Fast Extraction Research Articles

Fast and Greener Ultrasound-Assisted Acid Extraction for the Determination of Potentially Toxic Elements in Fluorescent Lamp Waste Using ICP OES.

Understanding the chemical composition of fluorescent lamp residue, particularly potentially toxic elements is crucial for reducing environmental impacts and human health risks after disposal. However, the challenge lies in effectively analyzing these heterogeneous solid samples. Techniques involving quantitative dissolution become imperative, playing a fundamental role in quantifying trace elements. The aim of this work is to develop and present a new, faster, and more efficient and environmentally friendly method using ultrasound-assisted acid extraction to quantify potentially toxic elements (Cu, Mn, Ni, Sr, and Zn) present in fluorescent lamp waste using the inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry technique. An ultrasound-assisted acid extraction method for the quantification of potentially toxic elements in fluorescent lamp waste was developed and applied as a greener alternative to conventional digestion methods. For variables optimization a full factorial design with two levels and two variables (time and temperature) was used to found which factors significantly affect the observed response. The results obtained for the developed extraction method were compared with a reference method employing a heating acid digestion (mixture of HCl, HClO4 and HF) using statistical tools. The best results were obtained using extraction time of 10 min and temperature of 25 °C. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry was applied for element quantification. The proposed extraction method showed good results for Cu, Mn, Ni, Sr and Zn. Furthermore, the proposed method based on ultrasound radiation presents additional criteria that align with the concepts of the green analytical chemistry. A greener alternative method for determination of Cu, Mn, Ni, Sr and Zn in fluorescent lamp waste was developed. Optimal conditions for ultrasound extraction of potentially toxic elements were achieved in 10 min at temperature of 25 °C. Environmentally friendly aspects of ultrasound align with the requirements of green analytical chemistry.

Sample-in-answer-out centrifugal microfluidic chip reaction biosensor powered by Thermus thermophilus Argonaute (TtAgo) for rapid, highly sensitive and multiplexed molecular diagnostics of foodborne bacterial pathogens

Foodborne pathogens endanger public health and rapid, sensitive and accurate detection of them is vital. Argonaute stands in the frontline as the next generation nucleic acid detection tool, bearing a few comparable advantages. Centrifugal microfluidic chips (CMCs) use centrifugal force to achieve liquid flowing, mixing and reaction, eliminating complicated designs of valves and pumps. In this study, for the first time, we devised a Thermus thermophilusArgonaute (TtAgo)-powered centrifugal microfluidic chip reaction biosensor for Sample-in-Answer-out detection of Pathogen S. aureus (termed as ASAP) with ultrahigh rapidity and sensitivity in a one-pot fashion. The samples subjected to testing were mixed with a home-made nucleic acid fast extraction reagent and then the mixture was injected into the sample cell of CMC, which was centrifuged down into the reaction cell. The reaction cell was preloaded with both LAMP (Loop-mediated isothermal amplification) and TtAgo systems. As such, the species-specific nuc genes were amplified by LAMP, while the TtAgo performed site-specific cleavage to output fluorescent (FL) signals. The sample-to-answer time was 17 min, and the limit of detection (LOD) reached 1 CFU/mL. ASAP was able to perform simultaneous multiplexed detection and up to 16 samples can be detected at the same time. ASAP reduced reagent consumption and minimized the influence of carry-over and cross-contamination. ASAP was capable of detecting S. aureus in foods, but also detecting physiological samples from infect, holding great promise for practical applications. Overall, our work has enriched the Argonaute-powered biosensing and CMC biosensor technology by providing a conceptually novel bacterial detection platform.

Achieving a solar-to-chemical efficiency of 3.6% in ambient conditions by inhibiting interlayer charges transport

Efficiently converting solar energy into chemical energy remains a formidable challenge in artificial photosynthetic systems. To date, rarely has an artificial photosynthetic system operating in the open air surpassed the highest solar-to-biomass conversion efficiency (1%) observed in plants. In this study, we present a three-dimension polymeric photocatalyst achieving a solar-to-H2O2 conversion efficiency of 3.6% under ambient conditions, including real water, open air, and room temperature. The impressive performance is attributed to the efficient storage of electrons inside materials via expeditious intramolecular charge transfer, and the fast extraction of the stored electrons by O2 that can diffuse into the internal pores of the self-supporting three-dimensional material. This construction strategy suppresses the interlayer transfer of excitons, polarizers and carriers, effectively increases the utilization of internal excitons to 82%. This breakthrough provides a perspective to substantially enhance photocatalytic performance and bear substantial implications for sustainable energy generation and environmental remediation.

