Mature coconuts would be required as they have thicker kernel with have more oil after they have been sun dried. Gerry
"F. Marc de Piolenc" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> on 05/21/2001 11:21:32 AM Please respond to biofuel@yahoogroups.com To: Biofuel List <biofuel@yahoogroups.com> cc: (bcc: LEE Gerry/Prin Engr/CSM/ST Group) Subject: [biofuel] Coconut oil Dear Hanns et al., The separation of coconut oil from coco milk (the water should be separated out before oil extraction, as it contains no oil) using heat is generally abandoned here due to low extraction efficiency and high energy use. I do not, unfortunately, have numbers, as the analyses and proposals I have on file are based on the use of mechanical expellers. As I have said before, high energy consumption is not necessarily a showstopper, as the availability of that energy (in both the thermodynamic and economic senses) is just as important as quantity. That is, if you can use coir and shells as your heat sources (if you have no more profitable outlets for those), then perhaps it can be made to work. As for fermenting the residue, the traditional end product of coco water is coco vinegar - wine vinegar is virtually unknown here. But I believe that acetic fermentation requires prior ethanol fermentation, so presumably there is some way to design a process that eliminates the acetobacter part of the vinegar process. Perhaps heating to the point where the residue is sterile, then (after cooling) inoculating with beer yeast and excluding air...? Looks like another bench-scale experiment is in the offing. Maybe we could design an experimental program and split the work? Were you planning to start with green coconuts or mature coconuts? Best, Marc de Piolenc Iligan, Lanao del Norte (Mindanao) Philippines Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
