Moringa stenopetala, locally known as Shiferraw, is an indigenous vegetable tree native to southern Ethiopia and grown mainly for its food value. This study deals with the investigations of physicochemical characteristics of Moringa stenopetala seeds’ oil extracted using solvent extraction with food-grade hexane as a solvent and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the extraction parameters. The seeds were collected from Adama located in Oromia, East Shewa Zone of Ethiopia, and they exhibit the average moisture, ash, fiber, protein, and oil contents of 6.3, 4.2, 2.3, 27.5, and 40.2%, respectively. Temperature, extraction time, and particle size had a significant effect on the oil yield. According to the Experimental Design Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and ANOVA analysis, the optimum process parameters’ combination to find the highest oil yield was particle size of 0.83 mm, the temperature at 78.82°C, and extraction time of 5.13 hours. The model predicted oil yield was 39.7 ± 0.32%. The oil from Moringa stenopetala seed exhibits physiochemical characteristics of refractive index (40°C), 1.4625; viscosity 49.4 Cp; density at 25 °C, 0.9317 g/cm⁻³; saponification value, 191.4; peroxide value, 11.52 millieq O₂/kg; iodine value of 89.21; and Acid Value (AV) 2.21 mg KOH/g. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis shows that the oil contains both ester carbonyl (C=O) functional groups saturated and unsaturated fatty acid. The physicochemical properties of Moringa stenopetala seeds were compared with other edible oil properties such as sesame, groundnut, olive, and sunflower seeds. The result shows that in the future Moringa stenopetala could be used as a substitute for other oil-bearing seeds sources, such as soybean, sunflower, and groundnut.

This work presents the extraction and characterization of nanocellulose from agricultural waste (Eragrostis Teff) straw. The proximate analysis of the straw was done with three triplicates and the average value was recorded. The moisture, ash, volatile matter, and fixed carbon content were 6.4%, 5.1%, 74.2%, and 15.6%, respectively. The extractives, lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose content were found to be 8.5%, 17.5%, 29.5%, 36.5%, respectively. The cellulose was extracted from teff straw by hot water treatment, acid-chlorite delignification, and alkaline hydrolysis process respectively. The values of process parameters such as temperature, time, and sodium hydroxide concentration for alkaline hydrolysis were 57.6 \(℃\) , 1hour, and 4(w/v) % respectively to obtain a cellulose yield of 78.7%. The nano cellulose particles were extracted from the cellulose by acid hydrolysis process (48%v/v sulfuric acid) at 35\(℃\) for 30 min and the yield was 42.8%. The characterization of nano cellulose was done by using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, x-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetry analysis/ derivative thermogravimetry analysis to determine the functional group, particle size distribution, crystallinity, and thermal stability respectively. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy result shows that the reduction and total removal of lignin, hemicellulose, and other amorphous parts found in teff straw. The average particle size was found to be 101.6 nm with a polydispersity index of 0.047. The crystallinity index of teff straw and nano cellulose was 47.7 and 77.1% respectively. The thermogravimetry analysis shows the thermal stability of the nanocellulose sample was lower than that of cellulose and teff straw samples.

Nanocellulose (NC) extraction from agricultural waste and lignocellulosic biomass residues has drawn considerable interest due to its low cost and wide availability. The environmental issues linked to nonrenewable materials have underscored the need for renewable alternatives that are biocompatible, biodegradable, and eco‐friendly. This study aimed to investigate the potential of Ethiopian highland bamboo Arundinaria alpina for NC extraction by using acid hydrolysis. An experimental design incorporating response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to identify the optimal hydrolysis process parameters for NC extraction. The optimum conditions for NC extraction were a reaction time of 60 min, temperature of 40°C, and acid concentration of 61.40 wt%, with a yield of 43.15%. Bamboo and extracted NC were characterized for their chemical composition, particle size distribution, and crystallinity, using Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and X‐ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The resulting NC had a particle size of 79.64 nm. XRD analysis revealed the crystallinity indices of the bamboo and its corresponding NC was 44.60% and 74.07%, respectively. These results indicate that highland bamboo A. alpina is a promising lignocellulosic source for sustainable NC extraction, optimization, and industrial applications.