EXTRACTION OF 8000 TONS/YEAR OF

AVOCADO OIL FROM AVOCADO PULP

RONALD MANYAMA
SUPERVISED BY MR E MAHOFA

RESEARCH PROBLEM
The intention of this research is to design a
process for the production of 8000 tons/year
of avocado oil in Zimbabwe

To identify the best avocado oil extraction

process for the Zimbabwean context.

BACKGROUND
Currently the estates in Zimbabwe are producing 31000 tons of
avocadoes per year which are exported to Europe via the
Netherlands with France being the major importer
The government of Zimbabwe identified excess avocado as a
potential area of innovation in their economic blueprint ZimAsset by realizing the need to plant more avocado trees and
establishing a plant for producing 14000 tons/year of avocado oil
thereby increasing revenue generated from exports of avocado
oil (zim-asset, 2013)
This prompts the need to design and investigate a viable process
for the production of avocado oil in Zimbabwe

JUSTIFICATION
Zimbabwe presents a perfect viability of the
project since there will be continuous supply of
the raw material.
Low cost process( less than 5 million dollars
initial capital investment)
A ready market in Zimbabwe and the export
market

OBJECTIVES
To provide an economical and effective
method for producing avocado oil from
avocado pulp.
To design the selected process for the
pharmaceutical avocado oil production.
To carry out an economic cost analysis of the
design plant

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Is the process economical?
What is the quality of the oil produced?
How much profit can be made?
Which extraction process is the best?

LITERATURE REVIEW
Only a few countries are actually involved in the production of oil
namely Mexico, USA, Israel, South Africa and New Zealand
Avocado oil is used in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry
Various methods used in the past for the extraction of avocado oil
are tube press, solvent extraction and hydraulic pressing.
The recently developed cold pressing method appear to be the
most suitable and beneficial method to extract the avocado oil. It
utilizes low temperatures which help retain the healthful
composition of the oil, involves minimal processing and requires
less capital investment.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Experiment for the smashing of avocado pulp
Experiment for the mixing of avocado pulp and
water
Experiment for the separation of avocado cake,
virgin oil and water in a decanter
Experiment for the separation of avocado oil, solids
and water using a centrifugal sedimentation tank

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN

Cold press method will be used to extract avocado oil from avocado oil

Detailed design of the centrifuge will be carried out.

Seeds Skins Water

STONE
REMOVER

SKIN
REMOVER

DISINTEGRATOR

MIXER
pulp

pulp

Solids

DECANTER

Water

virgin oil
CENTRIFUGE

Water

Cake

EXPECTED OUTCOMES
A new process for producing avocado oil
A model for the process
A solution to a practical problem

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH

This research project is aligned with Zim-Assets value addition and beneficiation
matrix by processing avocado fruits into oil thereby adding value, the waste
avocado flesh and skins can be further processed into organic fertilizer.
Avocado stones or seeds can be further processed into fabric dye and ink.
Establishing an avocado processing plant for avocado oil has the potential to
increase the countrys export revenue .This will prompt an increase in agricultural
output from plantations and pharmaceutical industries will benefit from a local
supply of the commodity.

INNOVATION
Recycling of waste water from the
decanter and centrifuge to the mixer