Extraction of crude palm oil (CPO) using thermally assisted mechanical dewatering (TAMD) and their characterization during storage

Thermally assisted mechanical dewatering (TAMD) is a new technology to separate solid and liquid. In the present study, TAMD was utilized to extract the crude palm oil (CPO) from the palm mesocarp (Elaeis guineensis). The operating parameters examined were temperature and pressure, ranging from 30 to 105 °C and 3 to 12 bar respectively. The extraction was conducted in batch process for 45 minutes of total extraction time. Design of experiment was created using the Response Surface Methodology based on the central composite design (CCD). The CPO yield, carotene concentration, moisture content and free fatty acids (FFA) content were analysed. The maximum oil yield, 70.68 w/w% was extracted at the optimum operating parameters, 7.75 bar and 73.0°C. TAMD demonstrated a promising potential as a viable alternative method for the CPO extraction with lower pressure and shorter extraction time.