Comparison of oil extraction between screw press and solvent (n-hexane) extraction technique from beauty leaf (Calophyllum inophyllum L.) feedstock

An experimental investigation was conducted to evaluate the effects of the processing of the raw materials, such as preparation and extraction, grating (whole and grated), drying and moisture conditioning of the seed kernels on the yield of oil extraction. Both mechanical and chemical methods were used to extract oil from the beauty leaf (BL) seed kernel using a screw press expeller and n-hexane as an oil solvent, respectively. Both whole kernel (WK) and grated kernel (GK) were used in screw press technique, whereas, only GK was used in n-hexane technique. The study indicated that the kernels prepared for 14.4 % moisture content (MC) produced the highest yield of oil in both methods. The highest oil yield of 86.4 % was…