Gray Box Modeling of Supercritical Nimbin Extraction from Neem Seeds Using Methanol as Co-Solvent

In this paper yield of nimbin extraction from neem seeds using supercritical carbon dioxide with methanol as co-solvent has been studied. In this case mass transfer coefficient in terms of Sherwood number has been estimated by a neuro-fuzzy network. Then the estimated mass transfer coefficient has been fed to the system model which is set of partial differential equations. The proposed gray box model was validated with experimental data. easily removed from the neem without the use of expensive and complicated equipment. The neem cake which is left after the oil is extracted from the seed is also useful for con- trolling several pests which live in the soil, particularly nematodes. In addition to antiseptic, some other medical properties such as anti-pyretic, anti-fungal anti-inflammatory and antihistamine are found in neem extract/cake due to the presence of "Nimbin" one of extracted components of neem seeds (1).