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DEBRE BERHAN UNIVERSITY
COLLAGE OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
Title: Extraction and Characterization of Essential Oils from Pumpkin
Seeds
Prepared By ID
1. Atinaf Tesega………………………………....0148/10
2. Moges Belay………………………………….0735/10
3. Reskey Brhane………………………………..1070/06
4. Yoftahe Adane………………………………..1037/10
A Thesis Submitted To Debre Berhan University College Of Engineering Department

Of Chemical Engineering In Partial Fulfillment Of The Requirements For The Degree
Of Bachelor of Science Chemical Engineering.
Advisor: Mr. Bisrat Y

August, 2022
Debre Berhan, Ethiopia
EXTRACTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ESSENTIAL OIL FROM
PUMPKIN SEED
DECLARATION
We certify that our work is original except technical and special support of our advisor and
also compiled according the project writing guideline given by the faculty of Chemical
Engineering department.
Name of student Signature Date
Atinaf Tesega ………….. ………….
Moges Belay ……………. ………….
Reakey Brehane ……………. ………....
Yophtahe Adane …………… …………..
Academic Advisor Signature Date
Mr.Bisrat Y. …………… …………….
Approval of examining committee

1. Name of examiner:……………………………………………………
Signature:……………………..Date:………………………..
2. Name of examiner:……………………………………………………
Signature:……………………..Date:………………………..
3. Name of examiner:…:…………………………………………………
Signature:………………………Date:………………………
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PUMPKIN SEED
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
First of all we would like to thanks the almighty GOD who helped us to complete this paper
work to be possible. However, since it is impossible to name all, we mentioned only the
pillars with great excuse not to cite others. Let‟s our dearest gratitude goes to our advisor
lecturer Mr.Bisrat Y. for his support, encouragement, guidance to realize our final project.
Next, we would like to thank co- advisor Mr. Getahun and Mr. ASnake for thier support by
fulfilling experimental facilities and for his unlimited assistance and advises which made this
paper work realizable. We also heart full gratitude to Debre Berhan University College of
Engineering and Department of Chemical Engineering for patting trust and confidence on our
work and for the feedback and encouragement since the beginning of the project. Lastly, our
department staffs deserve gratified thanks and respect for everything.Last but not least, our
immerse gratitude also goes to our family, for their love, support and encouragement
financially, morally, academically. It would never be possible to mention all who lent their
help and contribution in the completion of this study and our entire stay in the university,
may God reward every one of you, Amen!
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PUMPKIN SEED
ABSTRACT
The objective of this thesis was extraction and characterization of essential oil from pumpkin
seed Cucurbita pepo variety using solvent extraction method. Primarily pumpkin seeds were
collected from the market. The oil production process steps were, cleaning, drying, milling
and sieving, extraction by soxhelt and finally the oil and solvents are separated by simple
distillation. This work was intended to study the influence of different factors (Particle sizes,
extraction time and temperature) on the quality and quantity of essential oil extracted from
pumpkin seeds using hexane as a solvent. Essential oils which were extracted from pumpkin
seed used in the manufacture of high quality perfumes, lotions, food flavourings, medicines
and for antimicrobial activity. From the experimentation it was found that maximum oil yield
of 67% was obtained at average particle size of 0.25 mm, extraction time of 4 hour and
temperature of 70 oc. A minimum oil yield of 46.22 % was obtained at average particle size
of 0.25mm, extraction time of 3 hour and at a temperature of 60oc.From the characterization
of pumpkin seeds have a moisture content and ash content of 6.8% and 7% respectively. The
value obtained from the characterization of pumpkin seeds oil were 1.4%,o.88,
3.2mpa.sec,6.37 and 3.36ml/g for moisture and volatile matter of oil, specific gravity
,viscosity, pH and acid value respectively..From economic analysis The rate of return on
investment is 71%, the payback period is 1.07 year, the breakeven point is 29%, the net
present value (NPV) is 40,335,292and the net present value ratio is 3.4 this indicates that the
project is feasible.
Keywords: Pumpkin seed, Essential oil, pumpkin seed oil, cucurbita pepo
5th Year Chemical Engineering Final Thesis 2014 E.C Page iii
PUMPKIN SEED
TEBLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENTS Page No
DECLARATION ........................................................................................................................ i
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ............................................................................................................ii
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. iii
LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................vii
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... viii
ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................................ ix
1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1
1.1. Background ..................................................................................................................... 1
1.2. Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................ 3
1.3. Objectives........................................................................................................................ 4
1.3.1. General Objective .................................................................................................... 4
1.3.2. Specific Objectives .................................................................................................. 4
1.4. Significance of the Study ................................................................................................ 4
1.5. Scope of the Study .......................................................................................................... 4
2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................................... 5
2.1. Essential Oil .................................................................................................................... 5
2.1.1. Uniqueness of essential oils ..................................................................................... 5
2.1.2. Factors affecting the yield and quality of essential oils ........................................... 6
2.1.3. Source of natural essential oil .................................................................................. 7
2.2. Pumpkin .......................................................................................................................... 7
2.2.1. Pumpkin in Ethiopia................................................................................................. 8
2.2.2. Pumpkin Seed .......................................................................................................... 8
2.2.3. Pumpkin seed oil ...................................................................................................... 9
2.2.4. Property and application pumpkin seed oil ............................................................ 10
2.2.5. Antimicrobial activity of pumpkin seed oil ........................................................... 10
2.3. Extraction Technologies of Essential Oils .................................................................... 11
2.3.1. Solvent Extraction .................................................................................................. 11
2.3.2. Steam distillation.................................................................................................... 12
2.3.3. Hydro-diffusion ...................................................................................................... 12
2.4. Essential Oil from Pumpkin Seed ................................................................................. 13
2.4.1. Solvent extraction of pumpkin seed ....................................................................... 13
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2.4.2. Soxhlet Extraction .................................................................................................. 14
3. MATERIALS AND METHODS ......................................................................................... 15
3.1. Material and Equipment ................................................................................................ 15
3.2. Methods ......................................................................................................................... 15
3.2.1. Raw material preparation ....................................................................................... 15
3.2.2. Size reduction and sieve analysis ........................................................................... 15
3.2.3. Characterization of pumpkin seed .......................................................................... 16
3.2.4. Extraction of pumpkin seed oil .............................................................................. 16
3.3. Determination of the Yield of Pumpkin Seed Oil Extracted ........................................ 17
3.4. Characterization Of Extracted Pumpkin Seed Essential Oil ......................................... 18
3.4.1. Moisture and volatile matter of oil ......................................................................... 18
3.4.2. Specific gravity of oil ............................................................................................. 18
3.4.3. Viscosity of oil ....................................................................................................... 19
3.4.4. pH of oil ................................................................................................................. 19
3.4.5. Determination of acid value ................................................................................... 19
4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION ............................................................................................ 20
4.1. Sample Analysis ............................................................................................................ 20
4.1.1. Moisture content .................................................................................................... 20
4.2. Yield in Soxhlet Extraction ........................................................................................... 20
4.3. Effect of Process Parameter on Percentage Oil Yield ................................................... 21
4.3.1. Effect of Temperature on yield of extracted oil ..................................................... 21
4.3.2. Effect of extraction time on the percentage oil yield ............................................. 22
4.3.3. Effect of particle size on percentage oil yield ........................................................ 23
4.4. Characterization of Pumpkin Seed Oil .......................................................................... 23
5. Material and Energy Balance ............................................................................................... 25
5.1 Material Balance ............................................................................................................ 25
5.1.1. Material balance in laboratory work ...................................................................... 25
5.1.2. Material balance at Industrial Level ....................................................................... 26
5.2. Energy Balance ............................................................................................................. 28
5.3. Equipment Sizing .......................................................................................................... 30
5.3.1. Sizing of raw material storage ............................................................................... 30
5.3.2. Sizing of dryer ........................................................................................................ 31
5.3.3. Sizing of cleaner..................................................................................................... 31
5.3.4. Sizing of grinding................................................................................................... 31
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5.3.5. Sizing of extractor .................................................................................................. 32
5.3.6. Sizing of Condenser ............................................................................................... 32
5.3.7. Sizing of oil storage tank ....................................................................................... 33
5.3.8. Sizing of hexane storage tank ................................................................................ 33
6. ENGINEERING ECONOMICS .......................................................................................... 34
6.1. Market Study and Plant Capacity.................................................................................. 34
6.1.1. Past supply and present demand ............................................................................ 34
6.1.2 Demand projection .................................................................................................. 35
6.1.3. Plant capacity ......................................................................................................... 35
6.2. Estimation of Capital Investment .................................................................................. 35
6.2.1. Estimation of fixed capital investment cost ........................................................... 37
6.2.2. Total production cost ............................................................................................. 38
6.3. Financial Analysis and Investment Appraisal ............................................................... 39
6.3.1. Profitability analysis .............................................................................................. 39
6.3.2. Return on Investment (ROI) .................................................................................. 40
6.3.3. Payback .................................................................................................................. 40
6.3.4. Break even analysis ................................................................................................ 40
6.3.5. Present value .......................................................................................................... 41
7. PLANT LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT ................................................................... 42
7.1. Choice of Plant Location............................................................................................... 42
7.2. Plant lay out .................................................................................................................. 42
7.3. Environmental Impacts ................................................................................................. 43
7.4. Economic and Social Benefit ........................................................................................ 43
8. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ................................................................... 44
8.1. Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 44
8.2. Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 45
REFFERENCE......................................................................................................................... 46
A. Laboratory sample photos ......................................................................................... 48
B. Laboratory equipment‟s ............................................................................................ 48
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1: Proximate compositions of pumpkin seed in percentage .......................................... 9
Table 4.1: Moisture content observation.................................................................................. 20
Table 4.2: Percentage oil yield of pumpkin seed at different solvent type .............................. 20
Table 1.3: Percentage oil yield of pumpkin seed by soxhlet extraction .................................. 21
Table 4.4: Moisture and volatile matter of pumpkin seed oil .................................................. 23
Table 6.1: Import of essential oils ............................................................................................ 34
Table 6.2: Forecasted demand for essential oils ...................................................................... 35
Table 6.3: Purchased equipment cost ....................................................................................... 36
Table 6.4: Direct and indirect cost estimation ......................................................................... 37
Table: 6.5 Estimation of total production cost ......................................................................... 38
5th Year Chemical Engineering Final Thesis 2014 E.C Page vii
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1: Fresh pumpkin fruit plant and matured pumpkin fruit ............................................ 8
Figure 2.2: Hulled pumpkin seed ............................................................................................... 9
Figure 1.1: Raw materials and equipment ............................................................................... 16
Figure 3.2: Process description of extraction process of pumpkin seed essential oil .............. 17
Figure 3.3: Soxhelt extraction set up and oil products ............................................................. 17
Figure 4.1: Effect of temperature on percentage oil yield ....................................................... 21
Figure 4.2: Effect of extraction time on percentage oil yield .................................................. 22
Figure 4.3: Effect of extraction time on percentage oil yield .................................................. 23
5th Year Chemical Engineering Final Thesis 2014 E.C Page viii
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ACRONYMS
AOAC …………...............................................Association of official analytical chemists
AV……………………………………………..Acid Value
CF……………………………………………..Cash flow
DC……………………………………………..Direct cost
EFFA……………………………………….....Essential free fatty acid
FAO…………………………………………...Food agricultural organization of united nation
FCI…………………………………………….Fixed capital investment
FFA……………………………………………Free Fatty Acid
IC……………………………………………...Indirect cost
IRR……………………………………………Internal rate of return
NPV...…………………………………………Net present value
MARR………………………………………...Minimum acceptable rate of return
ROR…………………………………………...Rate of return
SG……………………………………………..Specific gravity
TCI…………………………………………….Total capital investment
TPC……………………………………………Total production cost
WCI…………………………………………....Working capital investment
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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background
Essential oils are aromatic liquids which are extracted from the flowers, seeds, leaves, and
stems, bark roots of trees, herbs, bushes & shrubbery through different extraction methods.
They were originated in ancient Rome, Greece, and Egypt and throughout the Middle and Far
East had, as a common feature, They were used for many purpose such as perfumes,
cosmetics, lotion, food preservation, food flavours, deodorants, pharmaceuticals, medicinal
and embalming antiseptic There are several techniques that can be used to extract essential
oils water distillation, steam distillation, solvent extraction, expression under pressure,
supercritical fluid extractions and subcritical water extractions (Diniz do Nascimento et al,
2020).
Pumpkins squash, and gourds are closely related members of the Cucurbit, it is an annual
plant growing in temperate and subtropical regions and belongs to the family of
Cucurbitaceae which comprises Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita moschata, Cucurbita maxima, and
Cucurbita mixta, according to the texture and shape of their stems. Cucurbitaceae used as
vegetable and medicine throughout the world, Which includes approximately 90 orders and
750 species, The species of squash pumpkins is one of 5 cultivated and about 10 wild
species of the genus Cucurbita L. of family „Cucurbits‟ Cucurbitaceae (Kajla et al., 2015)
Pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas, which means are edible and nutrient-rich. They are
about 1.5 cm (0.5 in) long and an average of 0.22 grams weight, flat, asymmetrically oval,
light green in colour and usually covered by a white husk, although some pumpkin varieties
produce seeds without them. Pumpkin seeds are a popular snack that can be found hulled or
semi-hulled at most grocery stores and a good source of protein, magnesium, copper and
zinc. Pumpkin seeds serve as a rich source of edible oil that has a wealthy amount of
unsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E, which plays an important role in human health, and
both bring a lot of benefits. Noted that the oil content of pumpkin seeds is about 50%, and the
four dominant fatty acids are palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acids (Stevenson et al.,
2007).
Pumpkin seed oil has been used traditionally as medicine in many countries such as China,
Yugoslavia, Argentina, India, Mexico, Brazil, and America. Pumpkin seed oil also rich in
antioxidants and beneficial as nutritional supplements such as essential fatty acids
including linoleic and linoleic, carotenes, lutein, gamma and P-tocopherols, phytoserols,
5th Year Chemical Engineering Final Thesis 2014 E.C Page 1

PUMPKIN SEED
chlorophyll, selenium and zinc. Pumpkin seed oil contains essential fatty acids that help
to maintain healthy blood vessels, nerves and tissues. The medicinal properties of
pumpkin seed oil include anti-diabetic, antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-inflammatory.
Phytosterols presence in pumpkin seeds is useful for lowering cholesterol and enhancing
heart health and reducing the risk of heart (Srbinoska et al., 2012).Pumpkin seeds also
contain the compound tryptophan which is necessary to battle the feelings of depression
and hypercholesterolemia which leads to cardio vascular disease The elevated levels of
serum testosterone may be one of the mechanisms underlying the effect of squalling in
pumpkin seeds on improvement in libido and semen quality and the reduction in serum
lepton (Abdel-Rahman, 2006).
Pumpkin seed oil and seeds are also rich in unsaturated fatty acids. Due to high omega-3 (6
and 9)-fatty acids. Seeds and oil have been claimed to promote HIV/AIDS wellness. The
lignans and phytosterols such as delta 7-sterols and delta 5-sterols are of special interests. Ant
oxidative compounds, such as vitamin E, especially gamma-tocopherol are also high. In fresh
dried seeds concentration of alpha-tocopherol is 37.5 μg/g and gamma tocopherol is 383
μg/g(Bavec et al., 2007).

PUMPKIN SEED
1.2. Statement of the Problem

Ethiopia is located around the tropical region, thus, the weather makes a suitable environment
for the growth of pumpkin. There are a lot of pumpkin producing areas such as Gambiella
Region, Jijiga, Dire-Dawa, Kulubi Harar and other low land area. Most Ethiopian people use
pumpkin as house holding spice stew (wat) preparation. From the literature, it is observed,
World Science approves the application of pumpkin seed for medicinal purpose for internal
as well as external treatment problems.Unlike its medicinal purpose, pumpkin seed oil is also
used for production of soap, perfumes and lotions, food flavourings, food preservation,
nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and cosmeceuticals. Because of processing essential oil
industrially is very limited in Ethiopia, the amount of imported essential oil is increased from
day to day. More than 700 tons of essential oils was annually imported (minimum 350
Million birr) (Addis Ababa Development Study Associates (2008)) , In 2012 it reached more
than 1800 tones (Custom Authority) ≈900 million birr≈46.15 Million USD annually(Perez
Gutierrez, 2016).So, in order to recover the import of essential oil Ethiopia should produce
pumpkin seed based essential oil in quality and will be a source of income by exporting it to
other countries.
.

PUMPKIN SEED
1.3. Objectives
1.3.1. General Objective
The aim of this thesis was extraction and characterization of essential oil from pumpkin seed
using solvent extraction.
1.3.2. Specific Objectives
 To determine the moisture content of pumpkin seeds.
 To determine the possible amount of essential oil extracted from the given amount of
pumpkin seeds.
 To characterize the extracted pumpkin seed essential oil.
 To investigate the effect of temperature, particle size and extraction time of pumpkin seed
on the extracted oil yield.
 To evaluate the economic analysis of the process.
1.4. Significance of the Study
Ethiopia currently imports essential oil from abroad for pharmaceutical, antimicrobial and
cosmetics industries and other purposes. This study will contribute to provide import
substitution by enabling the development of small scale process plant to extract essential oil
from pumpkin seed using solvent extraction method due to the availability of raw material.
The technology will be transferred to interested private sectors or any other agencies. In
addition this study will seeks to significant improvement from traditional methods to
technological manufacturing of the oil for the use of pumpkin seed.
1.5. Scope of the Study
The scope of this study was to extract essential oil from Pumpkin seed using soxhlet
apparatus and to characterize the extracted essential oil as well as to know the yield of the
essential oil by varying parameters such as temperature, particle size and extraction time and
perform preliminary techno - economic feasibility study.

