Process Design of an Integrated Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) Processing Technology

Abstract

Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) is a product obtained from fresh coconut that has been very famous in the market due to its several uses. The research aims to: design a process for the production VCO that utilizes both fresh-dry and fresh-wet methods; determine the weights of recovered coconut waste materials, VCO recovery of the three production lines, and investigate the possible utilization of these wastes to produce value-added commodities; and develop a conceptual design of the production of VCO that applies to a small-medium scale coconut community or farm in the Philippines. Preparation of raw materials includes splitting and grating of coconut meat and milk extraction. A conceptual design for the integrated method applicable to a small-medium scale coconut community in the Philippines was developed employing three assembly lines: (1) the low-pressure oil extraction via centrifugation method; (2) the fresh-dry process through low-pressure oil extraction method; and (3) the fresh-wet process through modified kitchen method that produces the clearest oil with VCO recovery of 18.43%, 25% and 16.5% for VCO production lines 1, 2 and 3 respectively. The VCO produced is expected to qualify in the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC) VCO Standards. The weight of all recovered materials and wastes were accounted for.