Peanut oil extraction using compressed CO2

Abstract

Supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO₂) extraction of oil from peanuts is an alternative to hexane extraction or the mechanical oil press. Oil was successfully extracted using SCCO₂ at temperatures of 25–120°C and pressures of 140–690 bar. Pressure, temperature, and extraction vessel orientation affected the extraction of oil. In the range studied, the highest values of temperature and pressure gave the highest extraction rates. Above about 400 bar, increasing the temperature significantly improved the extraction rate, while below 400 bar increasing the temperature reduced the rate. Decreasing the particle size increased the extraction rate and the total oil recovered.