Effects of Heating Temperature, Water Volume and Extraction Time on the Oil Yield from Cashew ( Anarcardium Occidentale ) Kernel

Abstract

Research have revealed that common edible vegetable oils except cashew kernel oil contains cholesterol which couldleads to chest pain, heart attack and bloody stood if not well managed. Despite this fact, there is no much attention on cashew kernel oil for domestic purpose. In this study, the effects of processing parameters affecting the oil yield from cashew kernel were investigated. The extraction analysis of the oil was carried out using a screw press developed in the processing laboratory of Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering Department, AuchiPolytechnic, Auchi. The parameters considered were the heating temperature, added water volume (AWV), and extraction time. Thestudy was considered as a 4×3×3×3 factorial experiment with four levels of heating temperatures (80,90,100 and 110°C), three levels of AWV (7,8, and 9% of the sample) and three levels of extraction time (10, 12 and 15minutes) at each three replications using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with water volume as a blocking factor. The data obtained was subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS20.0 software and the study result established that the heating temperature, water volume and extraction time has significant effects on the oil yield rate from cashew kernel and the heating temperature of 100°C produces the optimum oil yield of 42.2% at an average extraction time of 12 minutes and 9% water volume at 0.05 confidence limit.