Abstract
The use of microwave irradiation as a pretreatment before aqueous enzymatic oil extraction from oil palm kernel was found to be useful. The microwave irradiation for 10 min -assisted extraction was found to be a simpler and more effective alternative to the solvent extraction methods for the productions of palm kernel oil. Further enhancement was achieved when the microwave irradiated slurries were treated with a commercial enzyme preparation of proteases, followed by three phase partitioning. This resulted in 93% (w/w) oil yields form the palm kernel. The efficiency of the present technique is comparable to solvent extraction with an added advantage of being less time consuming and using t-butanol which is a safer solvent as compared to n-hexane used in conventional oil extraction process. The technique also tries to reduce the amount of enzyme used and hence reduces the overall cost.

N. SAIFUDDIN. (2006) Optimization of Aqueous Enzymatic Oil Extraction from Kernel of Oil Palm (Elaeis Guineensis) Using three Phase Partitioning and Microwave Irradiation, Pakistan Journal of Analytical & Environmental Chemistry, Volume 7, Issue 1.
  • Views 1145
  • Downloads 5

Article Details

Volume
Issue
Type
Language