| Author | Somwang Hleekar |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.AE-07-24 |
| Subject(s) | Coconut oil
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| Note | A thesis submitted in par tial fulfillm ent of the req uirem ent f or the degree of Master of Engineering in Agricultural System s and Engineering, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. AE-07-24 |
| Abstract | With the realization of advantages in studying the process of virgin coconut oil extraction, a research study was conducted at Asian Institute of Technology to investigate the best conditions of coconut and process parameters to obtain highest oil and meal quality. A simple coconut oil extraction machine was designed and developed for manual and small scale operations. Preliminary investigations were done to compare the effect of maturity level by using coconuts at 9, 11 and 13 month maturity. Three drying methods; hot air oven dryer (IIAOD), fluidized bed dryer (FBD) and combined infrared dnd fin coil rotary dryer (IRFCRD) with four drying temperatures; 110, 120, 130 and 140 °C and 6-7 drying times as appropriate were used in the experimental design. The preliminary experiments were conducted with 100 g of fresh coconut samples to fine tune the experimental conditions in secondary level in which 600 g of grated coconut was used. Appropriate drying time ranges selected in experiments were 1-6 hr in HAOD, 2.5-45 min in FBD and 5-45 min in IRFCRD. Totally 140 experiments were conducted; 80 and 60 under primary and secondary levels. After drying cycles in each dryer, coconut samples were compressed in the developed extraction machine and the quality of oil (peroxide and acid level) and meal (moisture, protein, lipid levels and color) were analyzed. The temperature and drying time did not affect the refractive index of oil, and the quality of meal and oil in each maturity were non significant, thus experiments were conducted at I 1 month maturity level. In general, longer drying times and higher temperature ranges used in the experiments could produce more oil. The best efficiencies obtained were; 130 °C, 4 hrs 20 min in HAOD, 130 °C, 14 min in FBI), and 110 °C, 45 min in IRFCRD. A self scaled scoring method with scores changing 19 was developed in order to obtain the best operating conditions leading to give best quality oil and meal. Based on scores, highest oil quality was obtained at 130 °C in HAOD, 130/140 °C in FBD and 140 °C in IRFCRD. The best meal quality was obtained under; 140 °C in HAOD, 110 °C in FBD and 140 °C in IRFCRD. In terms of extraction efficiency, the dryers HAOD and FBD best performed at 130/140 and 130 °C respectively while IRFCRD was best at 120 °C. The overall performance was evaluated by combining scores of all quality parameters in which HAOD performed best at both 130/140 °C condition, FBD at 120 °C, and IRFCRD at 140 °C. Based on the results obtained, considering the cost involve in drying method, simplicity and operating time, appropriate operating method can be selected for cottage industry use. |
| Year | 2007 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. AE-07-24 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural and Food Engineering (AE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Jayasuriya, H. P. W. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Salokhe, V. M.;Athapol Noomhorm |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | RTG Fellowship |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2007 |