Determination of overall mass transfer coefficient of palm kernel extracted using supercritical carbon dioxide

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the amount of Palm Kernel Oil (PKO) extracted from a packed bed of palm kernels in a supercritical fluid extractor using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-C02) as an environmental friendly solvent. Further, the study sought to ascertain the values of the overall mass transfer coefficient (K) of PKO evaluation through a mass transfer model, at constant temperature of 50°C, 60 °c, and 70°C and pressures range from 27.6 MPa, 34.5 MPa, 41.4 MPa and 48.3 MPa respectively. Finally, the study also seeks to demonstrate the application of the overall mass transfer coefficient values in relation to temperature and pressure. The overall mass transfer coefficient was found to be dependent pressure at each constant temperature of 50°C, 60 °c and 70°C. The overall mass transfer coefficient for PKO in a packed bed of palm kernels was found to be in the range of 1.21X 10-4 m min-I to 1.72 X 10-4 m min-I for a constant temperature of 50°C and in the range of 2.02 X 10-4 m min-I to 2.43 X 10-4 m min-I for a constant temperature of 60°C. Similar increasing trend of the overall mass transfer coefficient from 1.77 X 10-4 m min-I to 3.64 X 10-4 m min-I was also observed at constant temperature of 70°C within the same pressure range from 27.6 MPa to 48.3 MPa.