Supercritical fluid extraction of grape seed: Process scale-up, extract chemical composition and economic evaluation

The scale-up of the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) process for grape (Vitis vinifera L.) seed was studied from the laboratory (0.29 L) to the pilot scale (5.15 L) at 35 MPa and 313 K. The scale-up criterion adopted consisted of maintaining a constant solvent to feed ratio (S/F), and the criterion was successfully used to predict the approximate behavior of the SFE process from the laboratory at the pilot scale for a 17-fold scale-up. Linoleic acid was the major component of the extract; palmitic, stearic and oleic acids were also detected. The economic evaluation showed that it is viable to establish a SFE plant in Brazil for SFE processing of grape seed. From the technical-economic evaluation, for SFE of grape seed at 313 K/35 MPa, an extraction time of 240 min and S/F of 6.6 produced the best relationship between yield and cost.