EXTRACTION OF OIL FROM WATERMELON SEED

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The vegetable crops of family cucurbitaceae are important horticultural crop, mostly grown for its sweet and juicy fruit in warm climate all over the world. Galili G, Kigel J (2005) The citrullus lanatus is one of the most popular species with high water content as high as 92% of the total weight and it plays a very important role in Africa as it is used to quench thirst when there is shortage of water. The crops are primarily harvested for juice and juice concentrate as a n excellent source of vitamin C and Vitamin A. The fruits are widely eaten as snack without due regards to the seed which are discarded each year either as cheap animal feed or simply thrown away. The use of an oil is determined by many factors intrinsic of its constituents, high percentage of fatty acids in an oil had been reported to influence the tendency of such substance to foam Nakamura, Y; Tsuji S; Tonogai Y (2003).

High iodine value of oil indicate high unsaturation of fats and oils used for the production of different materials and each of them offers certain distinct advantages. For instance, some monoglyceride, or fattyester, type are most commonly used in foam production. Many type of seed oil with specific gravity the range of 0.87-0.90 we recommended for oil requirement for biodiesel Nakamura, Y; Tsuji S; Tonogai Y (2003).

The percent investigation was carried out to determine the available oil quantities in the seeds and some of its physico-chemical characteristics for possible future commercial uses and /or incursion into human diets.
1.2 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study deals with the extraction of oil from water melon seed.
1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objective of this study is stated below:
1. The Major aim of this study is to analyzed the extraction of oil from water melon seed
2. The study indicated that Free Fatty Acid (FFA) and Acid values were higher in oven-dried.
3. This study implies that the oil samples are edible to humans.
4. The high protein content makes the seed suitable for fortification of foods while the oils can serve as a good supplement in animal feed formulation. Oil from the sun-dried sample will however be preferable because of its low acid value though the extracted oil from the two samples still needs to be refined.

1.4 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The major challenges I faced during this project research work is limited time, lack of funds and non availability of materials for effective researching.

1.5 JUSTIFICATION OF STUDY
It is expected that the success of this research work will help in the choice of materials, chemicals, workable formulation and adequate extraction techniques.