Extraction and Characterization of Oil from Moringa Stenopetala Seed

Abstract

This study investigated the extraction and characterization of oil from moringa stenopetala seed oil. Oil was extracted using soxhlet extraction method at temperatures of 70 °c, 75 °c and 80 °c. The extraction time varied from 3 hours to 5 hours and the sample sieve size varied from 0.75 mm to 1.5 mm. Hexane was the solvent used for the extraction. The experimental result showed that the maximum oil yield was obtained at optimum process conditions of; temperature 80 °c, extraction time 5 hours and sample mesh size of 0.75 mm. The highest oil yield obtained was 39.86 %. This result agreed with the average oil content of moringa stenopetala which is 35 % to 45 %. Experimental data was analyzed by Box Behnken design method and the significance of experimental results were determined from analysis of variance (ANOVA).The main physicochemical properties of oil were determined according to international ASTM and EN standards. It was found that pure extracted moringa stenopetala oil has moisture content 6.54 %, pH 6.7, specific gravity 0.84 g/mole, kinematic viscosity 9.4 mm2/s ,acid value 1.6 mg KOH/g, saponification value 189 mg KOH/g,  free fatty acid 0.8 % and molecular weight of 895.5 g/mol. These results agreed with international standards values and previous works