EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON THE YIELD OF SHEA BUTTER IN AN UNBAFFLED VESSEL AT SELECTED KNEADING PERIOD
chapter One:
Foreword
1.1 Background
Shea butter has always been a traditional African heritage. Containing high amounts of vitamins A, E, F, and other valuable nutrients, triglycerides are widely used in cosmetics and medicines, as well as in home cooking.Nigeria (like many other West African countries) is rich in Blessed with the shea tree (from which shea butter is derived).Increasing demand for this product, especially in the global cosmetics industry, necessitates process optimization.
High quality shea butter can be obtained in high yield with a small amount of energy input.
There are basically three ways to extract shea butter from shea butter.
・Solvent extraction method
・Use of mechanical expeller
・Traditional method
Solvent extraction uses a chemical solvent such as hexane to absorb the oil from the nuts. The oil and solvent are then separated on another column.
In mechanical pressing, the press is forced into a nut in a closed container. As the expeller pushes the nut in a spiral, the oil is forced out and finally collected.
Traditional methods (such as in southwestern Nigeria) typically involve crushing the nuts (after removing the outer pulp) in a mortar and pestle. The crushed nuts are roasted in a large pot over an open fire (burning wood). Then grind them and mix well to make a thick paste. The resulting dough is kneaded with hands and feet in a large container, constantly adding water to separate the butter oil, melted and cooled in a separate pan.
Of these three methods, the traditional process produces the highest quality shea butter and is by far the industry favorite. However, this process requires a lot of rigorous practice. For example, according to his Bonkoungou in 2005, it takes him 20 hours to he 30 hours to make 1 kg of shea butter. Also, the level of personal and occupational hygiene maintained by local producers may render locally produced shea butter unsuitable for use in areas such as the pharmaceutical and chocolate industries.For example, the University of Ibadan A study by Ademola, Oyesola and Osewa from the Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, was conducted on 120 local shea butter producers from different municipalities in Oyo State, Nigeria. He 95.8% of them don’t actually wash the fruit before using it.
While the mechanical pressing process may be preferred for energy savings, it results in a denatured shea butter that can never compete in quality with handmade shea butter.
The solvent extraction process provides the highest yields as it is a large scale industrial operation that can be scaled up for commercial production. However, it is too expensive as the cost of equipment and operations can exceed the capabilities of one person. Also, due to the interaction between solvents and oils, the shea butter formed is of lower quality than locally manufactured products.
A good sustainable process must therefore provide a high yield of unpolluted shea butter and retain essential vitamins.
Figure 1.1:
washed and dried shea nuts
1.2 Objectives and Objectives
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of kneading temperature at selected kneading times on the yield of shea butter made from shea butter in unbaffled containers.
1.3 Work area
This study measures the impact of three of her parameters on yield: shaft eccentricity, shaft speed, and impeller type. Eccentricity tries to determine the optimum position of the agitator relative to the center of the vessel, shaft speed helps to determine the optimum speed of the agitator, impeller type says something about the type or type of impeller used. Other parameters such as kneading time and temperature are not considered here (complementary work considering these two has been done by another student).
Also, since this study measures the influence of these parameters only during the kneading process (as this is the most important process in which the actual separation takes place), the crushing, roasting, and grinding processes were used prior to the measurements. is executed to speed up the work. Conceivable vessels for kneading are those without baffles. This is to avoid depositing material in the container that could affect yield.
Overall, this work is limited to systems that can rapidly measure responses to various inputs. That is, using shea butter paste in jars without silencers.
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1.4 Importance of work
The significance of this research is the multiplier effect, which not only helps solve the problem of low-quality shea butter products in Nigeria, but also has the potential to improve shea butter processing to improve yields. Some of these are highlighted below.
(1) Helps determine the optimum location of the agitator shaft, as well as shaft speed and impeller type within the vessel. (2) It also aids in process optimization, resulting in higher yields.
(3) Improve product quality and increase profits.
(4) It also means providing more jobs for more young people. The best treatment methods are known and can now be fully explored on a large scale.
(5) This will ultimately lead to alternative income for the nation and less dependence on crude oil.
(6) It will lead to an increase in Nigeria’s GDP and thus gain respect in the community of nations. (7) It will also make high-quality shea butter, which has been scarce until now, easier for everyone, as buyers will no longer have to travel to rural areas to obtain the product.
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1.5 Methodology
This investigation is carried out by selective compounding at three different compounding times and four temperature ranges. Shea butter samples undergo the same processing (crushing, roasting, grinding) as traditional shea butter manufacturing methods. The parameters of interest (kneading temperature and time) should be tested with solid shea paste in each run. The shaft speed was maintained at 968 rpm and the conical impeller w