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2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Essential Oil
Essential oils are subtle, concentrated, hydrophobic, aromatic liquids containing volatile
compounds which is extracted from the flowers, seeds, leaves, stems, bark &/or roots of
trees, herbs, bushes & shrubbery through different extraction method. They were recovered in
Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks between 1500 B.C to 377B.C.The Bible story also refers to
essential or anointing oils over 150 time, which means "to smear with oil”, to make a person
sacred, to set them apart & to dedicate them to serve a higher spiritual purpose. Essential oils
are used in the manufacture of high quality perfumes and lotions, food flavourings, cooking,
cleaning, skincare, hair care, massage, aromatherapy, cosmetics, homemade beauty and
cleaning products, healing and medicinal purposes and as fragrant seed and antiseptic
additives in many common products. (Suryawanshi et al., 2016).
Essential oils contain the true essence of the plant it was derived from and are highly
concentrated. Essential oil is volatile oil, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil
of" the plant from which they were extracted, usually having the characteristic odour
or flavour of the plant from which it is obtained, used to make perfumes and
flavouring‟s. Oil is essential in the sense that it carries a distinct scent, or essence of the plant.
Essential oils are not the same as perfume or fragrance oils. Where essential oils are derived
from the true plants, perfume oils are artificially created fragrances or contain artificial
substances and do not offer the therapeutic benefits that essential oils offer. Formerly,
essential oils are produced by tedious hand pressing and sponge pressing. They are
now produced by high-speed machines. The yield of essential oils varies widely from species
to species (Lawless, 2013).
2.1.1. Uniqueness of essential oils
In early work, the term “essential oils" was defined as the volatile oils obtained though
different extraction method from plants. This definition was clearly intended to make a
distinction between "fatty oils" and the oils, which are easily volatile. Gradually with the
advance of science came improvements in the methods of preparing the oils, and parallel with
this development a better knowledge of the constituents of the oils was gained. It was found
that the oils contain many classes of organic substances with varying volatility. Although a
list of all the known oil components would include a variety of chemically unrelated
compounds, it is possible to classify these into four main groups of essential oils (Awas,
2007).
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A. Volatile
Essential oils are the volatile fragrant components from various indigenous and exotic
plants which have been traded internationally for several centuries. All true essential
oils are secondary metabolites of plant products and in some instances the oil extracted from
one part of the plant is different from that extracted from other parts.
B. Aromatic
Essential oils are highly aromatic and therefore, many of the benefits can be obtain by simply
inhaling them. This can be done by breathing in the fragrance from the bottle, or they can be
diff used into the room. Essential oils, when diffused, can be the best air filtration system in
the world. They will purify the air by removing metallic particles and toxins from the air,
increase atmospheric oxygen, increase ozone and negative ions in the house, which inhibits
bacterial growth, destroy mold, cigarettes and animal odors, fill the air with a fresh, herbal
aromatic scent.
C. Penetrating characteristics
The penetrating characteristic of essential oils greatly enhances their ability to be
effective. Essential oils will penetrate into the body when applied to the skin. Essential oils
rubbed into the feet will be distributed to every cell in the body in minutes. They will even
penetrate a finger or toe nail to treat fungal infection underneath.
2.1.2. Factors affecting the yield and quality of essential oils
The yield and quality of essential oils have been known to vary due to a number of factors.
A. Particle size
To increase the rate of solvent extraction, it is desirable that the range of particle size to be
small. This is due to the greater interfacial areas between the solid and liquid and therefore
the higher is the rate of transfer of material(Angelini et al., 2015).
B. Choice of solvent
Use of a suitable solvent for effective separation is very important. Metal chelates and many
organic molecules, being essentially covalent compounds do not impose many restrictions on
the solvent and the general rules of solubility are of great use. In ion association systems and
particularly in Oxonian type ions, the role of solvents is very important. This is due to
involvement of solvent in the formation of extractable species.(Rodrguez-Miranda et al.,
2014).
C. Temperature

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The solubility of the material which is being extracted will increase with temperature to give
a higher rate of extraction.
D. Effect of extraction time
Extraction time is essential in economizing energy and cost of the extraction process. This
could be explained by the Fick‟s second law of diffusion witch predicts a final equilibrium
between the concentrations of solute in the solid matrix and in the bulk solution after a certain
time (Baldosano et al., 2015).
2.1.3. Source of natural essential oil
Essential oils are generally derived from plant organs which containing natural essential fatty
acids. From one or More plant parts, such as flowers, leaves, stems bark, wood roots
seeds fruits , rhizomes and gums or oleoresin are explained in table below. Depending
upon the plant family, essential oils may occur in specialized secretary structures such as
glandular hairs, modified parenchymal cells, resin canals oil tubes called vittae
lysigenous cavities schizogenous passages (Myrtaceae, Graminae, Composite) or gum
canals (Cistacae, Burseraceae) (Gessese et al., 2015).
2.2. Pumpkin
Pumpkin is one of the most important crops of family Cucurbitaceae. Cucurbitaceae
used as vegetable and medicine throughout the world. The word pumpkin originates from the
word pepon, which is Greek for "large melon", something round and large. Pumpkin cultivars
may belong to one of several species: Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita
moschata, and Cucurbita mixta. It has been suggested that it has more cultivated forms
than any other crop(Gohari et al., 2011).
Natural conditions in Croatia allow an extraordinary successful cultivation of pumpkins used
for edible oil production. It is possible to achieve a yield of fruit as high as 80 t/ha. The
pumpkins contain about 90% of water and 2 % of seed and the 1000-seed weight is about 200
g. Hull seeded pumpkin seeds contain about 31 % of oil whereas the hull-less pumpkin seeds
contain 52 % of oil (Martha & Gutierrez, 2016).
These families have medicinal and nutritional benefits. The immature fruits are consumed as
a vegetable. The mature fruit is sweet and used to make confectionery, beverages are roasted,
or cooked and can be incorporated into baked goods. The seeds, rich in oil, also are used in
Mexico, with honey to prepare desserts known as palanquetas. Flower buds and flowers are
also edible in Mexico to prepare quesadillas. Some fruit varieties are used with decorative
purposes in Halloween party(Napier, 2009).

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Figure 2.1: Fresh pumpkin fruit plant and matured pumpkin fruit
2.2.1. Pumpkin in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is located around the tropical region; the weather makes a suitable environment for
the growth of pumpkin. Few years ago, farmers used to produce pumpkin in their gardens
together with cereals, in farms near fences for the plants to easily creep on fences and houses,
marginal or waste land, on decaying hay and heap of cow dung. In Ethiopia, pumpkins are
widely grown for their fruit utilization that are effectively and efficiently being used for stew
preparation to be consumed with Ethiopian traditional spongy thin-layer bread (injira) made
from cereal grain called teff. The other most important food product from pumpkin fruit is
dried pumpkin which is called „Duba quanta’. This dried product is used for making delicious
stew called ‘Duba Wett‟ and highly used during the period of food scarcity. Pumpkin is a
seasonal crop that has been used for human food(Gultie et al., 2014).
Recently there are a lot of pumpkin producing areas such as Gambiella Region, Jijiga,
DireDawa, Kulubi Harar and other low land area. Most commonly cucurbita pepo Varieties
are known and grown in Ethiopia. Most pumpkins reach maturity at 3 months to 4 months
after sowing. The maturity can be identified by change in fruit colour to orange or pale
yellow colour. At this stage, the pumpkin seed attain maturity with higher vigour and
viability. The yield depends on many factors which may include soil type, cultivar, irrigation,
age of plants and management practices. However, an average yield may range 15 to
25tonnes/ ha. Pumpkins generally weigh between 3 and 8 kilograms (6 and 18 lbs.), though
the largest cultivars(Gultie et al., 2014).
2.2.2. Pumpkin Seed
Pumpkin seed is high in oil, protein, and total unsaturated fatty acids (TUFA) and provides an
important source of nutrition and income globally. Pumpkin seeds, are flat, asymmetrically
oval, light green in color and usually covered by a white husk and used as edible, although

PUMPKIN SEED
some pumpkin varieties produce seeds without husk. Pumpkin seeds are also snack that can
be found hulled or semi-hulled at most grocery stores. Pumpkin seeds are a good source of
protein, copper and zinc. The pumpkin seed is valued in relation to its nutritional
points. The four fatty acids present in significant quantities are palmitic, stearic, oleic,
and linoleic acids(Adepoju & Adebanjo, 2011).
Figure 2.2: Hulled pumpkin seed

The pumpkin seed is valued in relation to its nutritional points. The four fatty acids
present in significant quantities are palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic acids (C. M. et
al., 2012), reported that pumpkin seed is a nutritious food with a high oil (50% w/w) and
protein (35%) content that varies depending on cultivar Triterpenoids including 0.08-0.2% of
multiflorane p-aminobenzoates. Pumpkin seeds also contribute to a good amount of essential
fatty acids Omega-6 and Omega-9. The pumpkin seeds possess dietary and medicinal
qualities besides being the source of good quality edible oils(Borhade, 2014).
Table 2.1: Proximate compositions of pumpkin seed in percentage
Components Value
Moisture content 5%
Crude Ash 4.9%
Crude Fiber 6%
Crude Protein 30.23%
Crude Fat 49.01%
Carbohydrates 4.89%
Energy 559kcal
Source: USDA National Nutrient database
2.2.3. Pumpkin seed oil
The pumpkin seed oil is dark green in color that contains a high amount of free fatty acids
including four dominant fatty acids (oleic, linoleic, palmitic and stearic) are present with
the relative distribution of 43.8%, 33.1%, 13.4% and 7.8% respectively, representing 98 +
0.1% of the total fatty acids amount. The oil content of dry pumpkin seeds is 47.03%.

PUMPKIN SEED
However, the variability of the oil contents in various pumpkin species is predominantly
attributed to its broad genetic diversity. Importantly, pumpkin seed oil is used as nutritional
supplements for natural source of proteins, essential fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty
acids, omega 3,6 and 9,carotenes,lutein, vitamins such as carotenoids and β- and γ-
tocopherols, phytosterols, chlorophyll, and trace elements, such as zinc and selenium. In
addition, several triterpenes such as cucurbita-5, 24-dienol, α- and β-amylin and sterols
are present in the seeds and flowers of pumpkin(Jafari et al., 2012).
2.2.4. Property and application pumpkin seed oil
Pumpkin seed contains antioxidants like Beta-carotene. These Antioxidant helps in removing
the free radicals from the body, hence it reduces the risk of cancer and other diseases. Beta
carotene converts into vitamin-A which strengthens our immune system. Pumpkin seed oil
contains essential fatty acids that help maintain healthy blood vessels, nerves and tissues. It
also contains Phytosterols, carotenoids, proteins, tocopherols, and phytoestrogens reduces
cholesterol in blood. It enhances the immune response and decrease risk of certain cancers.
Pumpkin seed oil hypothesis of the pharmaceutical action is based on the inhibition of 5-a-
reductase.Pumpkin seed oil has been found useful in the treatment of benign prostatic
hyperplasia (Gmez & Witte, 2001).
Pumpkin seed oil is most commonly used to treat irritable bowel syndrome. Since
Pumpkin seeds contain L-tryptophan, which is a compound naturally effective against
depression, it is also used for depression treatment. It has also found to prevent
atherosclerosis and regulate cholesterol levels. In German folk medicine, it has been a
remedy for parasitic infestations of the intestinal tract such as tapeworm. It is composed
of unsaturated fatty acids like: myristic, palmitic, Stearic, oleic, Linoleic and Linoleic acid.
Pumpkin seed oil is a rich source of antioxidants and polyunsaturated fatty acids. This oil is
used for preparation of dessert, ice cream, brittle and soup. It gives a nutty taste to that
product. Pumpkin seed oil has moderate amount of saturated fat and good amounts of mono
and polyunsaturated fats (VIDHYA et al., 2022).
2.2.5. Antimicrobial activity of pumpkin seed oil
Diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and other parasites are major causes of death,
disability, and social and economic disruption for millions of individuals. Despite the
existence of safe and effective interventions, many individuals lack access to needed
preventive and treatment care. Increasing drug resistance in infectious microorganisms has
warranted the development of new drugs against pathogenic micro-organisms. In this regard,

