Abstract
The solubility of ferulic acid in ethyl lactate + water mixtures was measured at ambient temperature and pressure, and reported for the first time in this work. It was demonstrated that the acid solubility in the respective mixed solvents was considerably higher than in either pure ethyl lactate or water. Similar behavior pattern was recently reported by the authors for the solubility of caffeine in ethyl lactate + water mixtures. UNIQUAC and modified UNIFAC (Dortmund) were applied to represent the solubility of ferulic acid and caffeine in the mixed solvents and their capabilities to describe adequately the cosolvent effect observed was tested and compared. The results obtained demonstrated that the UNIQUAC model provided excellent correlation of the experimental data for both systems. The UNIFAC model, on the other hand, was applied in a completely predictive manner and produced very good results for ferulic acid solubility and just qualitative predictions for caffeine.
Highlights
Ferulic acid and caffeine Fig. (1) are bioactive compounds derived from natural sources which draw commercial attention to the development of high value-added products.Ferulic acid (4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid) is a phenolic compound found in plant tissues in both free and conjugated form
The values for the UNIQUAC structural parameters for ferulic acid, caffeine and ethyl lactate used in our study are those reported in ref. [24], while for water are those given in the original reference [26]
The binary interaction parameters were considered as adjustable parameters and the goal was to determine values that provided the best fit to the experimental solubility data for both solid solutes
Summary
Ferulic acid and caffeine Fig. (1) are bioactive compounds derived from natural sources which draw commercial attention to the development of high value-added products. Knowledge of the solubility behavior of ferulic acid and caffeine in water and organic solvents is essential in selecting the most appropriate solvent and in the development of efficient processes for the extraction of these compounds from different vegetable sources. The research till present has been mainly focused on the extraction and fractionation of lipid related compounds [19], the extraction of fatty acids and carotenoids [20, 21], and on the recovery of caffeine from plant materials [22] In this case, the data available in the literature regarding the solubility of high-value food compounds is scarce [23]. The capabilities of these models to represent correctly the cosolvent effect observed were analyzed and compared
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