This work aims to model the extraction process of lycopene from tomato peels using a conventional or a "green" solvent, which could be more environment-friendly, and its subsequent encapsulation. The Aspen Plus® software is used to this end. Different cases considering alternative extracting solvents, as well as the recycling of recovered solvent streams and water are evaluated and compared. The raw materials to be considered in an inventory analysis are tomato peels from local industries, solvents, drying agents and soft capsules. Based on literature data and using MS Excel® worksheets, the process mass and energy balances are set up and, hence, the extraction yield is evaluated, while the solvent recovery stage is simulated and optimized in Aspen Plus®. The economic potential of these cases is calculated by considering the cost of utilities, product and by-product sales, wastewater treatment, and raw material costs. Results show that tomato peels can be appealing for lycopene extraction and valorization. The productivity of lycopene-containing tablets is appreciably large: 12000 pz/h of lycopene-containing tablets after extraction with ethyl acetate and 3500 pz/h in the case of limonene were obtained. Moreover, the predicted gross profit is reasonably attractive, with 39 M€/year for the conventional process and 11 M€/year for the "green" alternative.

Lycopene-containing Tablets Production from Tomato Peels by Environment-friendly Extraction: Simulation and Discussion

Casa Marcello
Methodology
;
Miccio Michele
Writing – Review & Editing
2022-01-01

Abstract

This work aims to model the extraction process of lycopene from tomato peels using a conventional or a "green" solvent, which could be more environment-friendly, and its subsequent encapsulation. The Aspen Plus® software is used to this end. Different cases considering alternative extracting solvents, as well as the recycling of recovered solvent streams and water are evaluated and compared. The raw materials to be considered in an inventory analysis are tomato peels from local industries, solvents, drying agents and soft capsules. Based on literature data and using MS Excel® worksheets, the process mass and energy balances are set up and, hence, the extraction yield is evaluated, while the solvent recovery stage is simulated and optimized in Aspen Plus®. The economic potential of these cases is calculated by considering the cost of utilities, product and by-product sales, wastewater treatment, and raw material costs. Results show that tomato peels can be appealing for lycopene extraction and valorization. The productivity of lycopene-containing tablets is appreciably large: 12000 pz/h of lycopene-containing tablets after extraction with ethyl acetate and 3500 pz/h in the case of limonene were obtained. Moreover, the predicted gross profit is reasonably attractive, with 39 M€/year for the conventional process and 11 M€/year for the "green" alternative.
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11386/4804613
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo

Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 1
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact