Seaweed processing using industrial single-mode cavity microwave heating: a preliminary investigation.
A single-cavity microwave heating system has been designed and fabricated for microwave-assisted extraction of carrageenans from seaweed. The system comprises a single mode (TE101) waveguide fitted with power and temperature controls, together with a continuous-flow-recycle reactor operating at atmospheric pressure. The system has been tested by extraction of E. cottonii and E. spinosum in aqueous organic solvents. Even without purification, the extraction products were found to have virtually identical FTIR and 13C and 1H NMR spectra to the reference samples of kappa- and iota-carrageenan, respectively. The principal advantages of the microwave system are substantial reduction of extraction time and low consumption of organic solvents.
Uy
Sandra F
SF
Department of Chemistry, The University of Auckland, New Zealand. s.uy@auckland.ac.nz
Easteal
Allan J
AJ
Farid
Mohammed M
MM
Keam
Richard B
RB
Conner
Gregory T
GT
D002351:Carrageenan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007221:Industry; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008872:Microwaves; D000461:Rhodophyta / Q000737:chemistry*; D012997:Solvents; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
D012997:Solvents; D002351:Carrageenan