TITLE:
Effect of Temperature on Extraction of Castor Oil from Castor Seeds Using Potential Green Solvents
AUTHORS:
Zinhle Innocentia Mkhize, Peterson Thokozani Ngema, Suresh Ramsuroop
KEYWORDS:
Castor Oil, Yield, Soxhlet Extraction, Green Solvents
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Chemical Engineering and Science,
Vol.13 No.4,
September
28,
2023
ABSTRACT: Extraction
of castor oil from castor seeds was investigated using different green solvents
which include d-limonene, p-cymene, α-pinene, ethanol, and furfural at the temperature range of (323 - 413) K. The Soxhlet extraction method was employed to investigate the effect of temperature at
atmospheric pressure. The focus of the
study was to investigate a potential green solvent that can produce the
high yields compared to the traditional solvent (hexane). The results show that
at the average time of 3 hours and 30 minutes, the castor oil yield for green solvents were ranked as furfural
(47.13%) > ethanol (45.37%) > p-cymene (39.15%) > d-limonene
(39.13%) > α-pinene (38.11%).
These castor oil yields were obtained at optimum temperatures for each green
solvent. The castor oil yields were compared to the yield of hexane (31.36%) at
same average time. The green solvents were recovered by using simple
distillation, except furfural which was difficult to be recovered.