PUMPKIN SEED
natural sources have been considered as the best option to isolate new and novel anti-
microbial components. Various broad spectrum anti-microbial components have been
isolated from pumpkins. Pumpkin had properties of biological activities varies from
antimicrobial to antitumor. The antimicrobial activity of pumpkin has many applications,
including preservation, pharmaceuticals, alternative medicine and natural therapies(Meru
et al., 2017)
2.3. Extraction Technologies of Essential Oils
The quality, flavour and nutritional value of essential oils are directly related to the way the
oil is extracted and processed. The highest quality oils are exposed to the least amount of
heat, light, pressure and chemicals in the extraction and refining process. The yield and
composition of essential oils depends on geographic location and agricultural factors. The
extraction of essential oils from plants may be processed by several methods such as
steam distillation, effleurage, Hydro-diffusion, maceration, solvent extraction, enzymatic,
micro-wave and supercritical fluid extraction, etc. (Baldosano et al., 2015).
2.3.1. Solvent Extraction
Extraction essential oil by solvent is recommended if it is necessary to reduce the oil contents
in the raw material to lower than 2%.Soxhlet extractor was used to extract oil from solid
material by using a different solvent such as hexane, methanol, ethyl acetate, and Aqueous. A
single component fluid is said to be supercritical when its temperature and pressure both
exceed their critical values, without being far from the critical state. At these elevated
conditions the properties of the fluid has both liquid and gas properties (Baldosano et al.,
2015).
As solvent extraction uses very little heat, it is found to be advantageous in producing
essential oils with whole fragrances that would otherwise be destroyed or altered during
steam distillation. Therefore this extraction technique can be used to extract essential oils
from very delicate plants to produce higher amounts of essential oils at lower costs.
Therefore with solvent extraction effective separation of the extracted oil from the
solvent is necessary to remove any solvent which may contaminate the essential oils.
This process also sometimes yields an aromatic resinous product known as oleoresin
which is more concentrated than essential oils with an even wider application in the
food and other industries.

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2.3.2. Steam distillation
Most commonly, the essence is extracted from the plant using an technique called distillation.
One type of distillation places the plants or flowers on a screen. Steam is passed through the
area and becomes “charged” with the essence. The steam then passes through an area where it
cools and condenses. This mixture of water and essential oil is separated and bottled. Since
plants contain such a small amount of this precious oil, several hundred pounds may need to
produce a single ounce (Cassel et al., 2009).
Essential oils can be extracted using a variety of methods, although some are not commonly
used today. Nowadays, a reputable distiller will try to preserve the original qualities of the
plant, but the final therapeutic result is often not formed until after the extraction process.
Currently, the most popular method for extraction is steam distillation. Steam distillation has
been used for hundreds of years and today remains one of the most favourably methods of
extracting essential oils.A number of factors determine the final quality of a steam distilled
essential oil. A side from the plant material itself, most important are time, temperature and
pressure, and the quality of the distillation equipment(Stevenson et al., 2007).
2.3.3. Hydro-diffusion
Although introduced more recently than carbon dioxide extraction, hydro-diffusion is similar
to steam distillation except that the steam is produced above the plant material and percolates
down through it. The advantage of hydro-diffusion over distillation is that the process is
quicker, especially for fibrous material such as woods and barks. The resultant oils
are reported to have a superior aroma and a richer colour obtained by ordinary
distillation. Nevertheless, oils captured by hydro-diffusion process are not widely available
(Perez Gutierrez, 2016).
Many old-time distillers favour this method for most oils, and say that none of the newer
methods produces better quality oils. Steam distillation is a special type of distillation or a
separation process for temperature sensitive materials like oils, resins, hydrocarbons, etc.
which are insoluble in water and may decompose at their boiling point. The fundamental
nature of steam distillation is that it enables a compound or mixture of compounds to be
distilled at a temperature substantially below that of the boiling point(s) of the individual
constituent(s). Essential oils contain substances with boiling points up to 200°C or higher
temperatures. In the presence of steam or boiling water, however, these substances are
volatilized at a temperature close to 100°Cat atmospheric pressure (Napier, 2009).

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2.4. Essential Oil from Pumpkin Seed

Pumpkin (cucurbitae family) locally known as Duba: It is good source of nutritionally
essential components. The oil extracted from the extraction of pumpkin seed is used as
essential oil. Extraction of pumpkin seed oil using solvent extraction method is discussed as
follow.
2.4.1. Solvent extraction of pumpkin seed
A. Selection of the solvent
The solvent for extraction has to withdraw the active agent from a mixture. Solvent has high
in order to extract the active agents and to reduce the amount of necessary solvent the
capacity of the solvent has to be high. To achieve simple regeneration of solvent the
miscibility of solvents and primary solvents has to be low. Difference in density in also has
great contribution for separation of two phase liquids by using density difference.
Solvent recovery, the solvent has to be separated from the extracted phase easily to produce
solvent free active agents. The solvent must be non-corrosive prices for construction
increases. Solvent must has low price and no or low toxicity. Flame temperature is 25 0c
higher than operating temperature. Vapour pressure, to prevent loss of solvent by evaporation
a low vapour pressure at operating temperature is required. Low viscosity of the solvents
leads, to low pressure drop, good heat and mass transfer(Adepoju & Adebanjo, 2011).
B. Chemical and thermal stability of solvent
There is no ideal solvent, which fulfils these entire requirements. There are different solvents
used for the extraction of pumpkinseed; benzene, hexane, ethanol and petroleum ether
are some of the solvents. Benzene has a high boiling point (80.10C) resulting high amount of
benzene in the last product. Besides, benzene is highly flammable. Therefore, benzene is not
preferable solvent for the extraction of pumpkin seed. N-Hexane, which has a relatively low
boiling point (69°C), is the commonly-used petroleum-based solvent for extraction of oils. It
has been selected as an excellent extraction solvent for many years due to its nonpolar
properties and simple recovery. Petroleum ether is the best solvent, unfortunately it is very
costly and is not found easily as a result it will not be an option as solvent for the extraction
of pumpkin seed. Ethanol has also moderate boiling point about (780c) and relatively cheap
but when we compare with hexane it have high boiling point and does not easily recovered
and also the extraction rate is low.

PUMPKIN SEED
2.4.2. Soxhlet Extraction
The Soxhlet method is the most commonly used semi-continuous process for the extraction of
lipids from foods. According to Soxhlet procedure, oil and fat from solid material are
extracted by repeated washing (percolation) with an organic solvent, usually hexane or
petroleum ether, ethanol. The grounded pumpkin seed samples were placed in a filter paper.
The filter paper is then placed in an extraction chamber which is being suspended above a
flask containing the solvent and below a condenser.
Heat is being applied to the flask and the solvent evaporates and moves to the condenser
where it is converted into liquid that trickles in to the extraction chamber containing the
sample. The extraction chamber is made in such a way that when the solvent surrounding the
sample exceeds a certain level it over flows and trickles back down in to the boiling flask.
The flask containing solvent and lipid is removed at the end of the extraction process. This
cycle may be allowed to repeat many times, over hours or days. During each cycle, a portion
of the non-volatile compound dissolves in the solvent. After many cycles the desired
compound is concentrated in the round bottom flask. The advantage of this system is that
instead of many portions of warm solvent being passed through the sample just one batch of
solvent is recycled. After extraction, the non-soluble portion of the extracted solid
remains in the thimble, and is usually discarded. The mixture of solvent and essential
oil has been separated by means of a rotary evaporator, and then the essential oil was
used for further characterization of analysis and other applications but solvent has been used
other extraction process (recycling) operation(Gohari et al., 2011).

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3. MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1. Material and Equipment
Materials and chemicals used during the experiment were pumpkin seed, ethanol, n-hexane,
potassium hydroxide, distilled water, Phenolphthalein and Hydrochloric acid. The equipment
used were soxhelt setup, simple distillation, water bath, crucible, burette, condenser, oven,
viscometer, volumetric flask, beaker, electronic beam balance, thermometer, Sieve, pH meter,
miller, measuring cylinder, stop watch.
3.2. Methods
3.2.1. Raw material preparation
Pumpkin fruit was purchased one variety (cucurbita pepo) from market. Pumpkin fruit was
undergo various processing in the course of its preparation for extraction. Pumpkin fruit
shells were carefully cut open to expose the seeds which were embedded in an orange –
yellow fibrous material. The seeds were removed from the fruit and thoroughly washed with
distilled water to remove other component of pumpkin and impurities. After that Pumpkin
seeds was cleaned manually in order to remove foreign material and impurities and then
dulled manually to remove the outer seed coat and subsequently dried in an electric oven at
105oc until a constant weight was obtained.
3.2.2. Size reduction and sieve analysis
After the moisture was removed by placing in an oven at 1050C, the dried pumpkin seed was
milled in Cross Beater Miller and then the sample was shaken using vibrating shaker for 8
minutes with amplitude of 10 mm.The sieve size was arranged in descending order of mesh
size 2mm, 0.5mm and 0.25 mm. This is due to investigate the effect of particles size on
oil yield and quantity of oil.This particular was selected because literature shows that to
have a higher yield of essential oil particle size should be less than 5mm and higher than
0.2mm.(blame, 2006).

