🇾🇪 Sana'a, Yemen · Commissioned 2022
Minimum-utility compact sesame oil mill in Sana'a — engineered for 80% water reduction, generator-primary power with 30 kW solar offset, and LPG roasting. Running continuously since 2022 despite Yemen's infrastructure challenges.
Compact sesame oil mill in Sana'a Yemen, ancient city architecture visible through window, small factory interior with pressing machinery, warm dry Middle Eastern light, traditional sesame oil production
Sana'a sits at the heart of Yemen's sesame-growing belt — the Hodeidah coast and Hajjah and Hajja governorates produce some of the finest sesame in the Arabian Peninsula. Despite infrastructure challenges, a Sana'a-based oils company saw the opportunity to process this premium local sesame into high-value sesame oil for the local and regional market.
The engineering challenge was not oil processing complexity — it was infrastructure constraints. Three critical limitations shaped every design decision: water scarcity, power instability, and spare parts logistics.
Electric-heated process replaces boiler — zero boiler feed water, no chemical treatment, no blowdown losses.
Air-cooled heat exchangers replace cooling tower — eliminates largest water consumer in standard plant design.
Dry-screw vacuum pump replaces water-ring vacuum — zero water consumption in deodorizing vacuum system.
LPG-fired drum roaster — independent of diesel supply disruptions, available in cylinders throughout Yemen.
A 150 kVA Cummins diesel generator serves as the primary power source (grid as backup when available). A 30 kW rooftop solar PV array with intelligent power management controller offsets daytime generator fuel consumption — reducing diesel use by approximately 35% compared to full-generator operation. The system runs the plant 18 hours per day on generator power, with solar covering 4–6 hours of daytime baseload.
Manual control panel design (rather than complex SCADA) was a deliberate choice — fewer electronics means fewer failure modes in a location where specialist maintenance is difficult to source. Core operations (roaster temperature, press speed) use simple PID controllers rather than full PLC architecture, with easily replaceable standard components.
| # | Equipment | Model | Specification / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sesame Cleaning Screen | TQLZ60 | 60 TPD capacity; removes impurities from Yemeni sesame |
| 2 | Destoner | — | Essential for Yemeni field sesame which may contain sand and small stones |
| 3 | LPG-Fired Drum Roaster | CYJ-2 | LPG fuel — no diesel dependency for roasting; cylinder or bulk tank supply |
| 4 | Screw Press (×4) | 6YL-130 | 30 TPD combined pressing capacity; simple mechanical design for local maintenance |
| 5 | Plate Filter | BASY-500 | Crude oil filtration after settling |
| 6 | Settling Tanks (×4) | 3T each | Gravity settling; 12T total capacity; simple SS304 construction |
| 7 | Electric-Heated Batch Deodorizer | — | Electric immersion heating — no steam boiler required; minimal water usage |
| 8 | Dry-Screw Vacuum Pump | — | Zero water consumption; replaces water-ring vacuum; maintenance-friendly |
| 9 | Cummins Diesel Generator | 150 kVA | Primary power source; Cummins engine — parts available throughout Arabian Peninsula |
| 10 | Solar PV Array | 30 kW | Rooftop panels; daytime baseload offset; reduces diesel consumption by ~35% |
| 11 | Manual Arabic Control Panel | — | Simple manual controls; minimal electronics; easy local maintenance and fault-finding |
"Water is scarce in Sana'a. Steam boilers need water. Cooling towers need water. SinoOil designed our plant to use almost no water — electric heating, dry vacuum pumps, air cooling. We have never had a water problem stop production. Our generator with solar panels runs the plant 18 hours a day without grid power."— Plant Manager, Sana'a, Yemen | 2023
Minimum-water oil plant design replaces every water-consuming subsystem: (1) Electric heating instead of steam boilers eliminates boiler feed water, chemical treatment, and blowdown. (2) Air-cooled heat exchangers instead of cooling towers eliminate 60–80% of water consumption in standard plants. (3) Dry-screw vacuum pumps instead of water-ring vacuum pumps eliminate continuous vacuum seal water. (4) Dry cleaning protocols where possible instead of CIP water washing. Combined, these design choices reduce water consumption by 75–85% versus a conventional steam-and-cooling-tower plant, making continuous operation viable in water-scarce locations.
Water-ring vacuum pumps use a continuous flow of water (0.5–2 m³/hour per pump) to create the vacuum seal. In water-scarce or remote locations, this creates an ongoing operational challenge — water supply, cooling, and disposal. Dry-screw vacuum pumps use intermeshing screw rotors to compress gas without any liquid seal, consuming zero water. They achieve vacuum levels of 0.1–5 mbar, fully adequate for deodorizing and steam-stripping applications. Capital cost is higher (2–3× water-ring), but total lifecycle cost is lower in water-limited environments, and operational simplicity is greatly improved with no water circuit to manage.
A solar-diesel hybrid system combines a rooftop solar PV array (typically 20–100 kW for small mills) with a diesel generator and an intelligent power management controller. During daylight hours, solar PV covers daytime baseload consumption (lighting, control systems, auxiliary motors), reducing generator runtime by 4–6 hours per day. The power management controller balances solar and generator output, prevents overloading, and manages cloudy-period transitions. At 30 kW solar offsetting a 150 kVA generator, diesel savings typically reach 30–40% — significant in locations where diesel is expensive or logistically challenging to supply.
LPG is the most flexible fuel for oil processing in developing regions: available in cylinders or bulk tanks almost everywhere, burns cleanly, and has predictable calorific value (46 MJ/kg). Natural gas is cheapest where pipeline supply exists but requires permanent infrastructure. Diesel can fire boilers but produces more particulates and higher operating costs than LPG for roasting. For roasters specifically, LPG gives precise temperature control via gas valve modulation — superior to diesel oil firing. In Yemen, remote Africa, and similar locations, LPG cylinders or small bulk tanks are the practical universal choice where natural gas pipelines don't exist.
Remote oil mill spare parts strategy requires: (1) Critical spares stocked on-site covering 6–12 months' consumption (press barrel segments, press cages, filter cloths, pump seals, V-belts, bearings). (2) Regional parts hub identification — for Yemen, Saudi Arabia (1-day delivery) and Jordan (2-day) both stock SinoOil components. (3) Standardized globally available components: Siemens or ABB motors, SKF or FAG bearings, Danfoss or Siemens VFDs that can be sourced locally in emergencies. (4) Digital parts catalog with part numbers for local market procurement of non-critical consumables. SinoOil provides a standard 2-year critical spare parts package with every turnkey installation in challenging markets.
Operating in a water-scarce or infrastructure-challenged location? We specialize in minimum-utility oil plant designs that keep running wherever you are.