Simultaneous separation and concentration of polyphenols from pomegranate industrial waste by multistage counter-current system; comparing with ultrafiltration concentration

摘要

Pomegranate industrial waste (PIW) could be an attractive source for the economic recovery of natural antioxidant (polyphenols) with well-known health benefits. Industrial processing of above 0.35 MMT pomegranates produces considerable amounts of PIW annually in Iran at both a high cost and risk to the environment. Multistage countercurrent extraction (MSCE) has been used to produce high concentrated polyphenolic extract from PIW for commercial purposes. In comparison with the single pot extraction, the MSCE was comprised advantages of much lower extraction solvent (8 ml/g versus 30 ml/g) and the extraction temperature (40 degrees C versus 65 degrees C) leading to reduce energy consumption, and the prevention of bioactive substances being degraded. Superiority of the MSCE process against two steps processes, comprising single pot extraction and ultrafiltration (UF) concentration was also demonstrated.