Physico-Chemical Characterizations and Fuel Potential Assessment of Chrysophyllum albidum Fruits from Benin

This study aims to enhance agricultural resources and reduce post-harvest losses by assessing the physical and chemical characteristics of fruits and non-conventional vegetable oil extracted from Chrysophyllum albidum seeds in Benin. In this context, the fruits of Chrysophyllum albidum were collected in Tori (South Benin) and the morphological characteristics (mass, height and diameter at the equator) of the fruits, as well as the physico-chemical parameters (dry matter content, moisture content, ash content) were evaluated. The pH, soluble dry matter (Brix) and glucose levels of the juice were also evaluated. The extraction of vegetable oil from the seeds was carried out in Soxhlet followed by the determination of biochemical parameters such as quality indices such as acid, peroxide, saponification and iodine indices. The physicochemical characterisation of this oil was also carried out through the determination of density, refractive index and net calorific value (PCI). Analysis of these results reveals that the fruits of Chrysophyllumalbidum have a mean equator mass, size and diameter of 43.79±3.15g, 48.73±2.97mm and 41.11±1.13mm respectively. The levels of dry matter, moisture, and ash are respectively 51.60±0.47%, 48.40±0.47%, and 24.7±0.96% with a pH of 3.67±0.12 a Brix of 27.47±0.99 and a glucose level of 27.57mg/mL. The oil extraction efficiency is 21.52 ± 0.86% with a water and volatile matter content of 2.21 ± 0.64%. This vegetable oil has a dark red colour with an iodine value of 33.21 ± 0.08 g I2 /100 g-Oil, a saponification value of 188.40 ± 4.18 mg KOH / g-Oil, an acid value of 3.60 ± 0.23 mg KOH / g-Oil, a peroxide value of 10.46 ± 0.12 meq O2/g-Oil and an ester value of 155.19 ± 0.17 mg KOH / g-Oil. The density of vegetable oil at 30°C is 0.89. The refractive index of vegetable oil at 30°C is 1.48 with a lower calorific value of 40287.92 kJ/kg. The results thus obtained indicate possible ways of using Chrysophyllum albidum fruits as biofuel