Abstract
Currently, the refining of sugarcane wax is carried out with 95% v/v ethanol as solvent. This process has a high rate of ethanol consumption thus, the main objective of this work was to corroborate the feasibility of 95% v/v ethanol as a solvent in the refining of sugarcane wax. The suitability of its performance over other organic solvents was evaluated through the relative energy difference (RED) determined from Hansen solubility parameters (HSPs) of sugarcane oil, which were calculated using HSPiP software. HSPs turned out to be δD = 16.24 MPa½, δP = 3.21 MPa½ and δH = 10.34 MPa½, similar to those reported for pine resin and castor oil. The best solvent was 1-decanol. 95% v/v ethanol turned out to be a bad solvent. Absolute ethanol had a RED value of 0.993, which made it a better candidate since it could reduce consumption rates, and constituted an eco-friendly solvent produced in Cuba for the refining process.
Highlights
The press mud, obtained during the purification of sugarcane juice, is mainly used as an organic fertilizer in sugarcane fields, as well as in biogas production
The objective of this work was to verify whether ethanol 95% v/v is a suitable solvent for the sugarcane wax refining process using Hansen’s solubility theory, as well as to determine other solvents that can be suitable for this process
At times. when the program was run, the absolute ethanol did not fit inside the sphere, leaving it outside with a relative energy difference (RED) of 1,009, which is incorrect, since it had been classified as a good solvent
Summary
The press mud, obtained during the purification of sugarcane juice, is mainly used as an organic fertilizer in sugarcane fields, as well as in biogas production. During the second half of the last century in Cuba the American Sugar Co. Swenson (1947) developed and introduced a technology for the production of sugarcane wax by extraction with heptane, which was further exported to the United States for refining. The sugarcane wax refining technology consists of a solvent extraction process with 95% v/v ethanol. The refining process begins by bringing the sugarcane wax into contact with cold 95% v/v ethanol for eight hours in a stirring tank. The refined wax is dried and packaged for later commercialization. This technology uses 95% v/v ethanol as solvent because it is a renewable solvent of national production. There are several reports about the use of ethanol for vegetable oil extraction, but there is no evidence about how useful it is compared to other solvents
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