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Grinding machine sieve analysis
Pumpkin seed Sieved pumpkin seed meal

Figure 1.1: Raw materials and equipment
3.2.3. Characterization of pumpkin seed
Pumpkin seed chemical composition was determined by Association of Official Analytical
Chemists (AOAC, 2005) methods, it was include:-
Moisture content
The moisture content was determined by drying the seeds in an oven at 105 ± 1°C to a
constant weight using equation below.
Moisture content (%) of the Pumpkinseed =
Where: W1= original weight of the sample before drying

W2= weight of the sample after drying
3.2.4. Extraction of pumpkin seed oil
Experimental work will be conducted using soxhlet equipment by solvent extraction process.
The solvent used during extraction was hexane and ethanol. The result from soxhlet
extraction like extraction time and particle size and was used as the starting
parameter.Initially the raw material pumpkin seed was prepared and cleaned well and then
dried in order to remove the moisture contents. After the moisture is removed the
pumpkinseeds was grinded and sieve in order to get good surface area or particle size and
dried well again in order to get high yield. The grounded pumpkin seed samples were placed
in a filter paper. The filter paper was then placed in an extraction chamber which is being
suspended above a flask containing the solvent and below a condenser. Heat is being applied
to the flask and the solvent evaporates and moves to the condenser where it is converted into
liquid that trickles in to the extraction chamber containing the sample.The extraction chamber
PUMPKIN SEED
was made in such a way that when the solvent surrounding the sample exceeds a certain level
it overflows and trickles back down in to the boiling flask.Finally, the oil and solvent was
separated through rotary evaporator (simple distillation) at the end of the extraction process.
Figure 3.2: Process description of extraction process of pumpkin seed essential oil
As explained from the above the solvent was poured into a round bottom flask and 10g of
seed meal was added to a filter paper extraction process variables was included extraction
time and particle size under constant temperature on the yield and purity of essential oil will
be performed. Solvent was recovered by rotary evaporator and residual solvent was removed
by drying in an oven.
Figure 3.3: Soxhelt extraction set up and oil products

3.3. Determination of the Yield of Pumpkin Seed Oil Extracted
The total oil yield depends on the operating parameters. Designed experiments were carried
out to map quantitative effects of these parameters. The yield of extraction is calculated from
PUMPKIN SEED
the relation between the essential oil mass obtained and the raw material mass used in the
extraction. The mean yield (%) table is constructed from oil extracted in relation to the
amount of sample used in each run. In this work 10grams of the plant materials was used for
each batch and yield (%) is calculated. The extraction parameters were very important to
produce both a good quality and a reasonable amount of essential oils. As a result, to achieve
these objectives different parameters with different levels were used during the extraction
process. The parameters were extraction time and particle size of the pumpkin seeds.
Yield of oil (%)
Where: W1=Sample was weighted before extraction and, W2 = sample was weight after
extraction and dried in the oven
3.4. Characterization Of Extracted Pumpkin Seed Essential Oil
3.4.1. Moisture and volatile matter of oil
5 gm of oil was weighted and putted in a dish and then was dried in an oven at 1050C for
1 hour. The dish was removed from the oven and cooled in a dissector and
weighed. The process was repeated until a constant weight was observed and the
moisture and volatile matter of the oil was determined in equation bellow.
Moisture & volatile matter of essential oil =
Where W1= loss in gram of the material on drying

W0= weight in gram of oil taken for the test
3.4.2. Specific gravity of oil
Specific gravity is an important criterion of the quality and purity of an essential oil.
Values for essential oils vary between the limits of 0.696 and 1.188 at 15 °C, in general,
the specific gravity is less than 1.000 (Guenther & E., 1960). Specific gravity of oil was
determined using density bottle method. A washed, dried and weighed density bottle of
25 ml capacity was weigh (Wo)filled with the oil, stopper inserted and reweighed to give
(w1). The oil was substituted with water after washing and drying the bottle and weighed
to give (w2).Then the specific gravity was calculated from the formula (A.O.A.C Official
Method 920.212, 2000).

PUMPKIN SEED
3.4.3. Viscosity of oil
The viscosity of pumpkin seed oil was measured by using Viscometer model. Initially, a
sample was heated at a temperature of 300C. A sample of 35 ml oil was measured and fed
to a sample holder of the Vibrio Viscometer. A sensor of the viscometer was immersed
the oil and the Viscosity of oil was displayed on the Vibrio Viscometer screen at a
temperature of 300C.
3.4.4. pH of oil
2 ml of the pumpkin seed oil was taken and placed in a clean dry 25 ml beaker and 13 ml
of hot distilled water was added to the sample in the beaker and stirred slowly. Then it
was cooled in a cold water bath to 250C. The pH electrode was standardized with a
buffer solution first and then the electrode immersed in to the sample and the pH
was read and recorded, (A.O.A.C Official Method of Analysis 960.19, 2000).
3.4.5. Determination of acid value
Acid value is the mass of potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide in mg that is
required to neutralize one gram of chemical substance. Acid value indicates the amount
of free acid present in the oil. As the acid value increase it indicates that the oil have more
free fatty acids, those have to be removed in the treatment of essential oil.
25ml of Toluene and 25ml of ethanol will be mixed in a 250ml beaker. The resulting
mixture will be added to 2g of oil in a 250ml conical flask and few drops of
phenolphthalein will be added to the mixture. The mixture will be titrated with 0.1M
KOH to the end point with consistent shaking for which a dark pink colour will be
observed and the volume of 0.1M KOH (V0) Will be noted, (A.O.A.C, 2000).
Where V=Volume of potassium hydroxide (ml)

C=Concentration of potassium hydroxide
56.11 =Molecular weight of potassium hydroxide
M= sample weight

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4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

4.1. Sample Analysis
4.1.1. Moisture content
Table 4.1: Moisture content observation
Sample Duration of drying hour @105oc
mass 2 4 6 8 10
(g)
50g 48.5 47.1 46.8 46.6 46.5
Moisture content is important in determining the quality of raw materials.

Moisture content
=6.8%
Then the moisture content of pumpkin seed was 6.8% and the moisture content is very small
it minimize deterioration and have long shelf life. Shelf life is inversely proportional to the
moisture. As less as moisture content is, shelf life will be more. The result obtained was
agreed with those reported in literature.
4.2. Yield in Soxhlet Extraction
Table 4.2: Percentage oil yield of pumpkin seed at different solvent type
Type of solvent Sample(g) Sample Extraction temperature Yield (%)
size(mm) time(hr)
Hexane 10 2 4 80 69
Ethanol 10 2 4 80 63
Effects of solvent type on oil yield Consider table 4.2 the particle size is 2mm, then the
percentage yield of pumpkin seed oil was differ in the two solvents, at this particular case, at
the same operating condition n-hexane resulted a yield of 69% and ethanol is resulted 63% of
yield. This is due to solvent type used i.e. oil extraction by using n-hexane gives higher yield
than ethanol. This is because n-hexane has high capacity to dissolve non-polar compounds in
the oil than ethanol, not only this but also the energy required for separation of ethanol is
higher than hexane. Therefore, based on the findings, hexane is a better solvent for pumpkin
seed oil extraction.
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Table 1.3: Percentage oil yield of pumpkin seed by soxhlet extraction
Experiment Temperature Time(hr.) Particle Yield (%)
o
no ( c) size(mm)
1 60 3 0.25 46.22
2 70 3 0.25 55
3 80 3 0.25 62.5
4 70 2 0.5 47.03
5 70 3 0.5 52.01
6 70 4 0.5 56.45
7 70 4 2 49.05
8 70 4 0.5 58.32
9 70 4 0.25 67.2
From table 4.3 the maximum percentage oil yield obtained from pumpkin seed was 67.2% at
average particle size 0.25 mm, extraction time of 4 hour and a temperature of 70oC. Whereas
the minimum percentage oil yield from pumpkin seed was 46.22% obtained at average
particle size of 2 mm, extraction time 2 hour and a temperature of 60 oc.
4.3. Effect of Process Parameter on Percentage Oil Yield
4.3.1. Effect of Temperature on yield of extracted oil
65
60
Yield
55
50
45
60 65 Temperature
70 75 80
Figure 4.1: Effect of temperature on percentage oil yield

Temperature is the major parameter, which has a potential to increase or decrease the oil yield
in the solvent extraction process. This parameter does not have a direct effect on the oil
property, but it affect the solvent directly. From the figure 4.1 we can conclude that as
temperature increase oil yield also increase.

PUMPKIN SEED
4.3.2. Effect of extraction time on the percentage oil yield
57
55
53
Yield
51
49
47
45
1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Time
Figure 4.2: Effect of extraction time on percentage oil yield
Extraction time was controlled by measuring the time from the observation of first drop of the
solvent from the condenser. An increasing the extraction time 2 to 3 hours increase the oil
yield from 47.03% to 52% for solvent extraction using hexane. Similarly as increasing the
extraction time from 3 to 4 hours increase the oil yield from 52% to 56.45%. The percentage
oil yield was directly related to extraction time. The yield increases as extraction time
increases from the table. This is due to diffusion determines the effect of extraction time. The
speed at which equilibrium is reached and the oil extraction rate are influenced by oil
diffusion into the solvent, particle size and internal structure and longer extraction time
favoured the system to have more mass transfer but more extraction time is note advisable by
Fick‟s second law which is diffusion witch predicts a final equilibrium between the
concentrations of solute in the solid matrix and in the bulk solution after a certain time.
Therefore, a longer time is not required to extract more extract and utilize more energy.

