Virgin Coconut Oil Production by Centrifugation Method Integrated Extraction with Solar Thermal Energy

Abstract

Production process of virgin coconut oil affects to the quality of products. The production of virgin coconut oil and their properties comparing between the centrifugation method integrated extraction using solar thermal energy and the centrifugation method using steaming for extraction and desiccation were investigated. The virgin coconut oil was produced from coconut meat of 10 kg using the weight ratio of boiled water and coconut meat at 2:1 with centrifugal speed of 7,500 rpm for 20 minutes. This was obtained 3.4 kg of coconut oil cream which was frozen at –5 °C for 24 hours subsequently. The results of the virgin coconut oil production from the centrifugation method integrated extraction using solar thermal energy and the centrifugation method using steaming for extraction showed that the compositions of saturated fatty acids from both methods were 92.83 and 93.18 wt%, respectively; the compositions of unsaturated fatty acids were 7.17 and 6.82 wt%, respectively and the contents of moisture and volatile organic matter were 0.12 and 0.17 wt%, respectively. These properties of produced virgin coconut oil were in accordance with the Notification of the Ministry of Public Health (No. 57) (1981). The product yield and the energy usage were compared between applying centrifugation method with steaming for extraction using Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) and centrifugation method using the designed solar thermal energy. The result showed that the virgin coconut oil production from the centrifugation method with steaming by using LPG gave the yield of 1.85 kg or 18.5 wt% and the cost of LPG used for extraction was approximated as 6.66 Baht per kilogram of virgin coconut oil. The centrifugation method integrated extraction using solar thermal energy gave the yield of virgin coconut oil of 1.83 kg or 18.3 wt% without using LPG that could be saved the LPG cost of 6.66 Baht per kilogram of virgin coconut oil. This result indicated that the production of virgin coconut oil by centrifugation method integrated the extraction with solar thermal energy was not only obtained the virgin coconut oil in the quality acceptation but also saved energy for production.