Technical and Economic Evaluation of Phorbol Esters Extraction from Jatropha Curcas Seed Cake using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Abstract

Jatropha curcas plant shrub of Euphorbiaceae family is a plant whose seeds are rich in oil that can be used for biofuel production. However the seeds contain many toxic compounds which the most important ones are known as phorbol esters (PEs). This study has as aim the study of the technical and economic feasibility of the supercritical fluid to extract the PEs present in the Jatropha seed cake. The effect of temperature (40 -100 ºC) and pressure (100 -500 bar) on the phorbol yield was investigated using a central composite design methodology to determine the significance and interactions of these parameters. PEs in the extracted samples were analyzed and quantified by HPLC. The supercritical fluid extraction was effective in the PE extraction from Jatropha curcas cake varying from 23.0%, at 70 ºC and 500 bar to 2.6% at 90 ºC and 160 bar. The results showed that pressure had the most significant enhancing effect on the phorbol ester yield. Simulations of phorbol ester extraction from Jatropha curcas cake were carried out using SuperPro Designer 9.0 to evaluate the production costs of an industrial process to treat the necessary quantity of cake. It was possible to conclude that the supercritical extraction is a promising technology that can be applied to detoxify the Jatropha curcas cake.

Supercritical Extraction of Red Propolis: Operational Conditions and Chemical Characterization

“…It is known that the effect of temperature on SFE is complex due to the increase in the solute vapor pressure and reduction in the density of the supercritical solvent [ 72 ]. Increased temperature increases the vapor pressure of the solute, promoting an increase in its solubility in supercritical CO 2 ; however, the temperature increase also promotes a reduction in the density of supercritical CO 2 , thus reducing the solubility of the solute in the solvent [ 73 ]. In this case, the effect of reduced supercritical CO 2 density was favored in relation to the increased solvent density ( Figure 4 a).…”