3.1.2. Effect of particle size
The effect of particle size on oil yield using hexane solvent was investigated at two ratios (0.064 and 0.08) for two different extraction time i.e. 4 and 8 h. The obtained oil yields are summarized in Fig. 1b. During long time extraction, the average particle (kernel) size larger than 2 mm resulted lower oil yield (31.6%), while particle size lower than 1.22 mm provided higher yield (49%). The experiments under similar conditions for different time durations showed that the particle size influences the oil yield for short extraction time (4h) and observed to be decreasing with increased particle size. However, in case of long extraction duration (P8 h) no significant changes on oil yield were observed with particle size lower than 1.22 mm. The maximum oil yield (49.36%) was obtained with average particle size of 1 mm, extraction time 8 h and 0.08 solute to solvent ratio.