High Pressure Extraction as a Green Alternative to theConventional Sunflower Oil (Helianthus annuus) ProductionProcess – Extraction with Pressurized Ethanol in anIntermittent Process and with Supercritical Fluid

Abstract

This research explores green-technology alternatives to extract vegetable oilsas alternatives to hexane, a non-renewable solvent, focussing on sunflower oil.It compares pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) with ethanol and supercriticalfluid extraction (SFE) with CO2 . Both processes aim to maximize oil yield,tocopherol content (𝜶, 𝜷, 𝜸, and 𝜹), fatty acid profile (FA), and triacylglycerol(TAG) composition. Results show that SFE at 32 MPa achieves an 87.58% oilrecovery, while PLE at 84 °C achieves 93.93%. PLE with ethanol extracts polarminority compounds along with the oil due to its higher temperature, favoringextraction. The total tocopherol content is 91.17 mg/100 g of oil in optimizedSFE conditions, with 𝜶-tocopherol extraction influenced by temperature, 𝜸and 𝜹-tocopherol by pressure. PLE yields 83.16 mg/100 g of oil in tocopherolsinfluenced less by process variables. The fatty acid (FA) profile do not vary inthe oils obtained from different processes or based on the variables withineach process, with linoleic and oleic acids being the most abundant. Similarly,triacylglycerols (TAGs) C54:5 and C54:6 are predominant. The optimization ofSFE and PLE processes indicates a strong potential for using green solvents inthe extraction of tocopherol-rich sunflower oil.