SEPARATION PERFORMANCE OF SUPERCRITICAL CARBON DIOXIDE EXTRACTION COLUMN FOR THE CITRUS OIL PROCESSING: OBSERVATION USING SIMULATOR

Abstract

Phase behavior of limonene and linalyl acetate, which are principal constituents of terpenes and oxygenated compounds, respectively, in bergamot oil, with supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) was observed by use of process simulator (SIMSCI PRO/II). Solubility of each pure component in SC-CO₂ was calculated by the Peng–Robinson equation of state. For a given calculating condition, the solubility of limonene was 2–5 times higher than that of linalyl acetate. Process flow diagram for the citrus oil processing by SC-CO₂ extraction column was successfully constructed to evaluate the separation performance. The effects of feed composition, feed inlet position, reflux ratio, and stage number on the extraction ratio of limonene, separation selectivity, and recovery of linalyl acetate were studied at 333K and 8.8 MPa.

Keywords:

• Citrus oil
• High-pressure vapor–liquid equilibrium
• Linalyl acetate
• Process simulator
• Supercritical carbon dioxide

Acknowledgments