Experimental Comparison between Ethanol and Hexane as Solvents for Oil Extraction from Peanut Press Cake

Ethanol (Et) has been suggested as a substitute for hexane (Hx) for use in the extraction of oils from different oleaginous matrices. In this study, Et and Hx were used to extract the residual oil present in a peanut press cake (PPC). Certain variables, such as temperature, solid/solvent ratio and the number of contact stages, in the sequential cross-current extraction process were evaluated; additionally, the effects of these variables on oils (POEt and POHx) and defatted solids (DSEt and DSHx) were explored. Hx exhibited an extraction yield of 86 ± 2% in two stages at 55 °C and a solid/solvent mass ratio of 1/4. Compared with Hx extraction, to achieve an Et extraction yield of 87 ± 4%, it was necessary to use a higher temperature (75 °C), a greater amount of solvent (solid/solvent ratio of 1/5) and a greater number of contact stages (3). POEt and POHx presented compositions in terms of fatty acids and triacylglycerols and physical properties similar to that of cold-pressed peanut oil (CPPO). POEt showed a more intense green/yellow hue and higher free acidity (1.47 ± 0.03%) than POHx and CPPO (0.82 ± 0.04 and 0.43 ± 0.02 free acidity mass %, respectively), indicating that the deacidification and bleaching steps in refining should be encumbered. DSEt and DSHx exhibited high protein contents (>45% by mass) and nitrogen solubilities (86 ± 6 and 98 ± 1%, respectively), indicating that they could be used to obtain proteins.