Measurement and correlation of solubility of disperse anthraquinone and azo dyes in supercritical carbon dioxide

The solubility of three disperse anthraquinone dyes and two azo dyes in supercritical CO₂ was measured. The tested dyes are Celliton fast blue B, l-amino-2-methylanthraquinone, 1-methylaminoanthraquinone, disperse Red 1 and 4-[4-(phynylazo)phenylazo]-o-cresol. Solubility measurements were made at 313.15-393.15 K and 10-25 MPa in a high-temperature autoclave phase equilibrium apparatus. Pure physical properties of the dyes such as critical constants, molar volumes and vapor pressures were estimated based on semi-empirical methods. Also, the data were quantitatively modeled by both an empirical density correlation and a quantitative equation of state recently proposed by the present authors based on nonrandom lattice theory. We found that anthraquinone disperse dyes in general show higher solubility than azo disperse dyes in supercritical CO₂ within the experimental ranges.     

Prediction of solubilities of solid solutes in carbon dioxide-expanded organic solvents using the predictive Soave–Redlich–Kwong (PSRK) equation of state

In this study, the solubilities of solid solutes in carbon dioxide (CO₂)-expanded organic solvents are predicted using the predictive Soave–Redlich–Kwong (PSRK) equation of state (EOS). The liquid-phase compositions and volume expansion ratios of CO₂-expanded organic solvents are predicted prior to the solubility predictions. With predicted liquid-phase compositions and volumetric properties, the solubilities of cholesterol in CO₂-expanded acetone, naphthalene in CO₂-expanded toluene, stearic acid in CO₂ expanded ethyl acetate and tetradecanoic acid in CO₂-expanded ethyl acetate are predicted according to their reference solubilities in pure organic solvents. In addition to satisfactory predictions of liquid-phase composition and volume expansion ratios, the PSRK EOS also provides qualitative prediction ability for solubilities of solid solutes in CO₂-expanded organic solvent. This study demonstrated that the PSRK EOS was a simple model with predictive ability for solubility evaluation in preliminary process design and development for supercritical fluid technology using CO₂-expanded organic solvents.     

Comparison of Canola Meals Obtained with Conventional Methods and Supercritical CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> with and without Ethanol

Canola meal is a potentially valuable protein source. Canola meals extracted with supercritical CO₂ (SC-CO₂) were compared to pressed meal and meals extracted with hexane. With regard to the chemical composition, the glucosinolate, phenolic acid, tannin and phosphorus contents were determined in addition to proximate analysis. As for functionality, color, nitrogen solubility index (NSI), water and fat absorption, emulsifying capacity and stability, and overrun were determined. Both hexane- and SC-CO₂-extracted meals had a higher protein content than the pressed meal. The SC-CO₂-extracted meal had lower glucosinolate and higher phosphorus contents than hexane-extracted meal. The phenolic acid contents of hexane- and SC-CO₂-extracted meals were similar, but were higher than those of meals extracted with SC-CO₂ + ethanol. The color values of SC-CO₂- and hexane-extracted meals were similar and both were brighter than commercial meals (pressed and toasted). The NSI levels of SC-CO₂- and hexane-extracted meals were similar, but three times that of the commercial meal. Both hexane- and SC-CO₂-extracted meals had high water holding capacity, oil absorption, emulsifying capacity, emulsion stability and overrun. Canola meal extracted with SC-CO₂ was similar to hexane-extracted meal in terms of both chemical composition and functionality, but was superior to commercial meals.     

Effect of moisture content on immobilized lipase-catalyzed triacylglycerol hydrolysis under supercritical carbon dioxide flow in a tubular fixed-bed reactor

Surplus fats and oils were reacted with several lipases under supercritical fluid conditions for the purpose of obtaining value-added products. Lipases, however, require sufficient moisture content to act as effective biocatalysts. An immobilized lipase from Candida antarctica was chosen to examine the rate of enzyme moisture loss under laboratory ambient conditions and also under supercritical fluid conditions. A more important aspect was to determine the effect of lipase moisture content on the hydrolysis of triacylglycerols under the same supercritical fluid conditions. Under ambient conditions at constant air flow, the immobilized lipase lost water at the rate of 4 to 5%/h, from 48.3% moisture to a final moisture content of 0.2%. Water is known not to be very soluble in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂). Nevertheless, under supercritical fluid conditions of 60°C, 4000 psi, and carbon dioxide flow rates of 0.5 or 1 L/min measured as expanded gas, the enzyme moisture loss was approximately 2 to 6%/h. To determine the effect of moisture loss on enzymatic hydrolysis, lipase beds in a tubular reactor with moisture contents of 1.5 to 23.5% were reacted with tripalmitin under supercritical conditions. A lipase with an initial moisture content of 1.5% gave little evidence of hydrolysis whereas those containing 5.4 to 23.5% moisture content resulted in products that contained only palmitic acid and unreacted tripalmitin. Thus, optimal parameters for continuous lipase hydrolysis of tripalmitin require: enough enzyme moisture to compensate for complete substrate hydrolysis; sufficient enzyme moisture for losses due to water solubility in SC-CO₂; temperature and pressure sufficient to solubilize the tripalmitin; high carbon dioxide total flow to solubilize all the tripalmitin; and a relatively large enzyme bed volume to increase the solubilized substrate contact time with the enzyme.     

Solubility of fatty acids in supercritical carbon dioxide

The solubilities of lauric, linoleic, myristic, oleic, palmitic and stearic acid in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) at different pressures and temperatures were measured. The solubility values obtained in this work were compared with previously published data, and possible causes for observed discrepancies were discussed. The solubilities of the six fatty acids were modeled by Chrastil’s equation, and estimated model parameters were used to plot the solubility isotherms of fatty acids at 313, 323 and 333°K (40, 50 and 60°C) as a function of SC-CO₂ density. The comparison of solubility isotherms of fatty acids and vegetable oil suggests that separation of fatty acids from triglycerides might be possible by using SC-CO₂ at densities less than 700 kg/m³. From the effect of temperature on fatty-acid and vegetable-oil solubility, it seems that the extraction yield could be increased without sacrificing the selectivity of SC-CO₂ for fatty acids by choosing a higher operating temperature. The data also suggest that fractionation of certain fatty acids might be possible by manipulating the processing conditions. Given the values of the constants, Chrastil’s equation could serve as a guideline for choosing appropriate processing conditions and predicting the effect of pressure and temperature of SC-CO₂ on solute solubility.     

Supercritical extraction of borage seed oil coupled to conventional solvent extraction of antioxidants

This paper describes the extraction of borage seed oil by supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) and the further extraction of antioxidants from the SC-CO₂-defatted borage meal with organic solvents (water, methanol, ethanol and ethyl acetate). The optimal conditions for oil extraction were obtained at 303 and 323 K at 200 bar, 2.5 h and a continuous flow of CO₂ of 1.5 L/h introduced through the bottom when the operating pressure and temperature were reached, attaining a yield of 60%. Borage oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids; oleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid accounted for 74% of the total fatty acid content under the above conditions. The highest extraction yield was achieved using water or methanol as extracting solvent from the SC-CO₂-defatted borage meal at 303 K and pressures of 200 and 150 bar for water and methanol, respectively. The most potent extracts, according to all methods tested, were obtained with water and methanol.     

Equation of state for the systems containing aqueous salt: Prediction of high pressure vapor-liquid equilibrium

An equation of state (EOS), which is based upon contributions to the Helmholtz energy, is presented for systems containing aqueous electrolyte solutions at high pressure. The Peng-Robinson equation of state is used to provide the Helmholtz energy of a reference system. The electrolyte terms consist three terms containing a modified Debye-Hückel term for long-range electrostatic interactions, the Born energy contribution for electrostatic works and a Margules term for short-range electrostatic interactions between ions and solvents. The binary and ternary interaction parameters of the equation of state are obtained by experimental osmotic coefficient data. Systems that were studied here are (water+ NaCl+SC-CO₂), (water+NH₄Cl+SC-CO₂), (water+Na₂SO₄+SC-CO₂) and (water+methanol+NaCl+SC-CO₂). It is found that the proposed equation of state is able to accurately represent the experimental data over a wide range of pressure, temperature and salt concentration.     

