The Fruit Machinery Corporation extractor

The expressed juice is subjected to screening before being further processed. A rotary brash sieve, followed by a centrifugal separator, may be used to bring the suspended particles into the stability range of below 1 pm diameter, at which point the juice can be pasteurised and aseptically packed for direct consumption as single-strength juice or concentrated as required. 

Lemons and limes are processed, in a similar manner, by direct pressure on the washed fruit. 

Perhaps the most frequently encountered processing sequence is that provided by an extractor manufactured by the Fruit Machinery Corporation (FMC), generally employed for orange types. The extraction unit is designed to process individual fruits in rapid succession. In the processing hall these units are usually set up in banks of 8-10 to accommodate a continuous stream of washed and clean fruit separated into size bands. The fruit passes along feed channels to the appropriate size of extractor. 

Each extractor, constructed of stainless steel, comprises two cups, one inverted above the other. During operation, fruit is received into the lower cup and the upper cup descends to press down upon it. Simultaneously, a perforated stainless steel tube is forced up through a channel in the lower cup, cutting 

The pulp recovered during screening may be transferred to a pulp-wash operation to yield further soluble solids by counter-current extraction with water. The washed pulp may be held for further processing or included with the bulk of ejected peel material from the extractors. This is milled, treated with lime (calcium hydroxide or calcium oxide) to break down pectin and reduce water retention, pressed, dried to c.10-12% moisture content and finally converted to pellets. Being high in carbohydrates these are used as filler in livestock feed blends. 

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