Pomegranate seed oil extraction by cold pressing, microwave and ultrasound treatments

Abstract

AbstractIn this study, pomegranate seed oil was extracted by microwave-assisted extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, and cold pressing techniques. Dimethyl succinate was the solvent of microwave and ultrasound-assisted extraction methods. The optimum conditions were determined by using response surface methodology (RSM, Design Expert software version 7.0 and Box-Behnken design). The ultrasound-assisted extraction technique was found to be superior to the microwave-assisted extraction technique in terms of extraction efficiency. The maximum extraction efficiency of microwave-assisted extraction was 22.01% under the optimized conditions (liquid/solid ratio, 5/1; time, 3 min; and microwave power, 300 W). The maximum extraction efficiency obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction was 26.31% under the optimized conditions (liquid/solid ratio, 10/1; pulse duration/pulse interval ratio, 1; temperature 60 °C; and time, 20 min). The extraction efficiencies were compared at the optimum conditions with hexane, which is the most used solvent for pomegranate seed oil extraction, and the difference was insignificant. The results of this study are very important, especially in the field of green chemistry and chemical engineering.