running alongside your civil work. Allow a further 4 to 6 weeks for sea freight and inland haulage. The plant ships in several containers through Mundra or Nhava Sheva to Durban or Beira, with flat racks for tall vessels and structural sections.
How do I get a price, and do you quote CIF?
Call +91-9084351006 or +91-7500378000, send a WhatsApp message, or email info@mechaengg.com with four details: the material you will process, the tonnes per day you want to handle, the oil and moisture content of that material and the steam and power available at your site. We quote ex works India and on a CIF Durban or CIF Beira basis, with a specification sheet and layout.
Talk to the specialist
Get Your Solvent Extraction Plant Quoted This Week
Share the material, the tonnes per day and the steam and power you have available. Our engineering team returns a specification sheet, plant layout and a price on both an ex works and a CIF basis, so you can compare on paper rather than on promises.