Supercritical CO2 extraction of rice bran

Extraction of rice bran lipids with supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) was performed. To investigate the pressure effect on extraction yield, two isobaric conditions, 7000 and 9000 psi, were selected. A Soxhlet extraction with hexane (modified AOCS method Aa 4–38; 4 h at 69°C) was also conducted and used as the comparison basis. Rice bran with a moisture content of 6%, 90% passable through a sieve with 0.297 mm opening, was used for extraction. A maximum rice bran oil (RBO) yield of 20.5%, which represents 99+% lipid recovery, was obtained with hexane. RBO yield with SC-CO₂ ranged between 19.2 and 20.4%. RBO yield increased with temperature at isobaric conditions. At the 80°C isotherm, an increase in RBO yield was obtained with an increase in pressure. The pressure effect may be attributed to the increase in SC-CO₂ density, which is closely related to the value of the Hildebrand solubility parameter. RBO extracted with SC-CO₂ had a far superior color quality when compared with hexane-extracted RBO. The level of sterols in SC-CO₂-extracted RBO increased with pressure and temperature.