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iCocos nucifera/i oil is one of the most valuable, expensive and globally consumed vegetable oils. In many nations including Nigeria, the demand for iCocos nucifera/i and its oils has outweighed the supply. Moreover, iCocos nucifera/i cultivation has been reported to cause negative environmental, climatic and social impacts. Hence the search for a suitable feedstock that can either be used in conjunction with or as a substitute to iCocos nucifera/i oils. In this study, oils were extracted from the mesocarp of common species of the Niger Delta iRaphia /ipalm fruits (iRaphia farinifera/i, iRaphia hookeri/i and iRaphia vinifera/i) as wells as iCocos nucifera/i kernel. The prospects of using each of the iRaphia /ipalm oil as an alternative to iCocos nucifera/i oil in food, feeds, biofuels and oleochemicals industries were analysed based on the results of standard physiochemical properties analysis. The results of this study showed that most of the physiochemical properties of the oils extracted from common species of the Niger Delta iRaphia /ipalm fruits are comparable to those of iCocos nucifera/i oil and the standards set for food, feeds, biofuels and oleochemicals. However, the iRaphia/i palm fruits oils are more suitable as alternatives to iCocos nucifera/i oil in the biofuels and oleochemicals sectors than in the food and feed sectors.
Azubike et al. (Sat,) studied this question.