Development of a sustainable process for the solid-liquid extraction of antioxidants from oat

Abstract

This research paper studies the development of a sustainable process for the extraction of antioxidants from oat. Experimentation covered two factorials to evaluate significance among temperature, time, particle size and solvent. Total polyphenolic content (TPC) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) were the response variables. ANOVA was applied to find significance among variables and predict optimum conditions though a regression model. Extractions at different solid/solvent ratios were developed to study solvents' solubility. Process simulation in Aspen Process Developer was carried out to evaluate energy cost, raw material cost, campaign time, and process mass intensity. Solvent and particle size showed significance as main effects, whereas temperature and time presented significance as interactions. From an industrial and sustainable perspective, ethanol (EtOH) in a 1/20 (w/v) ratio was the best choice since it presented the lowest cost for energy and raw material. It also showed the lowest process mass intensity (PMI), short campaign time, highest g extract/g oat, and a considerable antioxidant capacity.