Abstract

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In this research, Atili (blackdate) oil (Canarium Schweinfurthii) was extracted from the pulp using aqueous biphasic system (ABS) prepared from fixed concentration (40%) of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and varying concentrations of salt (di-sodium hydrogen phosphate (Na2HPO4)) at 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% respectively. The partitioning of the atili oil to the PEG-rich phase for the various combinations of the salt concentration with the fixed PEG concentration were compared and the extracted atili oil characterized. The extraction process was carried out by preparing the aqueous biphasic systems with the varying salt concentrations and placing the enclosed pulp of atili fruit inside the ABS prepared until the oil partitions to the PEG-rich phase. The ABS prepared from the salt concentration at 20% was found to give the best system for extracting atili oil with a yield of 43.50 mls of atili oil /100g of atili pulp. Lastly, the acid value , saponification value, free fatty acid and ester values were found to be 0.22, 116.13, 0.11 and 115.92 respectively.

Keywords: Atili, extraction, oil, aqueous, biphase