Sinolea® Cold-Drip Olive Oil Extraction Technology
Sinolea® extracts the first and finest part of the oil drop by drop, at cold temperature, using only a natural physical principle: the different surface tension of oil and vegetable water.
During this first extraction the olive paste is never heated, pressed or diluted with water. The result is an Extra Virgin Olive Oil that keeps the aroma, taste and natural antioxidants of fresh, healthy olives.
Sinolea® is designed and built by Rapanelli in Foligno, Italy. Sinolea® plants were already on show at the Milan Trade Fair in 1961.
Fully cold
Oil separates by surface tension: no heat and no pressure on the paste.
No added water
The first extraction needs no process water, so natural antioxidants are not washed away.
Premium first oil
A first, gentle extraction of the finest oil, then full recovery of the remainder by decanter.
Four factors determine the quality of an Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Ripeness of the olives
- Harvesting, transport and storage of the olives
- Extraction processThe one factor that depends on the technology installed in the mill
- Storage method and time
Producers can optimise ripeness, harvesting and storage through good practice. The extraction process, instead, depends on the technology in the mill.
Experience shows that heat and added water are the two main enemies of quality: they reduce the polyphenols and natural antioxidants that should pass from the olive into the oil.
A simple experiment explains the whole principle
- Fill glass 1 two-thirds with water and one-third with oil. Leave glass 2 empty.
- Dip a steel blade, such as a spoon, into glass 1 and let it drip into glass 2.
- Repeat many times: the oil clings to the steel and moves into glass 2, while the water stays in glass 1.
Inside the Sinolea® extractor
- 1Filtering wall
- 2Moving stainless steel blades
- 3Rubber scraper combs that keep the paste renewed
- 4Extracted oil drops
- 5Vegetable water drops passing through the wall
A complete, two-stage line
In a Sinolea® line the olive paste, after crushing and malaxation, first goes through the Sinolea® extractor, which separates the finest oil by percolation. The remaining paste then passes to a decanter, which recovers the residual oil by centrifugation. The mill obtains two distinct products: a premium cold-percolated oil and a second-extraction oil.
Premium positioning
A distinctive cold-percolated oil, kept separate from the second extraction, gives the producer a top-of-range product with its own production story.
Full yield
The decanter recovers the oil that percolation leaves in the paste, so the first premium oil does not come at the expense of total recovery.
Proven in mills since the 1960s
A Rapanelli technology on show at the Milan Trade Fair in 1961 and improved over decades of use in working mills.
Built for producers who sell on quality, not on volume alone
Sinolea® is not designed for producers who compete only on volume. Its value lies in a first oil that the producer can keep, label and sell separately.
- Estate mills processing their own olives
- Boutique and quality-led producers
- Export brands building a premium range
- Mills adding a premium line next to their existing decanter line
Sinolea® models S90 and S86
| Model | S90 | S86 |
|---|---|---|
| Olive paste capacity (kg) | 350 | 700 |
| Number of blades | 4,518 | 7,028 |
| Total blade contact surface (m²) | 1.50 | 2.30 |
| Contact surface per minute (m²/min) | 10.50 | 21.46 |
| Comb rotation speed (rpm) | 7.00 | 9.33 |
Data are indicative and may change without notice. Our technical team sizes each Sinolea® line on the mill’s throughput and olive varieties.
Sinolea® at work
Request a Sinolea® consultation
Tell us about your mill and your olives. Our technical team will size the Sinolea® line for your production and come back to you with a proposal.