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CO2 Extraction Method of β-Carotene in Four Plants

co2-extraction-method-of-β-carotene-in-four-plants

CO2 Extraction of β-Carotene from Spirulina

Using spirulina as raw material, supercritical CO2 fluid is used to extract β-carotene. The optimal process conditions are: extraction pressure 30MPa, extraction temperature 40°C, CO 2 flow rate 20kg/h, extraction time 4h, and the extraction of the obtained β-carotene is obtained The rate is above 0.94%.

Using supercritical CO₂ fluid to extract β-carotene in spirulina has the advantages of high extraction efficiency, fast speed, no pollution, simple process, pure color and taste of the extract, and the algae powder can be further used and sold again.

Read More: Supercritical CO2 Extraction Process: Basics, 7 Advantages, 7 Features, 4 Applications

CO2 Extraction of β-Carotene from Sweet Potato

When sweet potatoes are used as raw materials, the drying pretreatment of raw materials has a significant impact on the extraction effect. Because the high water content of the fresh sample greatly reduces the extraction efficiency of β-carotene, and also wastes the effective volume of the high-pressure vessel.
Hot air drying improves the extraction efficiency of β-carotene, but hot air drying also has adverse effects on the extraction: on the one hand, about 50% of β-carotene is lost due to oxidation during the drying process; on the other hand, hot air drying This results in hardening of the shell of the raw material, thereby forming a hard surface layer which seriously affects the extraction of beta-carotene.
The effect of freeze-drying is better, so that the solubility of β-carotene in supercritical CO2 fluid is greatly increased, which is about 5 times and 3 times that of fresh raw materials and hot air-dried raw materials.

The feasible operating conditions are: the extraction pressure is 24~41.4MPa, the extraction temperature is 38~48℃, and the extraction rate of β-carotene reaches over 42%.

CO2 Extraction of β-Carotene from Seabuckthorn Pomace

During the process of processing seabuckthorn fruit juice and extracting seabuckthorn oil, a large amount of pomace will be produced. These pomace are rich in β-carotene, but they have not been rationally utilized so far.

The traditional method of extracting pigments with organic reagents has disadvantages such as high solvent residues, bad odor residues, and low product quality. Therefore, new alternative processes need to be developed.
The supercritical CO2 fluid extraction technology can just overcome the above shortcomings. The sea buckthorn pomace is extracted with supercritical CO2 fluid to obtain an orange-red extract, which is a fat-soluble substance containing β-carotene and can be used in food, cosmetics, Tobacco and other industries.

CO2 extraction pressure is the most important operating parameter for supercritical CO2 fluid extraction of β-carotene from seabuckthorn pomace. The experimental results show that when the extraction pressure is lower than 20MPa, as the pressure increases, the density of CO2 increases and the extraction rate also increases, but when the pressure is greater than 30MPa, the increase in the extraction rate is not significant. On the contrary, supercritical The purity of CO2 fluid processing technology is reduced, which is due to the extraction of other difficult-to-extract components at higher pressures.

The optimal CO2 extraction conditions are: extraction pressure 25~30MPa, extraction temperature 35~40°C, separation pressure 12MPa, separation temperature 60°C, CO₂ flow rate 10L/h, extraction time 4h. Under these operating conditions, the extraction rate of β-carotene is close to 90%, and the product purity reaches more than 80%. Therefore, the loss of the obtained pigment is less, the quality is higher, and it has the advantages of safety, non-toxicity and high efficiency compared with the traditional process.

Read More: CO2 Essential Oil Extraction Equipment

CO2 Extraction of β-Carotene from Carrot

Read More: Supercritical CO2 Extraction Machine: Types, Extraction Tips

Vegetables are one of the sources of natural β-carotene, and carrots have the highest content in vegetables, so carrots can be used as raw materials for supercritical CO2 extraction of β-carotene.

The raw materials are freeze-dried first, and then pulverized for later use. β-carotene is more sensitive to temperature, so the parameters of the extraction temperature can only be increased to 60°C, and further heating will cause the decomposition of carotene. Although the entrainer can improve the extraction rate of β-carotene (up to 40.2%), because the introduction of the entrainer also brings about the problem of rice organic solvent residue, it is not recommended to use it if the addition of the entrainer does not significantly increase the extraction rate. Entrainer. In addition, the flow rate of CO2 has little effect on the extraction rate. Regarding the extraction time, within a certain range, the longer the extraction time, the better the extraction rate will be. After reaching a certain time, the extraction rate will no longer increase.

Therefore, the optimal conditions for extracting carotene from carrot powder are: extraction pressure 35MPa, extraction temperature 60°C, CO₂ flow rate 1.5L/min, extraction time 4h, and the extraction rate of β-carotene at this time is 28.8%.

Read More: supercritical CO2 Wikipedia