Author : Oñate, Nila B.

Summary : Two type of fuel (raw coconut shell and coconut charcoal) were used to dry coconut meat. Oil quality produced from stored and unstored copra prepared using the two types of fuel was evaluated. Copra processing costs were compared. Drying coconut meat using the Los Ba¤os Multicrop Dryer fueled with charcoal or shell resulted in clean copra, which was light brown in color. Copra with moisture content (MC) ranging from 7.2-7.9 percent was produced after 30 hours of drying. The resulting crude oil was of high quality, containing low free fatty acid (FFA) and having a light color and a pleasant smell. The FFA content of oil extracted 2-3 days after making copra was 0.20-0.22 percent while that from copra stored for two weeks ranged from 0.79 to 1.08 percent. These results were better than the maximum FFA content limit set by Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), which is 6 percent. The crude oil produced however, was slightly inferior than the refined, bleached, and deodorized (RBD) oil, which has 0.1 percent FFA requirement. Two weeks of copra storage had increased the FFA content by 0.57 percent for shell and 0.88 percent for charcoal fueled. However, the increase in FFA during storage can be avoided by milling the copra immediately after drying. Copra dried using charcoal fuel and milled immediately after drying resulted in oil with the lightest color (1.7 red/6.3 yellow), as indicated by the lovibond colorimeter. Stored copra dried using shell fuel produced oil with the darkest color (2.4 red/10.3 yellow). The color of crude oil ranged from a scale of 1.7 - 2.5 red to 5.0-10.3 yellow, which was superior than the maximum color PCA has set for crude oil and similar to refined cooking oil (1.0 red/4.0 yellow). PCA's standards for crude oil and refined, bleached oil (cochin) are set at a maximum level of 1.0 red/10.0 yellow. Color of crude oil from stored and unstored copra using charcoal fuel was comparable to the leading brand of cooking oil in the market. Odor of crude oil from stored and unstored.