title: Solvent-free microwave extraction of essential oil from aromatic herbs: from laboratory to pilot and industrial scale.
abstract: Solvent-free microwave extraction (SFME) has been proposed as a green method for the extraction of essential oil from aromatic herbs that are extensively used in the food industry. This technique is a combination of microwave heating and dry distillation performed at atmospheric pressure without any added solvent or water. The isolation and concentration of volatile compounds is performed in a single stage. In this work, SFME and a conventional technique, hydro-distillation HD (Clevenger apparatus), are used for the extraction of essential oil from rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) and are compared. This preliminary laboratory study shows that essential oils extracted by SFME in 30min were quantitatively (yield and kinetics profile) and qualitatively (aromatic profile) similar to those obtained using conventional hydro-distillation in 2h. Experiments performed in a 75L pilot microwave reactor prove the feasibility of SFME up scaling and potential industrial applications.
authors.affiliation: Université d'Avignon et des pays du Vaucluse, INRA, UMR408, GREEN Extraction Team, F-84000 Avignon, France.
authors.forename: Aurore
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Filly
authors.affiliation: Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, UMR 7272 CNRS, Institut de Chimie de Nice, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice, France.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.affiliation: Milestone srl, Via Fatebenefratelli 1/5, I-26010 Sorisole, Bergamo, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Minuti
authors.affiliation: Milestone srl, Via Fatebenefratelli 1/5, I-26010 Sorisole, Bergamo, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Visinoni
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienza e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Università di Torino, Via P. Giuria 9, 10125 Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cravotto
authors.affiliation: Université d'Avignon et des pays du Vaucluse, INRA, UMR408, GREEN Extraction Team, F-84000 Avignon, France. Electronic address: Farid.Chemat@univ-avignon.fr.
authors.forename: Farid
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chemat
mesh_terms: D057168:Distillation / Q000379:methods*; D055772:Green Chemistry Technology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008872:Microwaves; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D027542:Rosmarinus / Q000737:chemistry*; D017365:Spices / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: Essential oil; Green extraction; Pilot scale; Rosemary; Scaling-up; Solvent-free microwave extraction