Experimentation and configuring continuous ultrasound assisted operation of extraction pilot plant

In this study a continuous pilot plant configuration for helical flow type Ultrasound Assisted Extraction (UAE) reactor is described and carotenoid extraction results from a carrot-water extraction system are presented. The pilot plant configuration consists of all necessary unit operations from washed raw material to extracted natural ingredient product. According to our best knowledge, the published data from the whole processing line of continuous UAE has not been described to date. One of the subjects in this study has been patented as an in-house UAE design which enables to prolong extractable solid material residence time under ultrasound field. Process operation was verified with several hours of pilot tests. Extraction results have been presented in case of carotenoids from fresh carrots and strawberry extract from frozen strawberries. The extracted carotenoid concentration was improved by 40% compared to macerated carrot results, and absorbance ratio of strawberry extract increased by a factor of 5.