Essential oil fractionation by liquid-liquid extraction: experimental study and process simulation

Author(s)

Cristina Chiyoda Koshima

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Pirassununga.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Zootecnica e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZE/BT)
• Defense date: 2015-12-11

Examining board members

Christianne Elisabete da Costa Rodrigues; Fabio Rodolfo Miguel Batista; Roberta Ceriani; Gelson José Andrade da Conceiçao; Cintia Bernardo Gonçalves

• Advisor: Christianne Elisabete da Costa Rodrigues

Abstract

In order to enable the industrial use of essential oils as flavoring agents, they should be fractionated by means of deterpenation, yielding a fraction enriched in oxiterpenes, which is more soluble in water and more stable, besides keeping the characteristic aroma of the crude oil. This fractionation can be performed by liquid extraction using ethanol as solvent. In this context, the deterpenation process of bergamot essential oil was investigated in a perforated rotating disc column (PRDC) using ethanol solutions with different percentages of water as the solvent. The separation process was studied here by experimental data and computer simulations. Additionally, the phase equilibrium at 25 oC of systems containing eucalyptus, clove, and allspice, and systems containing crude essential oils of bergamot and lavandin were also analyzed. In the phase equilibrium analysis, it was observed that, among the evaluated components, the oxygenated compound eugenol and the terpenic hydrocarbon caryophyllene, found in the clove and allspice oil, showed, respectively, the highest and lowest values of distribution coefficient. For systems containing bergamot and lavandin crude essential oils, it was observed that the NRTL and UNIQUAC binary parameters, previously adjusted to the bergamot essential oil model system, were able to describe the phase equilibrium of more complex systems. Besides, in relation to the study of the deterpenation process of crude essential oils in PRDC, it could be inferred that enriched fractions in oxygenated compounds are viable and feasible to be obtained in oils that show low levels of linalol in their composition. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 10/20789-0 - Deterpenation of essential oils by liquid-liquid extraction using a perforated rotating disc column: experimental study and process simulation
• Grantee: Cristina Chiyoda Koshima
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate