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New Technology of Extracting Coconut Oil
By Pinoy Farmer | May 1, 2008
Here’s a new technology of extracting coconut oil that can triple the income of coconut farmers. Dr. Pham Binh Chay, a researcher of the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH), University of the Philippines Bahos, has developed a better method of getting oil other than the traditional, tedious and uneconomical “copra system.”
The new technology is using “gamanase,” a bacterial enzyme which has the ability to break the cell wall surrounding the fresh coconut by decomposing the strands of complex carbohydrates which constitute 70 percent of the wall into simple substances or sugar and allow the oil its components to leak out.
Pham says that through the gamanase method, super quality oil that is colorless, tasteless and smells like fresh coconut meat can be extract
Compared with the copra method, as much as 20 percent more oil is recovered by using the enzyme.
Aside from the oil, two other by-products with economic significance are produced by this new technology: the protein-packed “supernatant,” which can be solidified to enrich hamburger patties, produce textured vegetable proteins and other foods; and fiber that can be added to flavc crag and biscuits.
In a nutshell, the steps involved to squeeze out the oil from the coconut shell through the gamanase method are as follows:
• Pick 11 to 12 months old coconuts.
• Remove meat and place in a clean container.
• Shred meat using a special grater, then place shredded meat in a large tank that combines blender and homogenizer.
• Add water three times the volume of meat. Let stand for few minutes, then transfer slurry to another tank.
• Add gamanase while stirring.
• Leave slurry for three hours. (The slurry will slowly separate into three parts - the oil on top, the supernatant in middle, and the fiber at the bottom).
• Remove crystal white fiber first, then the supernatant, using a siphon or hose. (Mix supernatant mixed with hydrochloric acid, filter to isolate protein then, dry).
• Filter oil to remove unwanted solids.
With the oil, supernatant and fiber recovered through enzymatic processing, the coconut farmers can triple their income. (BPG).
source: http://www.pcarrd.dost.gov.ph
Topics: Technologies |
