master manuel

Extraction of oil from passion fruit seeds using supercritical CO2 assisted by ultrasound

Author: Francisco Manuel Barrales (2015)

Abstract: The present work had as main objective the evaluation of the effect of the application of ultrasound in the extraction of passion fruit seed oil using supercritical CO2, on the global extraction yield, the process kinetics, the tocopherol and tocotrienol content and DPPH radical scavenging activity, using as raw material passion fruit seeds mixed with pulp, a byproduct of the pulp processing industry. To accomplish that, the response surface methodology was used. The evaluated factors were: temperature (38; 40; 45; 50 and 52 °C), pressure (13; 16; 21; 26 and 29 MPa) and ultrasound power (0; 160; 640 and 800 W). Fatty acids composition, total polyphenolic content, identification and quantification of tocopherols and tocotrienols and the antioxidant activity were evaluated on the extracts, which resulted rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (about 67%) and tocopherols and tocotrienols (between 60 and 90 mg/100g oil), of high antioxidant activity (between 1,8 to 2,6 mgTE/g oil) that shown correlation with the tocopherol and tocotrienol total content (r = +0,872). The total polyphenol analysis was not able to detect the presence of polyphenols in the extracts. The application of low power ultrasound (160 W) resulted advantageous; the SFE global yield improvement achieved 29%. This effect was registered at a temperature of 40 °C and pressure of 16 MPa. The model of Sovová (1994) was adequate to describe the extraction kinetics behavior, and it was possible to evaluate the adjusted parameters. When a great increase of SFE yield was achieved due to the ultrasound application, the kinetic parameters were modified, being the CER time and the fluid phase mass transfer coefficient increased, also showing reduction of solute ratio inside the cells. . The images obtained by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) demonstrated mechanical damage effects and smaller particle size when ultrasound was applied.