Optimising Human-Machine Collaboration for Efficient High-Precision Information Extraction from Text Documents

From science to law enforcement, many research questions are answerable only by poring over a large amount of unstructured text documents. While people can extract information from such documents with high accuracy, this is often too time-consuming to be practical. On the other hand, automated approaches produce nearly-immediate results, but are not reliable enough for applications where near-perfect precision is essential. Motivated by two use cases from criminal justice, we consider the benefits and drawbacks of various human-only, human–machine, and machine-only approaches. Finding no tool well suited for our use cases, we develop a human-in-the-loop method for fast but accurate extraction of structured data from unstructured text. The tool is based on automated extraction followed by human validation, and is particularly useful in cases where purely manual extraction is not practical. Testing on three criminal justice datasets, we find that the combination of the computer speed and human understanding yields precision comparable to manual annotation while requiring only a fraction of time, and significantly outperforms the precision of all fully automated baselines.

Deep Learning-based DSM Generation from Dual-Aspect SAR Data

Abstract. Rapid mapping demands efficient methods for a fast extraction of information from satellite data while minimizing data requirements. This paper explores the potential of deep learning for the generation of high-resolution urban elevation data from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery. In order to mitigate occlusion effects caused by the side-looking nature of SAR remote sensing, two SAR images from opposing aspects are leveraged and processed in an end-to-end deep neural network. The presented approach is the first of its kind to implicitly handle the transition from the SAR-specific slant range geometry to a ground-based mapping geometry within the model architecture. Comparative experiments demonstrate the superiority of the dual-aspect fusion over single-image methods in terms of reconstruction quality and geolocation accuracy. Notably, the model exhibits robust performance across diverse acquisition modes and geometries, showcasing its generalizability and suitability for height mapping applications. The study’s findings underscore the potential of deep learning-driven SAR techniques in generating high-quality urban surface models efficiently and economically.

Identifying critical features of iron phosphate particle for lithium preference

One-dimensional (1D) olivine iron phosphate (FePO4) is widely proposed for electrochemical lithium (Li) extraction from dilute water sources, however, significant variations in Li selectivity were observed for particles with different physical attributes. Understanding how particle features influence Li and sodium (Na) co-intercalation is crucial for system design and enhancing Li selectivity. Here, we investigate a series of FePO4 particles with various features and revealed the importance of harnessing kinetic and chemo-mechanical barrier difference between lithiation and sodiation to promote selectivity. The thermodynamic preference of FePO4 provides baseline of selectivity while the particle features are critical to induce different kinetic pathways and barriers, resulting in different Li to Na selectivity from 6.2 × 102 to 2.3 × 104. Importantly, we categorize the FePO4 particles into two groups based on their distinctly paired phase evolutions upon lithiation and sodiation, and generate quantitative correlation maps among Li preference, morphological features, and electrochemical properties. By selecting FePO4 particles with specific features, we demonstrate fast (636 mA/g) Li extraction from a high Li source (1: 100 Li to Na) with (96.6 ± 0.2)% purity, and high selectivity (2.3 × 104) from a low Li source (1: 1000 Li to Na) with (95.8 ± 0.3)% purity in a single step.

Novel Two-Stream Deep Slow and Nonstationary Fast Feature Extraction for Chemical Process Soft Sensing Application

Novel Two-Stream Deep Slow and Nonstationary Fast Feature Extraction for Chemical Process Soft Sensing Application

NDNet: Spacewise Multiscale Representation Learning via Neighbor Decoupling for Real-Time Driving Scene Parsing.

