Sunflower is a major agricultural oilseed crop, and the Republic of Kazakhstan has been steadily strengthening its position as a producer of oilseeds. In this study, an oil pressing machine with two processes, including grinding sunflower seeds and pressing the obtained cake to separate the oil, is constructed. The experiment investigated the impact of different grinding degrees (hole diameters of plates of 5 mm, 4 mm, 3 mm, and 2 mm) and screw rotation speeds (ranging from 30 rpm to 250 rpm) on oil pressing efficiency. The study used sunflower seeds with an oil content of 45–47% and moisture of 7–9%. The results showed that increasing the grinding degree and screw rotation speed led to higher oil yield. The optimal condition was a grinding degree of 4 mm and a screw rotation speed of 60 rpm, resulting in the highest oil yield of 15.6 g/s. Additionally, the residual oil content of the seed cake decreased significantly as pressure increased during pressing, particularly with 4 mm grinding. Power consumption increased with higher screw rotation speeds and finer grinding degrees, indicating the influence of grinding components on energy demand. The cake density increased with higher screw rotation speeds and finer grinding degrees, highlighting the impact of grinding mechanisms on cake compactness. Moreover, the temperature of the cake rose with increased screw rotation speed and the presence of grinding sieves. These findings provide valuable insights into optimizing the sunflower oil pressing process, highlighting the importance of selecting appropriate grinding degrees and screw rotation speeds to maximize oil yield and pressing efficiency.

This study evaluates fluidized-bed drying of cottage cheese using a purpose-built swirl-chamber system designed to limit losses and thermal stress. The work addresses the need for stable dried dairy ingredients with retained nutritional quality and controlled structure. The system integrates tangential gas injection, rotary louver elements, and mechanical agitation to ensure uniform fluidization under controlled hydrodynamic conditions (gas velocity sufficient for stable fluidization without excessive particle entrainment or channeling). Drying behavior was examined for low-fat and semi-fat cottage cheese under linear heating (60 °C, 180 min) and short-time high-temperature treatment (200 °C for 3 min followed by 160 °C). Drying kinetics showed a strong dependence on formulation. A higher fat content promoted faster moisture removal and significantly lower final moisture, consistent with reduced water binding and delayed surface crust formation. Short-time high-temperature treatment reduced moisture content to residual levels within minutes. Microstructural observations revealed particle size reduction and increased structural uniformity after drying, confirming effective agitation and fluidization. Vitamin retention remained acceptable, while apparent mineral levels increased as a result of moisture removal rather than elemental transformation. The developed system reduced pressure losses, prevented particle backflow, and maintained stable fluidization across a broad particle size range. Overall, controlled fluidized-bed drying enabled efficient dehydration while preserving nutritional attributes and improving structural homogeneity, supporting the production of high-quality dried dairy ingredients for further food applications.