Abstract
Recent studies have shown that fruit by-products from agro-industry are important sources of bioactive compounds and polysaccharides, such as pectin, widely used in the food industry. Using emerging technologies of extraction and separation of these compounds is an attractive alternative, as they are clean methods that use non-toxic solvents and high quality products. In this context, the concept of biorefinery will be applied to recover the by-product of the processing of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis), specifically the peel, which is a rich source of pectin and phenolic compounds. The biorefinery proposal includes obtaining these compounds through emerging extraction techniques, such as extraction with pressurized liquids, CO2-expanded liquids, ultrasound assisted extraction and concentration of the compounds of interest by membrane separation processes, mainly nanofiltration. The extractions will be performed asn kinetics and evaluated phenomenologically by mathematical modeling, using the Spline and Two-Site models. The passion fruit peel and the residual biomass of the extractions will be analyzed regarding chemical composition and physical properties, aiming their possible commercial applications. The extracts will be evaluated for yield, total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity (ORAC, FRAP, and DPPH), and identification and quantification of phenolic compounds. The pectin extracted from the residual biomass of the extractions will be characterized in terms of yield, galacturonic acid content and degree of esterification. The following parameters will be considered for the evaluation of the nanofiltration process related to the permeate, concentrate and feed characterization: permeation mass flow, retention index of the compound of interest, total phenolics, total solids, ORAC, FRAP and DPPH, mass concentration, flow reduction, volume reduction and volumetric reduction factor. (AU)
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