As a safety-critical application, autonomous driving requires high-quality semantic segmentation and real-time performance for deployment. Existing method commonly suffers from information loss and massive computational burden due to high-resolution input-output and multiscale learning scheme, which runs counter to the real-time requirements. In contrast to channelwise information modeling commonly adopted by modern networks, in this article, we propose a novel real-time driving scene parsing framework named NDNet from a novel perspective of spacewise neighbor decoupling (ND) and neighbor coupling (NC). We first define and implement the reversible operations called ND and NC, which realize lossless resolution conversion for complementary thumbnails sampling and collation to facilitate spatial modeling. Based on ND and NC, we further propose three modules, namely, local capturer and global dependence builder (LCGB), spacewise multiscale feature extractor (SMFE), and high-resolution semantic generator (HSG), which form the whole pipeline of NDNet. The LCGB serves as a stem block to preprocess the large-scale input for fast but lossless resolution reduction and extract initial features with global context. Then the SMFE is used for dense feature extraction and can obtain rich multiscale features in spatial dimension with less computational overhead. As for high-resolution semantic output, the HSG is designed for fast resolution reconstruction and adaptive semantic confusion amending. Experiments show the superiority of the proposed method. NDNet achieves the state-of-the-art performance on the Cityscapes dataset which reports 76.47% mIoU at 240+ frames/s and 78.8% mIoU at 150+ frames/s on the benchmark. Codes are available at https://github.com/LiShuTJ/NDNet.

A fast railway track surface extraction method based on bidirectional cloth simulated point clouds

Point cloud-based railway track surface extraction is a crucial technology for railway inspection. It is still challenging to extract railway track surfaces from point cloud data due to the variable quantities, densities, and diverse scenarios, which limit the applicability and versatility of existing methods. To address these limitations, we propose a bidirectional cloth simulation approach that utilizes the geometric structural characteristics of the track surface for rapid extraction. This method applies simulated cloth in both bottom-up and top-down directions to the roadbed. Our method can process hundreds of thousands of point clouds per second and is adaptable to various point cloud types (TLS and MLS), roadbed types (ballasted and ballast-less), rail types (single, double and turnouts). It achieves a completeness of over 97 % in the automatic extraction of both ballasted single and ballast-less double tracks and a correctness of over 89 % in the extraction of complex turnouts.

Simultaneous quantification of terpenes and cannabinoids by reversed-phase LC-APCI-MS/MS in Cannabis sativa L. samples combined with a subsequent chemometric analysis

Cannabis sativa L. has been the most discussed medicinal plant in recent years. In particular, the dynamic shift from a formerly illicit and tightly controlled substance to a plant recognized for both medicinal and recreational purposes has brought C. sativa into the global spotlight. Due to the ongoing international legalization processes, fast and convenient analytical methods for the quality control of C. sativa flowers for medicinal and recreational purposes are of tremendous interest. In this study, we report the development and validation of a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS)-based method applying atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) to fully quantify 16 terpenes and 7 cannabinoids including their acidic forms by a single chromatographic method. The method presented here is unique and simple, as it eliminates the need for derivatization reactions and includes the unconventional analysis of volatile compounds by liquid chromatography. Samples were prepared by a simple and fast ethanolic extraction. Separation was accomplished within 25 min on a reversed-phase C18 column. Method validation was conducted according to international guidelines regarding selectivity, accuracy, precision, robustness, and linearity. Detection was done in multiple reaction monitoring, which allowed the simultaneous quantification of co-eluting analytes applying two selective mass transitions. In addition, due to reproducible in-source decarboxylation, the acidic forms of cannabinoids were reliably quantified using mass transitions of the neutral forms. The accuracy given as the bias was below 15% for all analytes. Matrix effects for cannabinoids were studied by spiking Humulus lupulus extracts with the analytes at varying concentrations. APCI did not show susceptibility toward ion suppression or enhancement. In addition, the recovery effect after spiking was between 80 and 120% for terpenes. Further, 55 authentic C. sativa extracts were fully quantified, and the obtained results for the terpene profiles were compared to state-of-the-art gas chromatography coupled to flame ionization detection. Comparable results were achieved, emphasizing the method’s applicability for cannabinoids and terpenes. Further, acquired metabolite patterns for C. sativa samples were studied, identifying a relationship between cannabinoid and terpene patterns, as well as the abundance of myrcene in CBD-dominant C. sativa strains.Graphical

A Fast, Simple and Low-cost DNA Extraction Protocol from Common Ants and Beetles for Multiple Molecular Applications

