Find in Library

Astaxanthin and lutein, antioxidants used in nutraceutics and cosmetics, can be extracted from several microalgal species. In this work, investigations on astaxanthin and lutein extraction from <i>Haematococcus pluvialis</i> (<i>H. pluvialis</i>) in the red phase were carried out by means of the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) technique, in which CO₂ supercritical fluid was used as the extracting solvent with ethanol as the co-solvent. The experimental activity was performed using a bench-scale reactor in semi-batch configuration with varying extraction times (20, 40, 60, and 80 min), temperatures (50, 65, and 80 &#176;C) and pressures (100, 400, and 550 bar). Moreover, the performance of CO₂ SFE with ethanol was compared to that without ethanol. The results show that the highest astaxanthin and lutein recoveries were found at 65 &#176;C and 550 bar, with ~18.5 mg/g dry weight (~92%) astaxanthin and ~7.15 mg/g dry weight (~93%) lutein. The highest astaxanthin purity and the highest lutein purity were found at 80 &#176;C and 400 bar, and at 65 &#176;C and 550 bar, respectively.