Deacidification of olive oils by supercritical carbon dioxide

An investigation of the application of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) extraction to the deacidification of olive oils has been made to verify that the nutritional properties of the oil remain unchanged when this technique is applied. Preliminary runs at 20 and 30 MPa in the temperature range of 35–60°C were performed on fatty acids and triglycerides as pure compounds or mixtures, to determine their solubility in SC-CO₂. The solubility data obtained show that CO₂ extracts fatty acids more selectively than triglycerides under specific conditions of temperature and pressure (60°C and 20 MPa). It has been noted that the physical state of the solutes plays an important role in determining the solubility trends as a function of temperature and pressure. Extraction of free fatty acids from olive oil was performed on samples with different free fatty acid (FFA) contents at 20 and 30 MPa and at 40 and 60°C. Experimental data suggest that the selectivity factor for fatty acids is higher than 5 and increases significantly as the fatty acid concentration of the oil decreases. For a FFA content of 2.62%, the selectivity reaches a value of 16. In order to evaluate any variations in the composition, several SC-CO₂ extractions of husk oil with high FFA content (29.3%) were made. The results show that selectivity is still significant (≈5) and the composition in the minor component of the deacidified oil has not changed. On the basis of the experimental results and preliminary process evaluations, the authors conclude that SC-CO₂ extraction could be a suitable technique for the deacidification of olive oils, especially for oils with relatively high FFA (<10%).     

Supercritical CO2 extraction of flaxseed

Extraction of flaxseed oil was performed with supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂). To investigate the effects of pressure and temperature on the solubility of oil and oil yield, three isobaric (21, 35, and 55 MPa) and two isothermal (50 and 70°C) extraction conditions were selected. Although the maximal solubility of flaxseed oil, 11.3 mg oil/g CO₂, was obtained at 70°C/55 MPa, the oil yield obtained after 3 h of extraction at this condition was only 25% (g oil/g seed×100), which represented 66% of the total available oil of the flaxseed. Lipid composition and FFA and tocol (tocopherol and tocotrienol) contents of the oils obtained by both SC-CO₂ and petroleum ether extraction were determined. The α-linolenic acid content of the SC-CO₂-extracted oil was higher than that obtained by solvent extraction.     

Supercritical fluid extraction of daphne (Laurus nobilis L.) seed oil

Laurus nobilis L., commonly known as daphne tree, is an evergreen that belongs to the Lauraceae family. Daphne trees produce grape-sized shiny purplish berries having three parts: flesh, skin, and an inner kernel (single seed). This study examines supercritical CO₂ (SC-CO₂) extraction of oil from daphne seeds. The oil yield of ground seeds varied from 14 to 28% depending on the method and particle size used for oil recovery. Yields were similar for both petroleum ether and SC-CO₂ extraction. The extraction yield decreased significantly with increasing particle size. The amount of extract collected increased exponentially with increasing SC-CO₂ pressure. The highest extraction yield was obtained at the highest temperature studied, 75°C. More than 45% of the oil was lauric acid. SC-CO₂ is a viable technique to obtain high-purity L. nobilis L. seed oil, which is a potential ingredient for the cosmetic industry.     

Biodiesel production from supercritical carbon dioxide extracted Jatropha oil using subcritical hydrolysis and supercritical methylation

This study investigates supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) extraction of triglycerides from powdered Jatropha curcas kernels followed by subcritical hydrolysis and supercritical methylation of the extracted SC-CO₂ oil to obtain a 98.5% purity level of biodiesel. Effects of the reaction temperature, the reaction time and the solvent to feed ratio on free fatty acids in the hydrolyzed oil and fatty acid esters in the methylated oil via two experimental designs were also examined. Supercritical methylation of the hydrolyzed oil following subcritical hydrolysis of the SC-CO₂ extract yielded a methylation reaction conversion of 99%. The activation energy of hydrolysis and trans-esterified reactions were 68.5 and 45.2 kJ/mole, respectively. This study demonstrates that supercritical methylation preceded by subcritical hydrolysis of the SC-CO₂ oil is a feasible two-step process in producing biodiesel from powdered Jatropha kernels.     

Development of artificial neural network models for supercritical fluid solvency in presence of co-solvents

This paper presents the application of artificial neural networks (ANN) to develop new models of liquid solvent dissolution of supercritical fluids with solutes in the presence of cosolvents. The neural network model of the liquid solvent dissolution of CO₂ was built as a function of pressure, temperature, and concentrations of the solutes and cosolvents. Different experimental measurements of liquid solvent dissolution of supercritical fluids (CO₂) with solutes in the presence of cosolvents were collected. The collected data are divided into two parts. The first part was used in building the models, and the second part was used to test and validate the developed models against the Peng-Robinson equation of state. The developed ANN models showed high accuracy, within the studied variables range, in predicting the solubility of the 2-naphthol, anthracene, and aspirin in the supercritical fluid in the presence and absence of co-solvents compared to (EoS). Therefore, the developed ANN models could be considered as a good tool in predicting the solubility of tested solutes in supercritical fluid.     