The rapid development of molecular biology tools in insect systematics, invasion research, evolutionary ecology and biodiversity analysis has led to faster and greater progress in understanding insect behavior and biology. Efficient DNA extraction is the foremost step and serves as the vital foundation. Several rapid DNA extraction methods have been established, which are often time-consuming and labour-intensive. Here, a simple, fast, low-cost DNA extraction protocol for common insect samples was developed basing on 28 specimens of 16 insect species (7 ants, 9 bark and ambrosia beetles). The new protocol was shown to be feasible and highly efficient by comparison with commercial kit in terms of DNA yield, purity and PCR sensitivity. The concentration of DNA through the new rapid method was higher than that through commercial kit, whether in ant or beetle samples. A better quality of DNA extracted via kit was indicated by A<sub>260</sub>/A<sub>280</sub> mostly ranging from 1.80 to 2.00. There was little difference between DNA extracted from adult and nymphal insects. PCR sensitivity of extracted DNA using both protocols was comparable. For nested PCR, amplification after two rounds yielded a bright signal using template DNA through both methods. But for PCR using primers of LCO1490 and HCO2198, the success ratio was lower (85.18%). Through BLAST, these amplicons were matched to related data with high identity. By combining this protocol with variable analysis platforms such as common PCR, loop-mediated isothermal amplification, and high throughput sequencing, it could assist insect diagnostics, biological surveys and invasion researches.

Improving Buried Interface Contact by Bidentate Anchoring for Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells.

Nickel oxide (NiOx) is a promising hole transport layer (HTL) to fabricate efficient and large-scale inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) due to its low cost and superior chemical stability. However, inverted PSCs based on NiOx are still lagging behind that of other HTL because of the poor quality of buried interface contact. Herein, a bidentate ligand, 4,6-bis (diphenylphosphino) phenoxazine (2DPP), is used to regulate the NiOx surface and perovskite buried interface. The diphosphine Lewis base in the 2DPP molecule can coordinate both with NiOx and lead ions at NiOx/perovskite interface, leading to high-quality perovskite films with minimized defects. It is found that the inverted PSCs with 2DPP-modified buried interface exhibit double advantages of being both fast charge extraction and reduced nonradiative recombination, which is a combination of multiple factors including favorable energetic alignment, improved interface contact and strong binding between NiOx/2DPP and perovskite. The optimal PSC based on 2DPP modification yields a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.9%. The unencapsulated PSC maintains above 75% of its initial PCE in the air with a relative humidity (RH) of 30-40% for 1000h.

Near-infrared light-driven lab-on-paper cathodic photoelectrochemical aptasensing for di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate based on AgInS2/Cu2O/FeOOH photocathode

Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) is commonly released from plastics in aqueous environment, which can disrupt endocrine system and cause adverse effects on public health. There is a pressing need to highly sensitive detect DEHP. Herein, a near-infrared (NIR) light-driven lab-on-paper cathodic photoelectrochemical aptasensing platform integrated with AgInS2/Cu2O/FeOOH photocathode and “Y”-like ternary conjugated DNA nanostructure-mediated “ON-OFF” catalytic switching of hemin monomer-to-dimer was established for ultrasensitive DEHP detection. Profiting from the collaborative roles of the effective photosensitization of NIR-response AgInS2 and the fast hole extraction of FeOOH, the NIR light-activated AgInS2/Cu2O/FeOOH photocathode generated a markedly enhanced photocathodic signal. The dual hemin-labelled “Y”-like ternary conjugated DNA nanostructures made the hemin monomers separated in space and they maintained highly active to catalyze in situ generation of electron acceptors (O2). The hemin monomers were relocated in close proximity with the help of target-induced allosteric change of DNA nanostructures, which could spontaneously dimerize into catalytically inactive hemin dimers and fail to mediate electron acceptors generation, resulting in a decreased photocathodic signal. Therefore, the ultrasensitive DEHP detection was realized with a linear response range of 1 pM–500 nM and a detection limit of 0.39 pM. This work rendered a promising prototype to construct powerful paper-based photocathodic aptasensing system for sensitive and accurate screening of DEHP in aqueous environment.

Synthesis of polyethylene glycol-grafted magnetic nanoparticles for the fast and efficient extraction of anabolic substances from human urine

