Batch distillation of cashew flavor and basil essential oil: an investigation through computer simulation

Author(s)

Helena Finardi Alvares Scanavini

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos
• Defense date: 2006-05-16

Examining board members

Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles; Eduardo Augusto Caldas Batista; Maria Regina Wolf Maciel; Nilson Bolina Maia

• Advisor: Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles; Luiz Fernando de Lima Luz Junior

Abstract

The flavor is a combination of some volatile substances, of different chemical classes. However none of them is individually responsible for a specific flavor, but a combination of them. Nowadays flavor compounds are widely used in the food industry, either to confer one definitive flavor to a product, or to strengthen an existing characteristic flavor, as of a juice, for example. The fruit juice concentration reduces the volume, being important to the storage, packing and transportation. However, during the conventional concentration process, the majority of the flavor components is lost, being necessary to recover the juice flavor fraction lost during the concentration. There are some information of different processes used for the flavor recovery and juice concentration. The concentrated flavor can then be reintroduced in the concentrated juice to get a beverage with the natural and characteristic flavor of the fruit. The international market has demonstrated a great interest in tropical fruit juices. However, a share of the domestic industries still has not developed technologies to compete in a market in which the products must present certain quality characteristics. In the case of the essential oil of basil, it has attracted the attention of researchers for containing a large amount of linalool, a substance with high ability of setting odors, also found in the wood-rose, an Amazonian tree in extinguishing. Therefore, in this work, it had been studied, through computer simulation, operational and design conditions of a batch distillation column of the natural flavor of cashew fruit and essential oil of basil. In the case of the cashew natural flavor, it was investigated the conditions that guarantee a larger recovery of desirable volatile compounds, to be reintroduced to the concentrated juice or used in the formulation of other nourishing products and also the purification of this flavor in relation to the 2-methylbutanoic acid, considered undesirable and of unpleasant odor. For the essential oil of basil, the best conditions for the purification of its components of larger commercial interest had been studied, aiming at obtaining them with the largest degree of possible purity, for the nourishing, cosmetic or pharmaceutical industry uses (AU)