Application of the kirkwoodbuff solution formalism and the hard sphere expansion method with the modified mean density approximation to predict solubility of solutes in supercritical fluids

The Kirkwood-Buff solution theory to give the relations between macroscopic thermodynamic properties and the fluctuation integrals (G_ij) was utilized to predict solubility of solutes in supercritical fluids. The solvent-solute fluctuation integral (G₂₁) in the derivation for solubility of solute is expressed in terms of the solvent-solvent fluctuation integral (G₁₁) using the hard sphere expansion (HSE) conformal solution method with the modified mean density approximation (MMDA) where the scaling factor (R₁₂) represents the ratio of the first peak heights of the radial distribution functions for the mixture and the reference fluid having the mean density determined from the mean density approximation (MDA). The values of R₁₂ were evaluated by considering it as an adjustable parameter and solving the Ornstein-Zernike equation with the hypernetted chain (HNC) closure, and were compared. It is shown that solubility can be evaluated with an equation of state for pure supercritical fluid, three molecular parameters, and the scaling factor (R₁₂) without knowledge of critical properties of solutes, which can not be measured precisely for some organic solids. This model based on the molecular theory leads to better results in solubility calculations than both the Peng-Robinson equation of state with the classical mixing rule and the previous method with the original MDA instead of the MMDA. It might be due to the superiority of the MMDA over the original MDA.     

Prediction of Solubility of Cholesterol in Supercritical Solvents

In this study the solubility of cholesterol was calculated in two supercritical pure solvents (carbon dioxide and ethane) as binary systems, and four supercritical solvent/co-solvent systems as ternary systems (cholesterol/carbon dioxide/methanol, cholesterol/ethane/acetone, cholesterol/ethane/hexane, cholesterol/ethane/propane) in various temperatures by SRK, PR, and SAFT equations of state. Pure molecular parameters of SAFT equation of state were obtained by fitting vapor pressure and liquid density data. Also the molecular parameters of cholesterol were obtained by fitting the solubility data of binary systems in one temperature, then they were used for the same system in other temperatures and for ternary systems with the same solvent. Results show that the SAFT equation of state can predict the trend and amount solubility of cholesterol in supercritical solvents much better than the other equations of state.     

A comparison between models based on equations of state and density-based models for describing the solubility of solutes in CO2

The poor dissolution behaviour of solid drugs in biological environment leads to a low bioavailability. However, the dissolution rate of such drugs can be enhanced dramatically by reduction of the particle size. At present, supercritical fluid based particle size reduction processes are gaining in importance in pharmaceutical technology. For the design of such particle formation processes and the determination of their best operating conditions the knowledge of phase equilibrium and solute solubility in a supercritical fluid is essential. Today, models based on equations of state, together with different mixing rules, are most widely used to correlate and predict the solubility in supercritical fluids. Therefore the accurate knowledge of the required solute data, such as critical parameters, acentric factor, solid molar volume, and sublimation pressure of the solutes is essential. However, the common, non-equation of state based group-contribution methods are mostly empirical and often lead to inconsistent and unreliable results. Thus, due to the lack of information on these data, density-based models are often used for the correlation of experimental solubility data. In this investigation, the solubility of Salicylic acid, of S-Naproxen, of RS-Ibuprofen and of Phytosterol in CO₂ is correlated by different methods: two methods for the pressure-solubility correlation and two methods for the density-solubility correlation. In addition, the influence of solute data predicted by different group-contribution methods is investigated. With the exception of S-Naproxen all systems investigated can be modelled sufficient well with a non-cubic equation of state while a cubic equation of state gives less accurate results. In addition, it is shown that for the solutes investigated, the equation of state based method is very sensitive to the values of the sublimation pressure.     

A comprehensive comparison among four different approaches for predicting the solubility of pharmaceutical solid compounds in supercritical carbon dioxide

Supercritical technologies have been developed in the food, environmental, biochemical and pharmaceutical product processing during the recent decades. Obtaining accurate experimental solubilities of pharmaceutical compounds in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) and their correlations are highly important and essential for the design of industrial operating units. In this study, the solubilities of six pharmaceutical compounds (Anti-HIV, Antiinflammatory and Anti-cancer) in SC-CO₂ were correlated using four different models: cubic equation of state (EoS) model (SRK and modified-Pazuki EoSs), empirical and semi-empirical models (Chrastil, Mendez-Santiago-Teja, Spark et al. and Bian et al. models), regular solution model coupled with the Flory-Huggins equation, and an artificial neural network-based (ANN-based) model. In EoS calculations, twin-parametric van der Waals (vdW2) and Panagiotopoulos-Reid (mrPR) mixing rules were used for estimating the supercritical solution properties, with three different sets employed for obtaining critical and physicochemical properties of the solid compounds. To evaluate the capabilities of various approaches, a comprehensive comparison was carried out among the four models based on several statistical criteria, including AARD, R_adj and F-value. Results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that the ANN-based model provided the best results in terms of correlating the experimental solubility of the pharmaceutical compounds in SC-CO₂.     