Anabolic steroids and β-agonists are commonly prohibited substances found in doping control studies; therefore, the determination of anabolic substances in biological samples is crucial. To analyze the anabolic compounds in urine, an adsorbent, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-grafted magnetic nanoparticle material (Fe3O4@SiO2-PEG), with low toxicity and strong biocompatibility was prepared in this investigation. Compared to those of Fe3O4 and Fe3O4@SiO2, the grafted PEG chains (approximately 5.4 wt.%) on the magnetic nanoparticles improved the extraction efficiencies by factors of 3.9–17.0 and 2.5–2.9, respectively, likely due to the electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding. To achieve maximum extraction efficiency, several extraction parameters were optimized, including the kind and volume of desorption solvent, pH, and the extraction and desorption time. The standard curves were linear within the range of 0.5–20 μg/L for methyltestosterone and trenbolone, and 0.02–5 μg/L for clenbuterol. The limits of detection for the three drugs were 0.01–0.12 μg/L. The limits of quantification were 0.02–0.40 μg/L. The levels of precision of the optimized method were assessed based on the respective intra- and inter-day and batch-to-batch relative standard deviations in the ranges of 3.2–5.2 % (n = 5), 5.9–11.3 % (n = 4), and 6.7–9.2 % (n = 3). The Fe3O4@SiO2-PEG nanoparticles could exclude urine matrix interferences (matrix effect of 91.8–98.1 %) and achieve satisfactory recoveries (75.5–116.1 %), affording sensitive and accurate determination of trace anabolic substances in urine.

A fast, reliable, low‐cost, and efficient xylan extraction for xylooligosaccharides production

AbstractA fast, reliable, low‐cost, and efficient method for the recovery of xylan from agro‐residue materials is needed to improve the use of xylan in industrial processes. Xylan was extracted from two agrowastes (corncobs and wheat bran) using a cost‐effective alkali extraction method. The characteristic band patterns and bending vibrations associated with hemicellulose and beta glycoside linkage could be seen in the corncob‐extracted xylan (CCEx) and wheatbran‐extracted xylan (WBEx). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that the extracted xylans consisted of aggregated and nonaggregated particles with irregular morphology and rough surfaces. Particle‐size analysis displayed average sizes of 205.6, 210.8, and 794.2 nm for commercial beechwood xylan (Bx), CCEx, and WBEx, respectively. Alkali extraction was performed with different concentrations of NaOH, from 5% to 20%, with a solid–liquid ratio of 1:20. It was found that 82.90 and 76.77% of xylan were extracted from corncob and wheat bran, respectively, which represents a higher yield obtained in a shorter duration in comparison with studies in the literature. The enzymatic hydrolysis of wheat bran and corncob that used 250 IU/mL of Enterobacter hormaechie KS1 xylanase yielded 334.38 and 162.35 mg/g of xylooligosaccharides. Their properties were studied and were found to be very similar to those of commercial xylan. They could reduce costs if applied in industry.

Fast and efficient extraction of phenol from aqueous phase using deep eutectic solvents: Experimental and density functional theory investigation for interactions studies

Phenol is carcinogenic and toxic to human beings and therefore it is necessary to remove this toxic pollutant from water. Hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were prepared using trioctylamine (TOA) as hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) and 2-hydroxybenzoic acid and 4-dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid as hydrogen bond donors (HBDs) for extraction of phenol from aqueous media. Fourier transformer infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were performed for functional group and thermal stability determination, respectively. Phenol extraction efficiency of DESs was studied under different experimental parameters, such as initial pH of phenol solution (2–10), contact time (1–15 min), mixing ratio of volume of DESs to aqueous media (VDES:Vaq.) (1:10–1:50 mL), initial concentration of phenol (1000–5000 ppm) and temperature (25 °C–55 °C). More than 97 % extraction efficiency of DES for phenol was achieved using contact time of 5 min, initial phenol concentration of 2500 ppm, VDES:Vaq in a ratio of 1:10 mL, and temperature of 25 °C. The values of ΔG° calculated for phenol extraction at various temperatures have negative values, confirming that the phenol movement from water phase to DESs phase is spontaneous in nature. Density functional theory (DFT) simulations were conducted to study the interaction of DESs with water and phenol. In addition, DFT was used to determine the interaction energy of DESs with water and phenol. The considerably higher interaction energies (−20.4 and 18.2 kcal/mol) obtained with both DESs for phenol over water emphasize the selective separation efficiency of DESs for phenol. The experimental results confirmed that these synthesised DESs can effectively extract phenol from the aqueous phase to the organic phase.

