1. EXTRACTION CRUDE OIL FROM AKASHMONI SEEDS (Acacia auriculiformis)
Arpita Saha*, Atanu Roy*, Bulti Nayak*, Prosenjit Pramanick**, Debabrata Bera ***, Madhumita Roy* and
Atanu Kumar Raha****
*Department of Biotechnology, Techno India University, Salt Lake Campus, Kolkata , India  **Department of Oceanography, Techno India University, Salt Lake Campus, Kolkata , India 
***Department of Food Technology, Techno India College, Salt Lake Campus, kolkata , India ****Department of Forest and Environmental Science, Techno India University, Salt Lake Campus, Kolkata , India
Correspondence:
*Department of Biotechnology, Techno India University, Salt Lake Campus,Kolkata , India  **Department of Oceanography, Techno India University, Salt Lake Campus, Kolkata , India  ***Department of Marine Science, University of Calcutta, 35 B.C. Road,Kolkata , West Bengal, India; Also attached to Techno India University, Salt Lake Campus, Kolkata , India
****Department of Forest and Environmental Science, Techno India University, Salt Lake Campus, Kolkata , India
Introduction
Acacia auriculiformis is an evergreen tree that grows between to m tall, with a trunk up to 12 m long and 50 cm in diameter. It has dense foliage with an open, spreading crown. The trunk is crooked and the bark vertically fissured. Roots are shallow and spreading. Leaves cm long and cm wide with 3-8 parallel nerves, thick, leathery and curved. Flowers are 8 cm long and in pairs, creamy yellow and sweet scented. Pods are about 6.5 x 1.5 cm, flat, cartilaginous, glaucous, transversely veined with undulate margins. They are initially straight but on maturity become twisted with irregular spirals. Seeds are transversely held in the pod, broadly ovate to elliptical, about 4-6 x 3-4 mm. The generic name acacia comes from the Greek word ‘akis’ meaning a point or a barb and the specific epithet comes from the Latin ‘auricula’- external ear of animals and ‘forma- form, figure or shape, in allusion to the shape of the pod.
Procedure
The Sample was grinded and weight was taken.
Soxhlet apparatus was set and the sample along with n-Hexane was added to the apparatus.
3 – 4 cycles of the extraction processs was done and the round bottom flask was kept on an evaporator to let the solvent evaporate and then was dried.
The extracted fat was weighted and the fat content was estimated.
Washed and Clean Seeds
Flow Diagram for Oil Extraction
Materials Required
Clean seeds
Soxhlet apparatus
n-Hexane
Water Bath
Glass beads
Evaporater
Formula for Total Fat Content
Conclusion
The objective of our experiment was to determine the fat content and extract crude oil from the akashmoni seeds by using soxhlet apparatus. We were able to extract fair amount of oil from the seeds and furthermore the experiment will be extended to test the fat quality and to test for its edibility.
Overall Experimental Process Diagram