PUMPKIN SEED
4.3.3. Effect of particle size on percentage oil yield
70
65
60
Yield
55
50
45
40
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
Particle size
Figure 4.3: Effect of extraction time on percentage oil yield
An increasing the average particle size of pumpkin seed from 0.25 to 0.5 mm
decreased the oil yield from 67.2 to 58.32%. Similarly as increasing the particle size
range from 0.5 to 2 mm decrease the oil yield from 58.32 to 49.05%. from the above
figure quite clear that there is an increase in the oil yield as the particle size decreased
and an increase in the particle size results in a drop in oil yield. Thus, the percentage
pumpkin seed essential oil yield was inversely related to the particle size i.e. smaller
size gives high yield while larger particle size results a lower yield. The reason is that
larger particles have smaller surface area of contact and larger distance to solvent
entrance and oil diffusion in comparison to smaller particle. On the other hand the
larger particle size has a smaller surface area, and the solvent diffuses through the
sample would experience a higher resistance to extract the oil from the inner part of
the intact cells resulting in lower extraction yield of bottle gourd seeds.
4.4. Characterization of Pumpkin Seed Oil
4.4.1. Moisture and volatile matter of oil
Table 4.4: Moisture and volatile matter of pumpkin seed oil
Time (hr.) 0 1 2 Weight in gram loss by (0-2)hr.
Weight(g) 5 4.93 4.93 0.07
Moisture and volatile matter of oil

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=1.4%
4.4.2. Specific gravity
, Where, W1= weight of bottle= 53.9g
W2= weight of oil and bottle=58.3g

W3= weight of bottle and water=58.9g
Density of pumpkin seed oil =SG*density of water

=0.88*1000kg/m3. Therefore the density of pumpkin seed oil was 880kg/m3
4.4.3. Viscosity
The dynamic viscosity of pumpkin seed oil was 3.3mpa.sec displayed on the viscometer
screen.
4.4.4. pH of oil
Therefore the pH value of pumpkin seed oil was slightly acidic 6.37. In the preparation
of antimicrobial activity, skin and hair care materials, the preferable pH value is in the
range of 3.5-6.5, (Mueller et al., 2000). The obtained pH value of pumpkin seed oil
is in the range to be used in for antimicrobial activity.
4.4.4. Acid value
Acid value (AV) = , V= final reading – initial reading =1.2ml
Acid value indicates the amount of free acid present in the oil. As the acid value increase
it indicates that the oil have more free fatty acids, those have to be removed in the
treatment of essential oil. Its maximum acceptable level is 4 mg KOH/g according to the
literature, for recommended international standards for edible Arachis oil,
Table 4.5: General characterization of pumpkin seed oil
Property Result
Moisture and volatile matter of oil 1.45%
Specific gravity 0.88
Viscosity 3.3mpa.sec
pH 6.37
Acid value 3.36ml/g

PUMPKIN SEED
5. Material and Energy Balance

5.1 Material Balance
5.1.1. Material balance in laboratory work
The procedure is forward calculation.
Total material balance
Accumulation=output +Consumption –Input +Generation
Since, there is no reaction, generation consumption, and accumulation terms are zero.
Input=Output (steady state condition)
Material balance on drying
M1= Mass of cleaned pumpkin seed

M2= Mass of pumpkin seed after drying
M3= Mass of water vapour
In put = out put
M1= M2+M3
M2=M1-M3 =11.2g-10.64g
M2= 0.56g of water remove during drying
Material balance on grinding and sieving
M3=mass of meal pumpkin seed after sieving

M4= waste and over size
In put = out put
M2= M3+M4
M4= M2 - M3

PUMPKIN SEED
M4= 10.64g – 10g
M4 = 0.64g of waste during grinding and sieving
Material balance on soxhlet extractor
Input =out put

M3+ solvent = extract + residue
Residue= 10g + 65.5g -48.35g
=27.17g
Material balance on rotary evaporator
In put = out put

Extract (oil + solvent) = hexane + oil
Hexane = 48.35 – 7g =41.35g
So, 41.35 g of hexane are recovered from the evaporator
So, 55.15g of hexane are recovered from the centrifuge
5.1.2. Material balance at Industrial Level
From the basis of market study our company will have a plan to produce 274800kg of
essential oil per year.
Our calculation is forward calculation that is based on the experimental work in the
laboratory.
274800kg/year*1year/300day*1day/24hour=38.17kg/hr of essential oil
11.2g of pumpkin seed =7g of essential oil
X? =274,800,000g essential oil

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X=439,680,000g of pumpkin seed
Then, to produce 274,800kg of essential oil per year we need 439,680kg of pumpkin seed.
439,680kg/year*1year/300days*1day/24hr =61.07kg/hr
Material balance on drying
Initial mass of pumpkin seed (M1) =61.07kg/hr

Mass of pumpkin seed after drying (M2) =58.62kg/hr
In put =out put
Mass of water vapour (M3) = 61.07kg/hr. -58.62 =2.44kg/hr
So, 2.44kg/hr of water vapour are removed from the seed
Material balance on grinding and sieving
If the roller efficiency is 99%

Feed in milling = 0.99 *58.62kg/hr =58.03kg/hr
Oversized = 0.06*58.03kg/hr =3.48kg/hr
Milling sieving product =0.94*58.03 =54.55kg/hr
Material balance on extractor
Solvent (M2) = 6.55 *54.55kg/hr =357.3kg/hr

Extract (oil + solvent) = 4.84*54.55kg/hr = 264.022kg/hr
Raffinate =54.55kg/hr +357kg/hr -264.022kg/hr= 147.8kg/hr
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So, 264.022kg/hr of extract are produced
Material balance on rotary evaporator
Oil = 264.022kg/hr * 0.144 =38.01kg/hr

Hexane = 264.022kg/hr – 38.01kg/hr =226.012kg/hr
5.2. Energy Balance
Energy balance at drying
Assumption
The temperature in put=25oc
Steady state operation that means Input=Q out put
M1= Initial sample mass of pumpkin seed
M2=mass of seed after drying
M3=mass of water vapour
Qin=M1Cp∆T1
Cp of pumpkin seed seed at 25oc or 298k is 2.45kJ/kg.k
The temperature of drying is kept 105oc
Qin=61.07kg/hr×2.45 (105-25) =11969.72KJ/hr
Qout=M2cp∆T2+M3cp∆T3+M2λ
From the mass balance m2=2.44kg/hr and m3=58.62kg/hr
Cpwater=4.18KJ/kg.k and latent heat of steam at 105oc=2246kJ/kg
Qout=2.44×4.18× (105-25)+58.62×2.45×(105-25)+2.44×2246
=17785KJ/hr
Heat supplied to the dryer to be
Dryer =Qout-Qin =17785-11969.72kJ/hr =5815.9kJ/hr

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Heat removed by condenser =latent heat lost by vapor
=M2λ =2.44kg/hr×2246.5kJ/hr =5481.5kJ/hr
Energy balance on extractor
+
Qin=Qout
Qin=M1cp∆T1+M2cp∆T2
Cp of hexane =2.27kj/kg.k, cp of pumpkin seed =2.53kj/kg.k, cp of oil =2.085kj/kg.k
54.55kg/hr×2.53×(60-250c) + 357.3kg/hr×2.27×(60-25) =33065.11KJ/hr
Cpmix=cp.x oil +cp.x hex+cpx solid residue
From the mass balance
Mass of oil in the raffinate =0.02×54.55=1.091kg/hr
Mass of hexane in the raffinate=0.25×357.3 =89.3kg/hr
Mass of solid in the raffinate =0.63×54.55 =34.4kg/hr
Total mass of M3=123.3kg/hr
Xs=0.27
Xo=0.0086
Xh=0.72
Cpmix =2.805kJ/kg.k×0.0086+2.27kJ/kg.k×0.72+2.53kJ/kg.k×0.27
In the raffinate =2.34kJ/kg.k
Cpmix in miscella = 0.097×3.6+0.903=2.272.408kJ/kg.k
Qout=M3cpmix∆T+M4cpmix∆T+M1λ
=123.3×2.4×(60-25) +1503.6×2.408(60-25) +54.55×333.146
=154832.7KJ/hr
Heat supplied to the extractor =Qout-Qin =154832.7-33065 =121766.85KJ/hr Heat
removed by condenser.

PUMPKIN SEED
Energy balance on evaporator
Qin=Qout
Qin=M1cpmix∆T
=264.022×2.403× (60-25)
=22205.57KJ/hr
Qout=M3cp∆T+M2λ+M2cp∆T
=38.01×2.085× (60-25) +226.012×333.146+226.01×2.27× (60-25)
=98040.74KJ/hr
Heat supplied by evaporator =Qout-Qin
=98040.74-22205 =75835.74KJ/hr
Heat removed or lost by condenser =Mλ (hexane)
λ=333.146KJ/kg
=226.012×333.146
=75296.3KJ/hr
5.3. Equipment Sizing
5.3.1. Sizing of raw material storage
Pumpkin seed seasonal harvested plant it takes five to six months to mature the seed. Because
of this long maturity life the size of the storage tank should be capable of holding at least ten
month Production.
Density of unshelled raw seed = 390kg/m3
Mass of unshelled raw seed = 1465kg/day
Total amount of pumpkin seed required in eight months = 1440kg/day × 5month ×
30days/month = 216,000kg
Density =mass/volume
The Volume pumpkin seed required for ten month = mass/volume

PUMPKIN SEED
Allowance =286.1×0.05 =14.3m3
Total volume of storage tank
= 286.1m3+14.3m3
= 300m3
5.3.2. Sizing of dryer
Mass of raw seed = 61.04kg/hr
= 1465kg/day
Allowance 5%
Density of the seed = 390kg/m3
Then the volume of drying solid = mass of raw seed /density of raw seed +allowance
= 1465kg/day/390kg/m3 + 0.05× (1465kg/day/390kg/m3)
= 3.65m3 + 0.18m3 =4m3
5.3.3. Sizing of cleaner
Mass=200kg/hr×24=4800kg/day
Allowance=5%
Volume=mass/density
=4800kg/day/390kg/m3 + allowance
=12.3+ 0.62
=13m3
5.3.4. Sizing of grinding
Mass of the seed =58.92kg/hr
=1414.08kg/day
Density of the seed =390kg/m3
Working velocity=1.3m/s
Maximum volumetric gas flow rat=1.168m/s
Volume =mass/density +allowance
=1414.08kg/day/390kg/m3 +0.05×3.62
=3.7m3 +0.2m3
=3.9m3
The area of the grinding =the maximum volumetric flow rate of gas/working velocity
=1.168/1.3
=0.9m2

