Modeling of extraction of oleic acid from pressed palm fiber using supercritical carbon dioxide

Abstract

In this work, extraction of the oleic acid from the palm pressed fiber using supercritical carbon dioxide was studied at conditions of temperatures from 313.15 to 353.15 K and at pressures from 60 to 120 bars. Residual fibers from palm oil production contain more than 5% of the palm oil, which is a good source of oleic acid. The activity coefficients for both of solvent and solute were predicted based on the universal functional activity coefficient (UNIFAC). The parameters such as adsorption, diffusion, solubility, and desorption were determined using mass transfer modeling; these parameters are necessary for the optimization and scale-up of a supercritical extraction unit.