Video Parts (2)
This clip is Part 1 of a 2-part film.
FORD PROCESS OF EXTRACTING SOY BEAN OIL Part 1
Description
The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as follows: “The new soy bean oil extracting plant built in the summer of 1936 and located in the heart of the River Rouge plant of the Ford Motor Company. Note the construction of the building. A wooden building similar to a small town mill.” “Adequate ventilation is very important to prevent accumulation of gasoline vapors. Note the vents beneath the windows and at the top of the roof. Windows are hinged at the top to allow any abnormal pressure to escape.” “4 separate extraction units operate 24 hours a day. They are set up in pairs, each being powered with standard traction boiler and steam engine.” Plant interior, boilers, pipes, workers, machinery in operation - worker stoking fire. “Flaking the beans is the first step toward extracting the oil. Instead of using rolls a newly developed machine is used. Note the small size and simplicity of the installation.” “The flaker can be adjusted to produce flakes of any desired thinness down to .015 of an inch while the machine is in operation.” Worker adjusting machine - flakes dropping from machine into bin - hands holding flakes - worm and housing of machine separated and displayed. “Percolation tube. The actual extraction of the oil takes place here. The flakes are conveyed upward by a screw through the inclined pipe meeting the solvent flowing downward. This is counter-current extraction, the most efficient type for a process of this kind.” Network of pipes - worker - liquid bubbling in glass vat on top of pipes. “Note the extracted flakes discharging through the specially designed barrel valve.” Machinery in operation. “The solvent is separated from the oil in this newly designed still. This still is much simpler in design than the column stills usually employed and gives oil of very good quality.” Oil running from spigot through funnel - surface of bubbling sudsy liquid. “Ford radiator cores cool the solvent vapors back to liquid form. They are assembled in series and so designed that they can easily be removed from the tank for inspection.” “A standard tube condenser having the same cooling capacity was over 11 ft. tall and weighed 1950 lbs.” “This jet condenser controls the vapor pressure in both the still and steamer and allows accurate control in these units.” “The scrubber washes all the non-condensable vapors with oil to recover the solvent which might be carried away.” “Controlling the process is easily done by adjusting the flow of liquids through the pumps. Controlling the pumps and adjusting the flaker are the main points of control. One operator easily handles two units.” Worker adjusting machines - Henry Ford and Robert Boyer examining soy beans from sack, oil in beakers. “The End.” [1936]
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