Processes for the Clarification of the Crude Oil of Baobab Seeds Extracted by Pressing on Activated Carbon Elaborated from the Capsules of the Fruit (<i>adansonia Digitata</i> L.)

The baobab, Adansonia digitata L. plays an important role in the economy of local populations.The oil from the seeds of the baobab fruit is nowadays highly prized because of its numerous cosmetic and therapeutic applications and its composition of unsaturated fatty acids, sterols and tocopherols.However, unlike refined oils, locally extracted baobab oil has not undergone purification operations to ensure its quality.Only a filtration on special cloths is carried out after decantation.Indeed, the oil obtained after pressing is cloudy because of the presence of various impurities.It therefore requires treatment operations to make it more attractive and of higher quality.Therefore, in order to provide innovative solutions to local companies to improve the quality of vegetable oils, a study of clarification (treatment) of crude oil is necessary.An experimental device has been developed in the laboratory.It includes a glass column and a filter bed of dune sand and activated carbon.This study has shown the efficiency of the experimental device.Indeed, the activated carbon, thanks to its adsorbing power, has allowed a significant decrease in turbidity at the 5% threshold, from 14.61 NTU for the raw oil to 0.08 NTU