Effects of supercritical carbon dioxide extraction parameters on virgin coconut oil yield and medium-chain triglyceride content

• Main Authors: Nik Norulaini, N. A., Setianto, W. B., Zaidul, I. S. M., Nawi, A. H., Azizi, C. Y. M., Mohd. Omar, A. K.
• Format: Article
• Published: Elsevier Ltd. 2009
• Subjects: TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/13787/; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2009.02.030
• Institution: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

The extraction of coconut oil has been performed using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2). The extractions were performed at pressure and temperature ranges of 20.7-34.5 MPa and 40-80 °C, respectively. It was observed that almost all (more than 99%) of the total oil could be extracted. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to evaluate the effects of the parameters (pressure, temperature and CO2 consumption) on the extraction yield and medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), in terms of the fatty acid content in the extracted oil. A correlation was established with p-values for both responses significant at the 95% confidence level.