Project Abstract

The aim of this project is centered on the extraction and characterization of oil from date seed. The extraction is carried out with the use of a soxhlet apparatus and a solvent hexane which is chosen base on the fact that it has a very low value of toxicity and high extraction rate. The different particle size gotten from the gotten from the grinded date seed were 710 um, 1mm and 2mm mesh size, which 40g of each were measured and subjected to the process and they yield the following value of oil respectively 363, 3.49 and 3.25 with the smallest particle size producing the highest yield.

Project Overview

INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Oil could be defined as any greasily substance that is liquid at room temperature and is insoluble in water. Oil is derived mainly from two two main sources namely plant and animal. In animal they occur mainly inform of eclipse tissure and all composed of cell, while in plant they are mostly found in storage organs like seed (Abraham et al. 1970). Oil is generally liquid under room or ordinary temperature and those that exist as solid are called fats.

Vegetable oil and fat have a wide range of uses as food for industrial purpose and also in pharmaceuticals.

Dates are low cost source of food with high nutritional value. The date palm is an important member of the family palmacen, providing a staple food for millions of people in arid and semiarid regions of the world. Dates may be considered as almost ideal food, providing a wide range of essential nutrients and potential health benefits. The sugar content of ripe dates is aboiut 80%; the remainder consists of protein, fibre and trace element including born, cobalt, fluorine, magasium, managanese, selenium and zinc.

Extraction may be used to separate more than two components and mixture of solvents. It is also a method of removing one constituent from a solid or liquid by means of liquid solvent. These techniques falls into two categories, the first is called leaching or solid extraction, it is used to dissolve soluble matter from its mixture with an insoluble solid. The second is called liquid extraction is used to recover a valuable product from s multi-component solution by contact with an immiscible solvent that has a high affinity for the product. (W.L. Mcable, J.C. Smith, P.HarrioH, unit operation of chemical engineering seventh (7th) Edition 2005.

Leaching is a process of extracting a substance from a solid by means of dissolving it in a liquid. In the chemical processing industries, leaching is known as extraction. Leaching has a variety of commercial applications which includes the separation of a metal from it ore using acid, separation of sugar from beats using hot water, leaching of chloride from food substances. (Wikipedia, 2006)

In leaching, there are four important factors to be considered which the particles size, solvent temperature and agitation of the fluid. Generally, the process can be considered in three solute as it dissolve in the solvent, its diffusion through the solvent in the pores of the solid to outside of the particles. And the transfer of the solute from the solution in contact with the particles to he main bulk of the solution. And of these process may be responsible for limiting the rapidly that it has a negligible effect on the overall rate (Coulson and Richardson 1990).

1.2 AIM AND OBJECTIVE

The aim of the project is centered on acquiring the general knowledge of separating a particular component from it mixture with other component successfully, while the objective is to carry out the extraction of oil from date seed using the separation method known as leaching.

RELEVANCE OF THE WORK

The knowledge of extraction of oil from date seed does not only help the students of chemical engineering on how to carryout separation but also the method suitable for anykind of mixture either liquid-solid mixture or liquid-liquid mixture.

1.3 SCOPE OF STUDY

1.     Extraction of the oil

2.     Determination of the following physiochemical properties of the oil

3.     Iodine value

4.     Saponification value

5.     Acid value

6.     Viscosity

7.     pH value

8.     Unsaponification matter

9.     Specific gravity

10.                     Peroxide value

11.                       Free fatty acid