Umudike Journal of Engineering and Technology

Vegetable oil has multipurpose applications, thus increasing level of its modifications will improve its properties. The demand for the oil has been on the increase as a result of rise in global population and industrial progress. Moreover, traditional method of oil seeds extraction has limited capacity in oil yield, hence improvement in processing technology is inevitable.  This study investigated the factors that affect the rate of oil extraction via solvent method to establish the optimum conditions for efficient exploitation of the extraction process.  The result showed that maximum oil yield could be obtained using particle size of 1.18mm, at process conditions of 60 , 150 minutes and solvent volume of 70 ml. Physicochemical properties of the oil were also determined to ascertain its various applications. These factors form the basis for designing an extractor that would enhance the yield, quality and availability of palm kernel oil that meet the domestic and industrial needs.