Supplements & functional ingredients
the aromatic compounds found in herbs, spices and fruit. Italy-based supercritical fluid technologist Separeco receives a lot of client requests to use supercritical CO2
extraction to source flavouring
agents and aromas – such as vanillin from the vanilla bean. But the method also works well with texturisers and preservatives, according to the company’s R&D specialist Riccardo Destefano. “Every request is different and requires an adjustment to the process depending on the volatility of the compounds being extracted,” explains Destefano. “It’s so easy to get oil with great value and aroma from vanilla beans, but other compounds are more volatile, so the process needs to be adjusted accordingly. Extracting Rosemary, for example, is a completely different process from vanillin so the behaviour of the CO2 needs to be different, and the nature of the end product will be different.” Working with CO2
also delivers purer, higher
yields than traditional solvents. “The pressure- dependent dissolving power of supercritical fluids can allow the user to selectively remove impurities, purify and concentrate actives, and clean substrates to levels not seen with traditional solvent extraction,” says Schonemann.
Flexibility and productivity CO2
extraction is flexible enough to work with small molecules, volatile molecules, aromatic extracts associated with flavour, fragrance and lipophilic (fat-soluble compounds). The high-diffusivity and non-existent surface tension of supercritical fluids create an extraction process that penetrates microporous structures previously not possible with industrial solvents, explains Schonemann. “You can regulate the pressure according to the required result. For example, it can be more finely tuned when you want to target specific compounds and it can be used fractionate particular actives. But if you’re just looking for one holistic extract it also works for that. Both approaches have their advantages,” he continues. Destefano emphasises the process’s ability to enhance the nutritional value, flavour and potency of a product by fine-tuning the extraction to source a pool of different compounds. “The synergic effect of different compounds can enhance the absorption of certain vitamins.
Traditional extraction with solvents could lead to some chemical modification of the compound, which can impact the absorption level,” he explains. As well as producing a more powerful and pure extract, the nature of the process itself is more environmentally responsible because the CO2
used
for extraction is typically captured as a by-product from the food or beverage sector, rather than the oil industry. Moreover, around 95% of the CO2
can be
captured and reused at the end of the process, and it doesn’t generate hazardous waste.
“I’ve been in a lot of solvent extraction facilities, and I’ve seen the mass produced by extracting with hexane,” says Schonemann. “It’s a flammable solvent so it needs to be treated before going to landfill. When you process with CO2
rather than solvents
Solvent-based extraction methods can alter the aromatic compounds found in herbs, spices and fruits.
it’s non-hazardous and the
economics of this have to be taken into consideration.” Sending waste to landfill is becoming increasingly regulated so working with CO2
can help manufacturers meet industry’s environmental guidelines and targets, as well as saving money on treatment-to-landfill processes.
Ingredients Insight /
www.ingredients-insight.com
25
fotohunter; marilyn barbone/
Shutterstock.com
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