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

AbstractThe scale-up of the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) process for grape (Vitis vinifera L.) seed was studied from the laboratory (0.29L) to the pilot scale (5.15L) at 35MPa and 313K. 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 313K/35MPa, an extraction time of 240min and S/F of 6.6 produced the best relationship between yield and cost