Browsing by Author "Jayasundera, J.M.M.A."

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    A Predictive Model for Determination of the Iodine Value of Coconut Oil by GLC Analysis of the Component Fatty Acids
    (2008) Marikkar, J.M.N.; Jayasundera, J.M.M.A.; Kumari, A.G.O.; Waidyarathana, K.P.
    A study was conducted to develop a predictive model for determination of iodine value (IV) of coconut oil using gas liquid chromatographic (GLC) analysis of the component fatty acids (FA). Altogether twenty-six samples were selected to represent three sub-categories of coconut oil, namely ordinary coconut oil, virgin coconut oil, and coconut paring oil. Out of the twenty-six, fifteen samples were used as a calibration set while the remaining eleven samples were kept for validation purpose. All twenty-six samples were analyzed for iodine value using the AOCS method Cd Id-92 and for FA composition using GLC detection of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). Pearson correlation analysis between IV and individual FA indicated that lauric (Ci2:o), myristic (Ci4;o), palmitic (Ci6:o), oleic (Cis:i) and linoleic (Cm) were the five parameters having strong correlation with the iodine values. When these five parameters were used as independent variables in a step wise regression procedure, a predictive model for iodine value was obtained with Cisioand Cisn as independent variables (coefficient of determination, R1 — 0.9611 and standard error, SE=0.93). When the model was validated with an independent set of eleven samples, the coefficient of determination was 0.946 with an overall SE of 0.95. The study concludes that the iodine value measured by the GLC method was comparable to that obtained by AOCS method Cd Id- 92.
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    Processing of Virgin Coconut Oil in Sri Lanka Using Cold Extraction Method: An Economic Analysis
    (2008) Pathiraja, P.M.E.K.; Fernando, M.T.N.; Jayasundera, J.M.M.A.
    Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) is a newly introduced product in Sri Lanka with a high export market potential. Only a few entrepreneurs however, are capitalizing on this opportunity due to several factors such as lack of rigorous economic analyses and unavailability of information on export market opportunities. Against this background, this study attempts to analyse the economic viability of this enterprise in Sri Lanka. Interestingly, it was found that the VCO provides the highest net return per 1000 coconuts utilized compared to the other traditional coconut kernel products. The pay-back period for the initial investment on machineries was little over a month under current prices of inputs and outputs. Sensitivity analysis suggests that the crucial factor that determines the economic viability of this enterprise is world market VCO price and the sensitivity of the net return of VCO production for the nut price is very low. The break-even price of one liter of VCO was found to be US $ 4.8 whereas it receives US $ 8 in the export market. This study concluded the need of encouraging VCO production in Sri Lanka, given the long-term brighter outlook of the global VCO industry.