Solvent Free Cold Press Extraction pf Wheat Germ Oil: A Study on Yield, GC-MS Analysis, and Sustainability

Commercially, wheatgerm oil (WGO) is extracted using cold-press, Soxhlet extraction and super critical CO2. This paper helps to analyze the standard of wheat germ oil (WGO) extracted using cold press method. Typically, WGO is extracted below 50℃ via cold press and kept in a cool and dry place away from direct sunlight at humidity of <60%. The quality of WGO is carried out using GC-MS, where, extent of purity is measured by quantification of the area at full width at half height in gas chromatography (GC), and the mass spectrometry (MS) confirms the peaks as a function of the molecular weight by the charge, thus signature peaks of that particular molecule is identified and assigned, for example, amount of alcohols like, -tocopherol, -sitosterol, and octacosanol; fatty acids like, linoleic acid, palmitic acid and oleic acid are quantified by GC and confirmed using MS. A domestic cold press unit yield of 8%w/w was achieved in 5 h at 47 ± 2℃, i.e. rate of extraction of 96 g/h or 103.8 mL/h at an operating cost of 210.8 INR/batch of 6 kg. The cold press route is sustainable as it avoids the use of solvents, reducing processing steps and ensuring a pure contamination free oil; contamination-free oil and safe utilization of the waste generated into value added products.