Active-Control-Based Three-Phase Reclosing Scheme for Single Transmission Line With PMSGs

Electric devices may be damaged due to the strong secondary impact when the circuit breaker recloses on permanent faults, so it is significant to identify the fault nature to reduce the harm of grid faults. To achieve this point, a new control scheme is designed to make permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) based wind turbines behave as a three-phase symmetrical voltage source, so the overcurrent can be detected for permanent faults when the circuit breaker on the PMSG side is reclosed, but only the tiny capacitance current is present for temporary faults. Therefore, the fault nature can be identified by detecting the current amplitude. To accurately extract the power-frequency phasors, a fast matrix pencil extraction method is adopted. This method solves the difficulty in fault nature detection caused by the rapid disappearance of current and voltage after a three-phase trip using the controllability of power electronics. Meanwhile, the severe secondary impact can be reduced since the injected current is small even for permanent faults. Additionally, the proposed method can ensure the fault current at the inverter terminal is within the limiting value and operate properly for remote high-resistance faults. Extensive simulations and experiments are performed to verify this method.

Pulse-stretching out of the CANREB EBIS

The CANadian Rare isotope facility with Electron-Beam ion source (CANREB) at TRIUMF is set to deliver rare isotope beams in high charge states. In the Electron Beam Ion Source (EBIS) ions are charge-bred by collisions with an electron beam of up to 500 mA. A strong magnetic field (up to 6T) maximizes the overlap between ions and electron beam and increases the breeding efficiency. Ion confinement is maintained by a combination of an electrostatic field and the electron beam space-charge potential. Ions are released by lowering the trapping potential with a step function. The system is operated at a pulse repetition frequency up to 100 Hz. Due to the short trap length, this fast extraction scheme produces pulses shorter than 10 µs with high instantaneous rates that can saturate detectors in experiments. Stretching the pulse can be done using a slowly varying voltage function to modify trap electrode potentials instead of a step function. The ideal function produces a pulse with a flat top distribution and can be calculated by knowing the ion energy distribution inside the trap. The latest pulse-stretching results will be discussed including the latest pulse duration up to 1.4 ms that have been produced. The slow extraction scheme has also been used for a measurement of the effective energy distribution of the ions inside the trap.

Virtual trial assembly of large steel members with bolted connections based on multiscale point cloud fusion

AbstractVirtual trial assembly (VTA) using 3D laser scanning as the digital carrier can overcome the shortcomings of time‐consuming and costly physical preassembly. However, its application in large steel structures with bolted connections remains limited. First, this study introduces a novel approach for acquiring multiscale point cloud data of large steel members using terrestrial laser scanners (TLSs) and hand‐held scanner (HHS). This approach considers both the global data and the local details of the steel members. Additionally, a precise registration method based on magnetic 3D targets is proposed for multiscale point clouds, which enables the registration accuracy of multisource point clouds to reach submillimeter precision. Subsequently, a novel algorithm for feature point screening is introduced, which utilizes a dichotomous point cloud grid approach to identify and extract a significant quantity of bolt holes effectively. This approach enables fully automated and fast extraction of the point cloud on the cylindrical inner surface of the holes. Finally, the bounding box and Procrustes analysis approach are employed to perform VTA using the point cloud of the cylindrical bolt holes as the assembled features. The accuracy and feasibility of the above method are verified by a down‐scale modeling experiment and project test, which provide technical support for the VTA of large steel truss structures.

Ultrasonication-Assisted Aqueous Extraction of Waste Orange Peel Polyphenols: Optimization of Process Variables and Effect on Extract Composition

The citrus processing industry is responsible for the generation of large volumes of waste side streams, represented principally by fruit peels. These tissues are exceptionally rich in polyphenolic bioactive phytochemicals, and there has been a great industrial interest for their valorization. The examination presented herein targeted at developing a fast and straight-forward aqueous extraction process, based on ultrasonication, for the efficacious recovery of polyphenolic compounds from waste orange peels. After an initial single-factor examination, the response surface optimization showed that a maximum total polyphenol yield of 12.81 mg chlorogenic acid equivalents (GAE) per g−1 dry mass could be achieved by setting sonicator amplitude at 80%, for 15 min, using a duty cycle of 2/2 (2 s on/2 s off). Comparison of this methodology with a stirred-tank extraction demonstrated that the ultrasonication technique was equally effective, requiring ambient temperature and considerably shorter resident time. The combination of both techniques using the ultrasonication process as a pretreatment step did not boost extraction yield, and the extracts produced had similar polyphenolic composition and antioxidant activity. However, a slight enhancement of the recovery of individual constituents was noted. It is proposed that efficient extraction of polyphenolic substances from waste orange peels may be accomplished using the present methodology, which is a low-cost (ambient temperature, short time) and sustainable (water as solvent) process.