Statistical Model for Groundnut Oil Extraction for Food Sustainability

Abstract

Groundnut oil was extracted using solvent extraction method, the process of extraction was investigated to check the effect of moisture content, extraction temperature and extraction time on the percentage oil yield obtained from groundnut seeds. The experiment carried out was designed with the aid of central composite design of response surface methodology while maintaining a constant particle size of 0.6mm throughout the experiment. The optimum percentage oil yield of 50.85% was obtained at moisture content, extraction temperature and extraction time of 6% (wet basis), 60 0 C and extraction time of 8hr respectively. While, the least value of 32.37% was obtained at moisture content, extraction temperature and extraction time of 18% (wet basis), 40 0 C and 4hr respectively. The data obtained were used to investigate the effect of moisture content, extraction temperature and extraction time on percentage oil yield. A quadratic model was developed to predict the percentage oil yield at a given combination of the process factors. All the factors under investigated has a significant effect on the percentage oil yield obtained from groundnut seeds. The validation results of the developed model showed that there is good agreement between the experiment and predicted values.