PUMPKIN SEED
5.3.5. Sizing of extractor
Density of mixture =density hexane mass× fraction of hexane + density of shelled seed
×mass
Fraction of seed
= 655kg/m3 ×0.655 + 390kg/m3 ×0.09
= 429kg/m3 + 35.1kg/m3
= 464.1kg/m3
Total mass of the mixture =54.55kg/hr + 357.3kg/hr
= 411.85kg/hr
= 411.85kg/hr×24hr
= 9884.4kg/day
Volume = mass/density
= 9884.4kg/day/643kg/m3 + allowance
= 15.37 + 5%×15.37
= 15.37 + 0.8
= 16.5m3
5.3.6. Sizing of Condenser
The condenser is a horizontal condenser designed to condense 226 Kg/Hr of 100%
vapour of hexane at 1 am and 130oc.the coolant used is water which is supplied in the
tube side at an inlet temperature of 20oc and leaves at an outlet temperature of 35oc.
Amount of heat removed from the vapour
Q = Mλ
Q ×333.14kJ/kg×1000
=21kJ/sec
The amount of water circulated
Mw × cp × ∆t = Q
Mw × 4.187 × (35-20) = 21KJ/sec
Mw =5.02kg/sec
Logarithmic mean temperature difference
=27OC

PUMPKIN SEED
From standard the minimum wall thickness is 5 mm and adding 2 mm as corrosion
allowance. The material construction is stain less steal and its overall heat transfer coefficient
600w/m2 k
Total heat transfer area
5.3.7. Sizing of oil storage tank

Assume the oil will store up-to three months, and then the size of the storage tank will be
calculated as follows;
Mass flow rate of the product = 38kg/hr
Mass of oil = 38kg/hr × 24hr/day × 1month × 30days/month
= 27360kg
Density of pumpkin seed oil = 911kg/m3
Volume of oil =30m3
5.3.8. Sizing of hexane storage tank

The amount of solvent required for one operation is calculated as follows;
Mass flow rate of hexane = 357.3kg/hr
Mass of hexane = 357.3kg/hr × 24hr/day × 1 month × 30day/month
= 257256kg
Density of hexane = 655kg/m3
Volume of hexane
= 390m3

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6. ENGINEERING ECONOMICS
6.1. Market Study and Plant Capacity
6.1.1. Past supply and present demand
The country‟s demand for essential oils is met through import. There is also Essential Oils
Research Centre that has its head office and the main laboratory in Addis Ababa and an
agricultural research station, laboratory and a small-scale production unit at Wondo Genet,
(about 267 km south of Addis Ababa). In addition to this, some firms are engaged in
processing and export of some specific types of essential oil. This includes Ariti Herbal
Private Company, Aromabyssinia Plc and Cheleleka Edible Oil Factory. Nonetheless, the
supply of essential oil is derived from import mainly from India Germany, Ireland, Italy,
South Africa, Great Britain and China (Customs Authority, various years). The table below
shows the total import demand for the oil from 2010-2019. Table 2.3 import of essential oils
(Source: - Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority)
Table 6.1: Import of essential oils
Year Amount (ton) Rate
2010 1530.6
2011 1596 0.043
2012 1725 0.143
2013 1931 0.058
2014 2125 0.1
2015 2390 0.12
2016 2571 0.07
2017 2828 0.09
2018 3111 0.1
2019 3422 0.099
Source: Ethiopian revenue and customer authority
Table 2.3 reveals that the quantity imported in the past 10 years has been consistently rising.
The imported quantity which was 1530.6 tons in the year 2010 has reached to 3422 tons by
the year 2019. The total increment in the past ten years is more than fourfold, which is equal
to an annual average growth rate of 7%. To estimate the present demand the historical growth
rate of 7% has been applied by taking the imported quantity of 2019. Accordingly, present
demand is estimated at 4191.47 tons.

PUMPKIN SEED
6.1.2 Demand projection
The demand for the various types of essential oils will increase mainly with the expansion
and establishment of the food, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics
industry and various chemical industries. Due to the favourable climate created for foreign
and local investors a number of food, beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical and cosmetics
manufacturing projects are on pipe line for establishment. Considering the past demand
growth of the product and the conducive environment created for investment an annual
growth rate of 7% , which is almost equal to the historical trend, is applied to forecast the
future demand (see Table 2.3).
Table 6.2: Forecasted demand for essential oils
Year Amount(ton)
2020 3661
2021 3917.27
2022 4191
2023 4484.8
2024 4798.7
2025 5134.6
2026 5496
2027 5880.64
2028 6291.64
2029 6731
2030 7202
6.1.3. Plant capacity

The plant capacity determined based on the forecasted demand and the availability of raw
material. Assume the plant start production in 2026, in this year the forecasted demand of
essential oil is 5496 tons/year, from this amount of demand we assume to cover 5% of this
need. To cover 5% of demand the plant capacity will be 274.8 tons per year.
6.2. Estimation of Capital Investment
Generally both local and imported machinery is required for the processing of pumpkin seed.
Local machinery reportedly gives good quality output. Following machinery was required for
setting up pumpkin seed production, processing and storage. It is essential that the chemical

PUMPKIN SEED
engineer be aware of the many different types of costs involved in manufacturing processes.
Capital must be allocated for direct plant expenses, such as those for raw materials labour and
equipment. Total capital investment is the sum of working capital investment for the project,
manufacturing fixed capital investment and non-manufacturing fixed capital investment.
Working capital
 The working capital for an industrial plant consists of the total amount of money
invested in Raw materials and supplies carried in stock,
 Finished products in stock and semi-finished products in the process of being
manufactured. 3 Accounts receivable,
 Cash kept on hand for monthly payment of operating expenses, such as salaries,
wages, and raw-material purchases,
Fixed investments investment
The capital needed to supply the necessary manufacturing and plant facilities is called the
fixed- capital investment, while that necessary for the operation of the plant is termed the
working capital. The sum of the fixed-capital investment and the working capital is known as
the total capital investment. Fixed capital investment manufacturing fixed-capital investment
represents the capital necessary for the installed process equipment with all auxiliaries that
are needed for complete process operation. This is also called direct cost. Like
 Purchased equipment
 Purchased equipment installation
 Expenses for piping,
 Instrumentations and controls including insulation
 Service facilities
Site preparations are typical examples of costs included in the manufacturing cost.
The nonmanufacturing fixed-capital investment (indirect cost) includes
 Engineering and Supervision
 Construction expanses
 Contractor‟s Fee
Table 6.3: Purchased equipment cost
Equipment Number of Material of Cost
equipment construction
Dryer 1 Carbon steel 798,100
Evaporator 1 Stainless steel 550,533

PUMPKIN SEED
Condenser 2 Stainless steel 250,777
Oil Storage tank 1 Stainless steel 100,412
Extractor(horizontal) 1 Stainless steel 784,539
Cleaner 1 Carbon steel 141,494.4
Grinder 1 Carbon steel 59,971
Centrifuge 1 Carbon steel 101,424
Solvent tank 1 Carbon steel 501,000
Raw material storage 2 Carbon steel 490,205
Pump 4 Carbon steel 160,800
Total purchased equipment cost 3,500,325
Source: www.alibaba.com
6.2.1. Estimation of fixed capital investment cost
Our plant is a solid – liquid processing plant.
Fixed Capital Investment (FCI) = TDC +TIC
Direct Cost
Capital necessary for the installed process equipment with all components that are needed for
complete process operation and also include site location, piping, instruments, insulation,
foundations, and auxiliary facilities.
Indirect cost estimation
Construction overhead (field office, supervision expenses, contractor‟s fees, etc.) and for all
plant components that are not directly related to the process operation such as process
building, administrative and other offices, warehouses, laboratories, shops, etc.
Table 6.4: Direct and indirect cost estimation
Direct cost Percentage of TPEC Cost(Birr)
Purchased equipment cost 100% 3,500,325
installation 40% 1,400,130
Piping installation 31% 1,085,100.75
Electrical installation 10% 350,032.5
building 29% 1,015,094.25
Yard improvement 10% 350,032.5
Service facilities 55% 1,925,178.75

PUMPKIN SEED
land 6% 210,019.5
Total direct cost=6,335,588.25Birr
Indirect cost Percentage Cost

Engineering and supervision 32 1,120,104
Construction and expense 34 1,190,110.5
Total indirect cost=2,310,214.5Birr
Contractor‟s fee 5 %( TDC+TIC) 432,290.13
contingency 10%(TDC+TIC) 864,580.27
FCI=TDC+TIC+ contractor‟s fee+ contingency=9,942,673.15Birr
WCI=15%TCI
TCI=FCI + 0.15TCI=11,697,262Birr
6.2.2. Total production cost

Table: 6.5 Estimation of total production cost
Item Description cost
1.Manufacturing cost
2. Direct manufacturing cost
Raw material (10-50)% TPC 0.2TPC
Operating labour (10-20)TPC 0.1TPC
Maintenance cost (2-10)%FCI 397,706.9
Operating supplies (10-20)%MC 89,484
Laboratory costs (10-20)%OL 0.01TPC
Utility costs (10-20)%TPC 0.1TPC
patent (0-6)%TPC 0.02TPC
Direct supervision cost (10-25)%OL 0.01TPC
Total=487,191+0.44TPC
B. Fixed charge
Deprecation 10%FCI 994,267.3
Local tax (1-4)%FCI 248,566.83
Insurance (0.4-1)%FCI 69,598.7
Total=1,312,432.8
Plant Overhead cost=(50-70)%OL+ Supervision +maintenance=0.1TPC+357,936.2

