AQUARIUS OliVE oil Equipment

Milling is the process of reducing the olives to a paste.

The hammer mill uses a 1.5hp motor, to produce a fine paste. The hammermill sits on its own stand and can be raised and lowered over a 20-litre stainless steel stockpot. The olives are poured into a tray where leaves can be removed and then pushed over the feed tube. A 15kg batch of olives takes about 6 minutes to mill.

Malaxing is to break down the cells to release the oil.

The malaxator maintains the simplicity of operation by slowly revolving the pot of paste (typically 15kg) on a turntable, malaxation is achieved by 2 adjustable stainless steel paddles held vertically by a frame over the pot. For best results, malaxation should take about 40 to 50 minutes and for this reason, two turntables are teamed on the same drive to allow the second pot of paste to begin malaxation once more olives have been milled. The long slow malaxation transforms the paste into a gleaming mixture that is already releasing much of the available olive oil.

To extract the olive liquids.

Once transferred to the Aquarius Olive Oil Press, the olive paste is contained in a stainless steel cylinder with slits cut in it which sits in a pot with a pouring spout. To use the olive press. Turn the top screw to apply moderate pressure, then the hydraulic jack is gently foot pumped to apply up to 10 tonnes of pressure from below. By using a series of acrylic mats and stainless steel plates, the press achieves close to the total extraction of the oil that can be extracted by cold pressing. The whole top assembly swings open for filling and emptying.

Draws the oil from the water and sediment

After pressing it is necessary to separate the olive oil. Once transferring the liquid from the press into the separator,. The process of separation is largely a matter of waiting for gravity to do most of the work. Once this process is complete, draw off either the watery sediment or the oil which floats on top of it.