Microwave steam diffusion for extraction of essential oil from orange peel: Kinetic data,extract’s global yield and mechanism

The microwave steam diffusion (MSDf) apparatus for extraction of essential oils from orange peel (by-products) was studied. MSDf has been compared with conventional steam diffusion (SDf). A response surface methodology (RSM) was realised to investigate the influence of process variables by a central composite design (CCD) approach. The statistical analysis revealed that the optimal conditions for the extraction of orange essential oil were a steam mass flow rate of 25 g min⁻¹ and a microwave power of 200 W. Cytohistological investigations using light microscopy provided evidences for rapid and pronounced cell and tissue alterations of oil glands with MSDf in comparison with SDf. The essential oils extracted by MSDf for 12 min were quantitatively (yield) and qualitatively (aromatic profile) similar to those obtained by SDf for 40 min. Extraction of essential oils from orange peel with MSDf was better than SDf in terms of energy saving, cleanliness and reduced waste water.     

Microwave Super‐Heated Boiling of Organic Liquids: Origin,Effect and Application

This paper reports the state of the art of the microwave super‐heated boiling phenomenon. When a liquid is heated by microwaves, the temperature increases rapidly to reach a steady temperature while refluxing. It happens that this steady state temperature can be up to 40 K higher than the boiling point of the liquid. With the same reactor, overheating is not observed under conventional heating. The bulk temperature of a microwaved solvent under boiling depends on many factors: physical properties of the solvent, reactor geometry, mass flow, heat flow, and electric field distribution. The influence of these factors is studied and discussed. The kinetics of homogeneous organic reactions shows an extension of Arrhenius behaviour into the super‐heated temperature region. Reaction rate enhancement of order 10–100 can thus be achieved, which is normally only possible under pressure. Finally, we present a model predicting reaction kinetics and yields under classical and microwave heating, based on predicted temperature profiles in agreement with experimental data.     

Green extraction of natural products: concept and principles

The design of green and sustainable extraction methods of natural products is currently a hot research topic in the multidisciplinary area of applied chemistry, biology and technology. Herein we aimed to introduce the six principles of green-extraction, describing a multifaceted strategy to apply this concept at research and industrial level. The mainstay of this working protocol are new and innovative technologies, process intensification, agro-solvents and energy saving. The concept, principles and examples of green extraction here discussed, offer an updated glimpse of the huge technological effort that is being made and the diverse applications that are being developed.     

Hydrodistillation and in situ microwave‐generated hydrodistillation of fresh and dried mint leaves: a comparison study

BACKGROUND: Hydrodistillation (HD) has been used since ancient times for the extraction of essential oils (EO). Despite the intrinsic limitations of this technique, it remains the most common method both in the laboratory and on an industrial scale. The main drawbacks are the long extraction time involved and the risk of thermal degradation. Over the last decade, microwave‐assisted extraction (MAE) and in situ microwave‐generated hydrodistillation (MGH) have been shown to be the most promising techniques in improving plant extraction and hydrodistillation. RESULTS: In this study we compare HD with MGH in the extraction of several mint species cultivated in Piedmont: Mentha spicata L. var. rubra, Mentha spicata L. var. viridis and Mentha piperita L. MGH requires either fresh plant or rehydrated material, it is extremely fast and allows a reduction in energy consumption and overall cost. All the EO have been analyzed by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. A mechanism of microwave‐generated essential oil extraction has been proposed to explain the differences in the composition of the oil obtained from this environmentally friendly technique. CONCLUSIONS: The yields and composition percentages of the EO obtained by HD and in situ MGH of fresh and dried mint leaves lie in a relatively narrow range, although MGH is faster. MW polarization effects and the water solubility of the components influence extract composition Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Ultrasound-assisted extraction of polyphenols (flavanone glycosides) from orange (Citrus sinensis L.) peel

The present study reports on the extraction of polyphenols especially flavanones from orange (Citrus sinensis L.) peel by using ethanol as a food grade solvent. After a preliminary study showing that the best yield of extraction was reached for a particle size of 2 cm², a response surface methodology (RSM) was launched to investigate the influence of process variables on the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) followed by a central composite design (CCD) approach. The statistical analysis revealed that the optimised conditions were a temperature of 40 °C, a sonication power of 150 W and a 4:1 (v/v) ethanol:water ratio. The high total phenolic content (275.8 mg of gallic acid equivalent/100 g FW), flavanone concentrations (70.3 mg of naringin and 205.2 mg of hesperidin/100 g FW) and extraction yield (10.9 %) obtained from optimised UAE proved its efficiency when compared with the conventional method. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity determined by the DPPH and ORAC tests confirmed the suitability of UAE for the preparation of antioxidant-rich plant extracts.     

Comparison of two isolation methods for essential oil from rosemary leaves: Hydrodistillation and microwave hydrodiffusion and gravity

Traditional hydrodistillation (HD) and innovative Microwave Hydrodiffusion and Gravity (MHG) methods have been compared and evaluated for their effectiveness in the isolation of essential oil from fresh Rosmarinus officinalis leaves. The microwave method offers important advantages over traditional alternatives, namely: shorter isolation times (15 min against 3 h for hydrodistillation), environmental impact (energy cost is fairly higher to perform HD than that required for rapid MHG isolation), cleaner features (as no residue generation and no water or solvent used), increases antimicrobial activities, increases antioxidant activity and provides a more valuable essential oil (with high amount of oxygenated compounds). It offers also the possibility for a better reproduction of natural aroma of the essential oil from rosemary leaves than the HD essential oil. Moreover, microwave procedure yielded essential oils that could be analysed or used directly without any clean-up, solvent exchange or centrifugation steps. Scanning electron microscopy shows important structural changes for MHG extraction in contrast to those obtained by HD. Electron micrographs show clearly that the cells are broken and damaged during microwave treatment. Finally, the mechanism of Microwave Hydrodiffusion and Gravity is proposed and discussed.     

First-principles Calculations of Structural,Magnetic Electronic and Optical Properties of Rare-earth Metals TbX (X=N,O, S,Se)

The structural, magnetic, electronic and optical properties of Terbium-based binaries (TbX) (X = N, O, S and Se) in two cubic structures NaCl and CsCl have been investigated. This study is carried out by Full-Potential linearized Muffin-Tin orbitals (FP-LMTO) method in the framework of the functional theory of density (DFT) implemented in the lmtart code. The presence of f-state electrons in these induced high-correlation materials led us to study these systems using local density approximation (LDA) for the paramagnetic state and spin local density approximation (LSDA) for the ferromagnetic state within two cubic structures. We have demonstrated that these binaries are stable in the ferromagnetic state in the cubic phase of NaCl, which allows us to deduce the magnetic moments of these components. From the electronic band structures and density states, we have concluded that TbX (X = N, O, S and Se) are metallic in the NaCl phase. The results obtained in this work show that the theoretical parameters of the ground state, structure of the bands, density of the states (DOS) and optical properties agree well with other available theoretical and experimental data.