PUMPKIN SEED
Total manufacturing =2,157,560+0.54TPC
General expense
Administrative cost (2-6)%TPC 0.04TPC
Distribution and selling (2-20)%TPC 0.11TPC
Research and dev‟t 5%TPC 0.05TPC
Total =0.2TPC
Total production cost=Manufacturing cost + General expense
=1,043,976.6+0.0.59TPC+0.2TPC=8,298,307
6.3. Financial Analysis and Investment Appraisal

6.3.1. Profitability analysis
Total annual sale = selling price * product capacity * working days
Our selling price is 80birr/kg., we have 300 working days per year and our production
capacity is 274800kg/yr.
Total annual sale = selling price * product capacity
= 80birr/kg*274800kg/yr.
= 21984000 birr/yr.
Gross profit (GP) =total annual sale (total income)–total product cost
GP =219,984,000birr/yr. – 8,298,307, birr/yr.
GP=13685693birr/yr.
Fixed capital investment = 994,2673birr
Salvage value = 10% FCI=0.1*9942673.15birr
= 994,267.3 birr
Service life = 10 years
Annual depreciation (DP) = (FCI-Salvage value)/life time
= (9,942673.15-994,267.7)/10 = 894,840.5 birr
GP including (DP) = 13,685,693birr/yr -894,840.6birr/yr
= 12,790,853birr/year
Net profit (NP) =GP (1 –Ф), with DP
Where Ф is income tax rate in Ethiopia context = 35%
NP =15,538,853(1 –0.35) =8,314,054birr
Annual cash flow (ACF) =NP +DP = 8,314,054birr+ 894,840.5 birr
ACF = 9208894birr
PUMPKIN SEED
6.3.2. Return on Investment (ROI)
The return on investment calculation is as follows:
The service life of the plant is 10 years.
Minimum acceptable rate (mar) for new capacity with established corporate with low levels
of risk =12%
×100=71%
6.3.3. Payback
Taking the minimum acceptable rate =15%, and taking the percentage of fixed capital
investment to total capital investment.
First calculate the reference payback period
Where n is life time of project
=1.07year
PBP ref PBP (it shows that the projects feasible)
6.3.4. Break even analysis
Breakeven point is the production volume at which there is no loss or profit.at that point
any revenue obtained will be sufficient t to cover only fixed cost.
Breakeven point
Unit variable cost of product
Total variable cost = raw material + utility

=1,659,661 +829,830
=2,489,492Birr
Unit variable cost =9.05 Birr/kg
Fixed cost =TPC –TVC

PUMPKIN SEED
=8,298,307 -2,489,492=5,808,815Birr
Breakeven point =81,871kg
At the breakeven point, the total product sold is 81,871Kg of oil.
% of breakeven point *100% =
*100
=29%
6.3.5. Present value
Service life=10 year
I=12%
CF = 9,208,894birr
Assume there is no recovery
PV= =52,032,554birr
Net present value

NPV=PV-TCI
62125036-11434074
NPV=40,335,292
Since net present value is positive the project is acceptable and feasible
Internal rate of return
For i=0.12 NPV=40,335,292

For i=? NPV=0
For i=0.97 -2,214,306
IRR= 92%
Profitability index (PI)
Profitability index (PI) =3.4
PI=3.4>1 (PI greater than 1 shows that the project is feasible).

PUMPKIN SEED
7. PLANT LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT

7.1. Choice of Plant Location
The importance of the geographical location of the plant can be over emphasized. The
location considered for the sitting of pumpkin seed oil plant is around around Addis Ababa.
After detailed analysis of the various location factors appropriate for sitting the pumpkin seed
oil plant, we has been decided it to be near to Addis Ababa. Different aspects of site selection
must be given some consideration. There are a number of considerations concerning the
choice of site locations for pumpkin seed oil plant with in the country. Some of these are
general considerations are:
 Raw material availability
 Market competency in terms of distribution
 Transportation accessibility
 Accessibility of utility
 Governmental low
 Customers
 Weather condition suitability for growth of pumpkin.
 The plant erect where Power availability is nice.
7.2. Plant lay out
Figure 7.1: Plant lay out

PUMPKIN SEED
7.3. Environmental Impacts

Hexane is used to extract essential oils from seeds and vegetables, as a special-use
solvent, and as a cleaning agent. Acute (short-term) inhalation exposure of humans to
high levels of hexane causes mild central nervous system (CNS) effects, including
dizziness, giddiness, slight nausea, and headache. Chronic (long-term) exposure to
hexane in air is associated with polyneuropathy in humans, with numbness in the
extremities, muscular weakness, blurred vision, headache, and fatigue observed.
Neurotoxic effects have also been exhibited in rats. No information is available on the
carcinogenic effects of hexane in humans or animals. But the process and recovery of
hexane is a closed or a controlled system, the essential oil factory is environmental
friendly.
7.4. Economic and Social Benefit
The project can create employment for a number of persons when constructed. In addition
to supply of the domestic needs, the project will generate millions of birr in terms of tax
revenue. Social aspect in the social aspect it creates job opportunity for the community,
coordination among workers and it provides training, innovation skills for the people in
the field. The social service provided by this company is distributing packing activated
carbon for the society with in cheap cost for industry in our country and neighbour‟s
country and providing cafeteria service within discount price and removing any unwanted
order.

PUMPKIN SEED
8. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

8.1. Conclusions
This project was intended to study the influence of different factors (Particle sizes, extraction
time and temperature) on the quality and quantity of essential oil extracted from pumpkin
seeds using hexane as solvent and. Variability of these operating conditions is the pre-
dominant factors for the quality and quantity of pumpkin seed essential oil. There are
different methods of essential oil extraction from pumpkin seed. In this project, Soxhlet
extraction was used. From the experimentation it was found that maximum oil yield of 67%
was obtained at average particle size of 0.25 mm, extraction time of 4 hour and temperature
of 70 oc. A minimum oil yield of 46.22 % was obtained at average particle size of 0.25mm,
extraction time of 3 hour and at a temperature of 70 oc the observed quantitative difference in
the quantity of the oil was due to particle size, extraction time and temperature. Thus,
determination of appropriate size of the particle, optimal extraction time and temperature for
the recommended particle size needs to have a consideration to get the maximum amount of
the required product. Physiochemical property of extracted oil were specific gravity, pH,
viscosity, density moisture and volatile contents and acid value were: 0.88, 6.37, 3.3mpa.sec,
880kg/m3, 1.4, 3.36ml/g, oil respectively which are in range of literature. From economic
analysis The rate of return on investment is 71%, the payback period is 1.07 year, the
breakeven point is 29%, the net present value (NPV) is 40,335,292and the net present value
ratio is 3.4 this indicates that the project is feasible.

PUMPKIN SEED
8.2. Recommendations
Ethiopia has a good geographical placement to produce pumpkin, which is used to
produce pumpkin seed oil. Any investors, who have interest to plant an essential oil plant
it is advisable to have a farm land of pumpkin and factory co-relatively. In the laboratory
there was no functional distillation, which used to separate the oil extracted from the
solution of solvent and oil in laboratory and we were separate by modifying condenser set
up by applying heat from water bath, this was not the efficient way of separation. So if
anyone have an access to get a fractional distillation column the separation process will
be effective. Steam distillation is advisable extraction method for essential oil extraction.
Here in the experiment work, the extraction of essential pumpkin seed using steam
distillation has not be studied. This is due to lack of steam distillation set up in the
laboratory. The effect of pumpkin seed mill to solvent ratio was not done, if anyone is
interested to know the effect of this parameter he can do.

PUMPKIN SEED
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PUMPKIN SEED
APPENDIX
A. Laboratory sample photos
Pumpkin half pumpkin Pumpkin seed
Mill pumpkin seed soxhelt extractor solvent and oil
Oil extracted by hexane Oil extracted by ethanol
B. Laboratory equipment’s
Miller Sieve Balance

PUMPKIN SEED
Oven dryer viscometer pH meter

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DEBRE BERHAN UNIVERSITY

A Thesis Submitted To Debre Berhan University College Of Engineering Department

Advisor: Mr. Bisrat Y

Atinaf Tesega ………….. ………….

Moges Belay ……………. ………….

Reakey Brehane ……………. ………....

Yophtahe Adane …………… …………..

Academic Advisor Signature Date

Mr.Bisrat Y. …………… …………….

Approval of examining committee

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1.2. Statement of the Problem

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Figure 2.2: Hulled pumpkin seed

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2.4. Essential Oil from Pumpkin Seed

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3. MATERIALS AND METHODS

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Grinding machine sieve analysis

Pumpkin seed Sieved pumpkin seed meal

Moisture content (%) of the Pumpkinseed =

Where: W1= original weight of the sample before drying

Figure 3.3: Soxhelt extraction set up and oil products

Yield of oil (%)

Where W1= loss in gram of the material on drying

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Where V=Volume of potassium hydroxide (ml)

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4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Moisture content is important in determining the quality of raw materials.

Figure 4.1: Effect of temperature on percentage oil yield

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Weight(g) 5 4.93 4.93 0.07

Moisture and volatile matter of oil

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W2= weight of oil and bottle=58.3g

Density of pumpkin seed oil =SG*density of water

Acid value (AV) = , V= final reading – initial reading =1.2ml

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5. Material and Energy Balance

M1= Mass of cleaned pumpkin seed

M3=mass of meal pumpkin seed after sieving

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Input =out put

In put = out put

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Initial mass of pumpkin seed (M1) =61.07kg/hr