Concentration of lycopene in the pulp of papaya (Carica papaya L.) by ultrafiltration on a pilot scale

摘要

Lycopene, one of the most important carotenoids, has been increasingly studied due to positive results in research related to reduced risks of some diseases. The lycopene concentration by ultrafiltration is a viable process, because the carotenoid is retained despite having low molecular weight, since it binds to other larger molecules. Aiming at the concentration of lycopene, the performance of two ultrafiltration (UF) membranes was evaluated, one made of polysulfone with 100 kDa (PS 100) and other polyetersulfone with 50 kDa (PES 50), in different conditions of pressure and tangential velocity. The use of raw or enzymatically hydrolyzed papaya pulp was also evaluated. In addition, diafiltration experiments were carried out with the purpose of obtaining a purified lycopene retentate. The permeation curves showed typical behavior of UP processes. In the studied operational conditions and for the two membranes tested, lycopene retention was higher than 90%. The enzymatic treatment of the raw material had no significant effect on the permeate flux. The best UF performance was obtained with the PS 100 membrane, pressure 1 bar and tangential velocity 6 m s(-1). The inclusion of a diafiltration step proved to be effective in order to obtain a lycopene concentrate with higher purity. (C) 2015 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.