Composition study of the eucalyptus essential oil from Brazil and its enrichment of the key compounds using supercritical CO2

Abstract

The eucalyptus essential oil takes several applications in food, medical and perfumery industries. However, the oil quality is directly related to the purity of its main components. Brazil is a major exporter of eucalyptus oil, but suffers in competition with other countries in Europe which produce better quality oil. The superiority of the plant extract is greatly influenced by the extraction methodology. An alternative to conventional process is the use of supercritical carbon dioxide extraction and possibly with the use of co-solvent that will change the solubility of the CO2 in the alteration of its polarity aiding to increase the yield or solubility of components of interest. The objective of this work is to use supercritical CO2 in different variations of temperature and pressure process and consequently its selectivity with the purpose of enriching the oil into its components with higher added value. First, samples will be obtained by producers and exporters of eucalyptus essential oil obtained by steam distillation of the regions of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. This product will be characterized through analysis of its composition by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). This preliminary study aims to optimize analytical conditions in order to standard the analytical methodology for this oil type. And the conclusion of this study will enable the composition mapping of the eucalyptus essential oil produced in Brazil. Subsequently, samples of eucalyptus leaves obtained from these same producers will be exposed to extraction with supercritical CO2. As a tool for research and innovation, numerical simulation will be applied with a view to predict the extraction kinetics to obtain an essential oil rich in the principal components. In this project, a numerical simulator LBM will be developed using a mathematical model based on molds of the classical modeling of supercritical extraction. (AU)