(80b) Development and Analysis of Green Pathways Isolation of Medically Active Components from Grape Pomace Biomass

Growth in the medical sector, fueled by advancing technologies, has afforded people a greater than ever level of wellness. The use of supercritical fluids for processing continues to expand in the realm of mainstream manufacturing, benefitting greatly from co-solvents and biphasic pairings. Innovation has allowed for utilization of natural components in health fields. However, significant bottlenecks exist with regards to obtaining natural constituents via a green pathway when compared to organic solvent extraction. Progressive environmental regulation and a health conscious population necessitates a shift towards green technology.

Supercritical CO₂can be used exclusively or with chemical enhancement (co-solvents, biphasic systems, etc.) to obtain active components from a biological matrix. This project focuses principally on grape pomace, a waste product from juice and wine production consisting of stems, seeds, peels, and remaining fruit matter. The peels contain multiple different types of polyphenols useful for natural medicines. The seeds of the pomace also contain polyphenols and also oil useful for various applications. Utilization of this waste as a feedstock allows the juice and wine industries to function in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly manner while allowing for the extraction of valuable natural medicinal compounds.

Pressures up to 300 bar are used with temperatures up to 60° Celsius. Extraction may be further modified by polar co-solvents to increase the solubility of polar compounds in the CO₂ extraction media. Sequential extraction is also utilized to obtain 2 extract fractions, involving extraction via warm pressurized water and SC CO₂ phases. Multiple analysis techniques are required to quantify both the amount of extract and the composition. Liquid chromatography (LC) and gas chromatography (GC) paired with mass spec are industry standards for identifying the extract compositions. Physisorption is planned as a method that may demonstrate quantitatively how the biomass structure has changed due to extraction. Modeling is implemented to test conditions before apparatus modification and also to obtain basic results for those conditions not conducive to lab experimentation. Different CFD models are analyzed to describe the complex fluid behavior and wetting patterns in these extractions.