abstract
Gac (Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng) is a traditional fruit from Southeast Asia whose aril oil has been investigated owing to the remarkable abundance of oil and carotenes (e.g. beta-carotene and lycopene). In this context, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) using CO2 is an option for the exploitation of this raw material. In this work a hybrid approach combining cost of manufacturing (COM) and response surface methodology (RSM) concepts was applied to lab results of SFE of gac oil with the objective of finding the operating conditions that ensure the best technical and economic performance of the process. Upon specifying a SFE commercial process comprising a fruit drying line followed by two extractors of 0.4 m(3) in parallel, the impact of extraction pressure (200-400 bar), temperature (40-60 degrees C) and time (0.5-2.0 h) on manufacturing costs and productivity was assessed. The best COM for oil extraction was found for 400 bar, 60 degrees C, and 1.0 h, amounting 8(sic) kg(oil)(-1). Regarding specifically extraction of carotenes, the best COM was attained for 400 bar, 50 degrees C, and 1.0 h, amounting 755(sic)) k(cairotenes)(-1). Both production costs are encouraging in relation to current market quotations of gac oil and purified (>90%) carotenes. Finally, a sensitivity analysis to flow rate was accomplished. In the whole, the outcomes of this study support the exploitation of gac oil and naturally occurring carotenes from gac aril through supercritical CO2 extraction. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
keywords
RESPONSE-SURFACE METHODOLOGY; EUCALYPTUS-GLOBULUS BARK; CARBON-DIOXIDE EXTRACTION; FLUID EXTRACTION; OPERATING-CONDITIONS; SEED OIL; ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY; EXPERIMENTAL-DESIGN; TRITERPENIC ACIDS; ECONOMIC-ANALYSIS
subject category
Chemistry; Engineering
authors
Martins, PF; de Melo, MMR; Silva, CM
our authors
Carlos Manuel Silva
Associate Professor
Marcelo Morais Rodrigues de Melo
Post-Doc Fellowship
Pedro Flores Martins
MSc Studentacknowledgements
This work was developed in the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (Ref. FCT UID /CTM /50011/2013), financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC and when applicable co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement.