Performance analysis of a motorized screw-press designed for oil-extraction directly from whole seeds of Jatropha Curcas Linn. free air-dried

Abstract

The importance of Jatropha oil is well established nowadays that global race to alternative agricultural sources to petroleum fuels is at agenda. In African countries and especially in Benin, the biggest constraint to lift is that relating to development of useful equipments for processing the potential agricultural sources of bio-fuels. This article presents achieved interesting results from a devoted research to designing, implementation and performance analysis of a motorized screw-press for a direct crushing-extraction of biodiesel-oil from whole seeds of Jatropha Curcas. Characterization of extracted-oil is realized and performances of designed screw-press are compared to those provided by similar technologies for showing its efficiency. The obtained experimental results allow concluding that, while the extraction yield, extraction rate and hourly output from traditional process do not exceeded respectively 53.0 %, 12.5 %, 1.73 L/h and those from Bielenberg press 45.59 %, 18.55 % et 1.94 L/h, the designed motorized screw-press has provided 59.74 %, 20.88 % and 2.90 L/h at 55°C. These results are doubly satisfactory: improvement of yield allowed by the devised press, interesting exit temperature of produced biodiesel, a very appropriate factor to oil quality preservation, reference being that from Soxhlet extraction method with petroleum ether as solvent at 60°C.