Preliminary Assessment on the Effect of Bentonite and Ibeshe Clay on Bleaching of Rubber (Hevea Brasiliensis) Seed Oil

Abstract

Rubber seed though not common known is very rich in its oil yield and over time its importance is becoming more prominent. Bleaching in the natural sense is relative to the removal of impurities from the oil or material. In this research work, Rubber seed oil was bleached using bentonite clay and Ibeshe clay at 0.5M, 1M and 2M concentrations of Hydrochloric acid. Physiochemical properties as well as spectroscopic analysis such as FT-IR and XRD analysis were carried out and aided in obtaining the bleaching efficiency of both clays. The FT-IR results displayed a visible change in the oil after it was bleached with Ibeshe clay but still retained most its functional group when bleached with bentonite clay. At 2M concentration of the acid, the oil bleached with bentonite showed 53% while with Ibeshe clay it remained at 16%. This summarizes that Ibeshe clay has little to no effect on bleaching performance.