2. Seed Preparation
Preparation of seeds for oil extraction involves removal of outer layers fruits to expose kernels, and
then drying the kernel to a desired moisture content [18]. About 25.5 kg of seeds were procured from
Australian native plant suppliers. The seeds were separated from fruits and the fruits were cracked open
manually. The separated seed kernels were sieved, cleaned and stored at room temperature. The seed
kernels procured from various sources were dried at 65 to 700C for 3-4 days in the oven.
2.1. Kernel extraction
The first stage of preparation of seeds for oil extraction was removing the outer layers to expose the
kernel. The seeds were cracked open in order to obtain kernels for further processing. The seed cracking
process used two methods: stompers and mallets. For the stomper, a large number of seeds were placed
on the ground and worked until a number had been cracked and then the kernels and the waste husk were