Coconut oil production

Coconut oil, also known as copra oil, is suitable in medical and other domestic purposes.As a result of its high content of oily-milk, it is slow to oxidize and it is resistant to rancidification, which has the shelf life of two years and beyond when properly processed into oil.Extraction process:Coconut oil production is done in two ways:Dry methodThis process requires.Wet method.Dry processingThis method involves drying of the extracted meat by means of firing or kilns to generate copra, which is crushed and pressed to generate the coconut oil.Wet processThis method is widely practice in homes by house wives. The coconut meat is crushed, washed with water to collect milky liquid, which is further boiled or heated to a certain temperature, after which, it is allowed to cool down and the oil would be collected by means of de-counting or by the use of oil extractor.PotentialsIt is generally use for the treatment of several ailments, such as cough, neutralizing food poison, used in production of body and hair cream amongst other medical and pharmaceutical applications.AvailabilityCoconut is readily available and very cheap in Nigeria, especially in the coastal areas. It is found in commercial quantity in over six states of the country.Process Description:Cleaning: remove shell and brown skin and washing by machinesDrying: putting clean coconut meat to chain tunnel dryerCrushing: making dry coconut meat to suitable small piecesPre-press: Press the cakes to leave oil 16%-18% in the cake. The cake will go to extraction processFiltration: filtrating the oil more clearly then pump it to the oil tankPackaging:At this point, the produced coconut oil is bottled and packaged neatly in cartons, with branded name and trade mark, that makes your product outstanding from the ones in the market, thereafter; it is ready to be marketed.Cost implication:The cost of investment depends on the capacity of the factory or plant you wish to install. As little as from N100, 000 to as much as N50M could be invested in the business.Profitability:It is highly lucrative, as more and more persons are becoming aware of the innumerable use of the product.Note: Pre-treatment and prepressing section is a very important before extraction, as it will directly affect extraction and affect and oil quality.
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