Lawson O.S., Oyewumi A., Ologunagba F.O., Ojomo A.O.
Department of Agricultural Engineering Technology, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria; Department of Agricultural Engineering Technology, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria
Lawson, O.S., Department of Agricultural Engineering Technology, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria; Oyewumi, A., Department of Agricultural Engineering Technology, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria; Ologunagba, F.O., Department of Agricultural Engineering Technology, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria; Ojomo, A.O., Department of Agricultural Engineering Technology, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria
Soybean is grown primarily for its protein content and secondarily for its oil; it is an excellent protein supplement for enriching cereal diet. The primary processing of soybean before oil extraction include cleaning, cracking, flaking and conditioning, these ruptures the oil cells, for efficient extraction. Most modern oil extraction industries use the solvent extraction process and the solvent commonly used is the food grade hexane. In this paper detail experiments were carried out on the various processing parameters affecting the solvent extraction of soybean oil. Among the process factors considered are: particle size, flakes thickness, temperature of extraction, extraction time, flakes and particle moisture content. The results showed that, at a particle size of 2mm, flakes thickness of 0.25mm, moisture content of 12-13%, temperature of 69 °C and the extraction time between 3/12; and 4/12; hours, the oil yield was maximum. © 2006-2010 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN).