Solvent Selection using CAMD for the Solid-liquid Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Agroindustrial Waste from Avocado (Persea Americana)

Abstract

Abstract The extraction of bioactive compounds is an interesting alternative to add value to agroindustrial waste, due to its demand in the pharmaceutical and food industry. The extraction of these compounds is highly dependent on the solvent used. The extraction of these compounds is limited by a small variety of solvents. Currently, there is no extraction model that accounts for thermodynamic behaviour. This manuscript presents a methodology to design a solid-liquid extraction system for bioactive compounds, from solvent selection generating candidates via computer aided molecular design (CAMD), model generation and process simulation in Aspen Custom Modeler (ACM). The approach was applied to a case study, which examines the extraction of bioactive compounds from avocado (Persea americana) agroindustrial waste. Results show how the extraction performance varies according to selected solvent, for instance conventional solvent (methanol) differs to the candidate solvent (1,2-propylene glycol) tested by process simulation. From simulation results, the candidate solvent presented flexible operating conditions, extracting 90.72% of the initial bioactive compound present in the agroindustrial waste in a single equilibrium stage. While working at a higher temperature, the solvent feed flowrate was decreased. The proposed strategy allows obtaining composition and temperature profiles for the extraction to select a proper solvent and operating conditions, although, it is still necessary to validate the results with experimental data.