Supercritical fluid extraction of β-carotene from crude palm oil using CO2 Original Research Article

The aim of this study was to ascertain the influence of pressure, temperature and time on the supercritical fluid extraction of β-carotene from the crude palm oil. The operating conditions were shown as follows: pressures of 75, 125 and 175 bar, temperatures of 80, 100 and 120 °C and extraction time of 1, 3 and 5 h. The extracts were analyzed using UV spectroscopy at a wavelength of 450 nm. Then the experimental data was compared with the data obtained using a statistical method. The results from the model showed a good agreement with the experimental data. The results (obtained from the statistical model) demonstrate that a pressure of 140 bar, temperature of 102 °C and extraction time of 3.14 h are required to obtain optimum yield of β-carotene (1.028 × 10−2%) from the extraction process, however the maximum yield of the β-carotene (1.741 × 10−2%) was experimentally obtained at a pressure of 75 bar, temperature of 120 °C and extraction time of 1 h.