Abstract
The baru oil has a high degree of unsaturation and relevant amount of oleic and linoleic acids content, which favors its use for food and pharmaceutical industries. Hexane is the most widely used solvent for oil extraction. However, its flammability, cost, and polluting potential justify the study of alternatives solvents such as ethanol and isopropanol that are less toxic and flammable and efficient in the extraction of other oils, as already reported in literature. This work represents the extraction of baru almond oil with the solvents hexane, ethanol, isopropanol, and isopropanol: ethanol (1:1) to compare their extraction yields. The parameters solid: solvent ratio, temperature and time were optimized using a central composite design. The higher yields were found in lower solid: solvent ratios and higher temperatures (ethanol - 29.12 %, isopropanol - 39.66 %, isopropanol: ethanol - 41.13 % and hexane - 36.59 %). Isopropanol and isopropanol: ethanol (1:1) mixture presented satisfactory results when compared to hexane, becoming alternatives for its replacement. In the extractions which the time was significant, the adjustment of the kinetic models indicated that the extraction is described by a second order model. The solvents researched showed to be promising for hexane replacement in the oil extraction from baru almond.
Highlights
Brazil presents several biomes known for their high biodiversity, with unique native species, which have been increasingly studied and investigated, among them, Cerrado stands out [1]
EXTRACTION OPTIMIZATION Table 2 shows the yields at each point of the experimental design for the analyzed solvents
The effects of each studied variable and the coefficients of the proposed model were evaluated for the data analysis of the central composite rotational design (CCRD)
Summary
Brazil presents several biomes known for their high biodiversity, with unique native species, which have been increasingly studied and investigated, among them, Cerrado stands out [1]. The barueiro (Dipteryx alata vog.) belonging to the Fabaceae family, is one of the native species of great importance in Cerrado. This plant has as fruit the baru, whose pulp involves an edible almond [2]. Baru almond oil can contribute to the sustainability of the population of the Brazilian cerrado but is still little produced in Brazil [5].
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