A comparison between semiempirical equations to predict the solubility of pharmaceutical compounds in supercritical carbon dioxide

The aim of this work is to determine, depending on the operation conditions, which semiempirical equation provides the best fit to solubility data of pharmaceutical compounds in supercritical CO₂. Solubility data from 27 different pharmaceutical solutes were collected from literature and the different density-based models (Chrastil, Adachi-Lu, del Valle-Aguilera, Sparks, Kumar-Johnston, Bartle, Méndez Santiago-Teja) together with the Yu's model and Gordillo's model were employed. The results showed that, in general, Sparks’ equation provides the best fit to the solubility data for this kind of solids in supercritical CO₂. However, at certain specific conditions, the best correlation is obtained using Gordillo's equation. By means of a brief comparison with Peng-Robinson equation of state, semiempirical equations present a more accuracy prediction compared to cubic equations of state, and present no drawbacks such as properties estimation and computational difficulties.     

Quality of residual oil from palm-pressed mesocarp fiber (Elaeis guineensis) using supercritical CO2 with and without ethanol

The qualities of oils extracted from fresh and dried palm-pressed mesocarp fiber were evaluated. The means of extraction included conventional solvent extraction and supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) extraction with and without addition of ethanol. Extraction efficiency using pure SC-CO₂ and the effect of moisture content on efficiency were studied. Minor components, such as vitamin F, carotenoids, squalene and phytosterols, obtained by different methods were compared. The quality of oil recovered from fresh palm-pressed fiber is generally better than that of oil recovered from dried fiber. The SC-CO₂ extraction rate was lower for fresh fiber than for dried fiber. The incorporation of ethanol with SC-CO₂ resulted in oil with higher oxidative stability than did SC-CO₂ alone. Concentrations of minor components and the acylglycerol compositions of the oils extracted from both types of fibers were similar.     

Petroleum-free extraction of oil from soybeans with supercritical CO2

Full-fat soyflakes are readily extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) at pressures of 3,000~10,000 psig and 50 C. Under these conditions, SC-CO₂ has the density of a liquid and the diffusivity of a gas. Therefore, equilibrium solubility is readily achieved in a short-path batch extractor which permits high gas flow rates. Soybean oil extracted with SC-CO₂ is lighter in color and contains less iron and about one-tenth the phosphorus of hexane-extracted crude oil from the same beans. The lower phosphorus content is reflected in a chromatographic refining loss of 0.6% compared to 1.9% for hexane crude. Refined oils from hexane and SC-CO₂ extraction had equivalent odor and flavor scores initially and after 4 days' storage at 60 C. Carbon dioxide, an ideal solvent for extraction of food products, is low-cost and readily available from fermentation processes and could free over 20 million gallons of costly hexane per year for essential energy uses.     

Digestive enzymes characterization of krill (Euphausia superba) residues deoiled by supercritical carbon dioxide and organic solvents

In this study, Enzyme activities of krill were characterized before and after lipid extraction by supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) and organic solvent, n-hexane and acetone. Krill SC-CO₂ extraction was performed under the conditions of temperature range from 35 to 45 °C and pressure, 150–250 bar for 2.5 h with a constant flow rate of 22 g/min. Extraction yields of lipids increased with pressure and temperature. The digestive enzyme activities of protease, lipase and amylase of SC-CO₂ treated krill residues were slightly decreased comparing to organic solvent, n-hexane and acetone treated residues. In SC-CO₂ treated samples, all of the digestive enzymes showed slightly higher temperature stability. In the other hand the crude extracts of SC-CO₂ and n-hexane treated krill samples showed almost same optimum pH and pH stability for each of the digestive enzymes. It was also found in SDS-PAGE that there are no significant differences in protein patterns of the crude extracts of untreated, SC-CO₂, n-hexane and acetone treated krill indicating no denaturation of proteins.