2nd Conference on Green Engineering, Sustainable Materials, and Technologies for Circular Economy (GREEN CIRC '25)

Plum seed as a source of oil and mineral materials

Not scheduled

20m

Amphitheatre (Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, Ss Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje)

Poster presentation

Speakers

Prof. Jana Klopcevska (Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje) Prof. Vesna Rafajlovska

Description

Plum fruit (Prunus domestica L.) consists of a mesocarp surrounding a shell of hardened endocarp called pit with a seed kernel inside. The mesocarp as an edible part is used fresh or processed in various plum products, while the separated seeds from plum fruit are discarded without further utilization.
In this study, the pit and seed kernel separated from plums sourced from Berovo (Republic of North Macedonia) were examined for the content of oil and mineral materials. The oil yield estimated based on dry matter weight was determined by extraction of the seed kernel (particle size 0.3 mm) applying Soxhlet method using ethanol (96% v/v) and n-hexane as solvents, during 6 hours and 50 mL/g liquid-to-solid phase ratio. The total quantity of minerals expressed as ash content was determined by dry mineralization through combustion and evaporation of organic matter at 800C for 20 hours.
The quantity of pit and kernel in the plum seeds was 37.13 % and 62.87%, respectively, while the determined ash content was 0.28% in pit and 3.03% in seed kernel. The oil yield from seed kernel obtained with n-hexane (44.73%) was higher than at extraction with ethanol (36.28%).
The significant high amount of oil and mineral materials contributes to the possible valorization of plum seeds into cosmetic products.
Keywords: plum seed, oil, ash content, valorization, value added products.