CHAPTER ONE
1.0. INTRODUCTION
1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
There has been an increase in the world production of oilseeds over the last thirty years (Murphy, 1994); this would appear to be related to the increasing demand for oilseed products and by-products as oilseeds are primarily grown for their oil and meal.
Oils from most edible oilseeds are used in the food industry, though there is growing emphasis on industrial utilization as feedstock for several industries with about 80% of the world production of vegetable oils for human consumption. The remaining 20% utilization is between animal and chemical industries (Murphy, 1994).
According to Rajagopal et al. (2005), bio-oils from oilseeds are used as Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) or as biodiesel (trans esterified oil) depending on type of engine and level of blend of the oil; scent bean oil i.e. Ozaki, Ijiliji, or Azamu is found mainly in the South-East of Nigeria and is not an exception. This phenomenon has created a school of thought that it is better to use oilseeds as bio-fuel, which will lessen the competition for fossil fuels, which are not renewable. Fossil fuels are not only costly in terms of price but are also costly to the
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environment as they degrade land, pollute water and cause a general destabilization of the ecosystem with global warming as an end result. Furthermore, crude oil wields socio-political power that often dictates the pace of economic growth in specific locations, especially non-oil producing nations.
Nevertheless, the petroleum industry requires a greater quantity of oil to meet its demand.
Demand, however, by the food industry alone is not secure for many developing countries like Ghana that depend on imports of vegetable oil and fossil fuels. In order to meet the required amounts needed by all industries, these fats and oils must be available in large quantities locally with an effective extraction process at an affordable cost. The ability of a particular oilseed to fit into the growing industries depends on its utilization potential, rate of production, availability and ease of the processing technology. Thus while some oilseeds are being largely utilized in the oil processing industries, quite a number of oilseeds are under-exploited.
Generally, oils and fats from seeds and nuts constitute an essential part of man’s diet. Fats and oils, together with proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, are the main nutrients required by the human body. Fats and oils are rich sources of energy, containing two and a half times the calories of carbohydrates (per unit
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weight). In addition to being a source of vitamins A, D, E and K, fats and oils also contain essential fatty acids. These essential fatty acids are not manufactured by the body and must be obtained from diets, with linoleic, oleic and linoleic acids as examples of unsaturated fatty acids (NRI, 1995).