Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Triglycerides

Abstract

The demand for natural products has resulted in considerable interest in supercritical fluid (SCF) technology. The advantages of using SCFs as extraction solvents have been well documented. The ease of solute-solvent separation, low toxicity, and the ability to vary the solvent power make the use of SCFs attractive to the food industry, in particular in the area of triglyceride extraction. Recent material published has been primarily concerned with triglyceride extraction using supercritical (SC) carbon dioxide. The data published suggests limited solubilities (1–3 wt%) with the operating pressures in the vicinity of 300–500 bar, which will entail high capital and operating costs. Investigations carried out using SC propane as a solvent have indicated substantially higher loadings at much lower pressures. This is attributed to the similar chemical nature of the solute and the solvent. It is anticipated that triglycerides can be fractionated using SC propane on the basis of chain length and degree of unsaturation. In this paper the potential of using SC propane as a solvent for the extraction of triglycerides is discussed.