Response Surface Analysis and Modeling of Flaxseed Oil Yield in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Supercritical fluid extraction of flaxseed oil with carbon dioxide was performed. Effects of particle size, pressure, temperature and the flow rate of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) were investigated. Response surface methodology was used to determine the effects of pressure (30–50 MPa), temperature (50–70 °C) and SC-CO₂ flow rate (2–4 g/min) on flaxseed oil yield in SC-CO₂. The oil yield was represented by a second order response surface equation (R ² = 0.993) using the Box-Behnken design of experiments. The oil yield increased significantly with increasing pressure (p < 0.01), temperature (p < 0.05) and SC-CO₂ flow rate (p < 0.01). The maximum oil yield from the response surface equation was predicted as 0.267 g/g flaxseed for 15 min extraction of 5 g flaxseed particles (particle diameter <0.850 mm) at 50 MPa pressure and 70 °C temperature, with 4 g/min solvent flow rate. Total extraction time at these conditions was predicted as 22 min.