Optimization of color pigments removal from palm oil by activated ukpor clay using response surface methodology

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the optimum operating process parameters during the adsorption of color pigments from palm oil onto activated Ukpor clay using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The clay was activated using sulphuric acid solution. The process parameters investigated include; temperature, time, adsorbent dosage, adsorbent/oil ratio and stirring speed. The results showed that the bleaching efficiency was significantly affected by the linear, quadratic and some of the interaction terms. The optimum conditions derived via RSM were: temperature- 152.73 °C; time- 2.60 h; adsorbent dosage- 6.09 g; adsorbent/oil ratio- 0.05g/mL; stirring speed- 39.34rpm; and under these conditions the predicted bleaching efficiency was 82.67% which has good correlation with the experimental value of 82.25%. The high prognosis obtained in this study has shown that 5-level 5 factor fractional central composite design of the RSM is suitable for predicting the optimum adsorption conditions of color pigments from palm oil using activated Ukpor clay. © Maxwell Scientific Organization, 2013.