Extraction of Jojoba Oil Using Subcritical Water Technology

This study presents the extraction of jojoba oil using subcritical water technology. The effect of extraction parameters covering a temperature range of 180-240°C, using seeds with mean particle size ranging from 12 mm to less than 0.5 mm, water to seed ratios of 0.5:1, 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1, and extraction times in the range of 10-50 min was investigated. Moreover, the kinetic as well as the thermodynamic of the extraction process were investigated. The obtained results revealed that the increase in both temperature and the time of extraction while a decrease in particle size generally improved the yield of extraction up to certain limits. The results showed that the optimum extraction conditions were 240°C, 30 minutes, 2:1 water to seed ratio, and 3 mm particle size which gave a maximum extraction yield of 94%. The reaction kinetics could be correlated well with an irreversible consecutive unimolecular-type first order. The apparent activation energy was evaluated to be 82.5 kJ.mol-1. The present work has been filed as a patent with filing number of 2011/2103 (Egyptian Patent Office).