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Population growth has led to an increased demand for raw minerals and energy resources; however, their supply cannot easily be provided in the same proportions. Modern technologies contain materials that are becoming more finely intermixed because of the broadening palette of elements used, and this outcome creates certain limitations for recycling. The recovery and separation of individual elements, critical materials and valuable metals from complex systems requires complex energy-consuming solutions with many hazardous chemicals used. Significant pressure is brought to bear on the improvement of separation and recycling approaches by the need to balance sustainability, efficiency, and environmental impacts. Due to the increase in environmental consciousness in chemical research and industry, the challenge for a sustainable environment calls for clean procedures that avoid the use of harmful organic solvents. Ionic liquids, also known as molten salts and future solvents, are endowed with unique features that have already had a promising impact on cutting-edge science and technologies. This review aims to address the current challenges associated with the energy-efficient design, recovery, recycling, and separation of valuable metals employing ionic liquids.

The increasing need for biodegradable polymers demands efficient and environmentally friendly extraction methods. In this study, a simple and sustainable method for extracting polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate (PHB-co-HV) from Methylocystis hirsuta and a mixed methanotrophic consortium with different biopolymer contents was presented. The extraction of biopolymers with 1,3-dioxolane was initially investigated by varying the biomass-to-solvent ratio (i.e., 1:2 w v−1, 1:4 w v−1, 1:6 w v−1, 1:8 w v−1 and 1:10 w v−1) and extraction time (6, 8 and 10 h) at the boiling point of the solvent and atmospheric pressure. Based on the results of the preliminary tests, and only for the most efficient biomass-to-solvent ratio, the extraction kinetics were also studied over a time interval ranging from 30 min to 6 h. For Methylocystis hirsuta, the investigation of the extraction time showed that the maximum extraction was reached after 30 min, with recovery yields of 87% and 75% and purities of 98.7% and 94% for PHB and PHB-co-HV, respectively. Similarly, the extraction of PHB and PHB-co-HV from a mixed methanotrophic strain yielded 88% w w−1 and 70% w w−1 recovery, respectively, with 98% w w−1 purity, at a biomass-to-solvent ratio of 6 in 30 min.

Enzyme assisted solvent extraction (EASE) of phenolic compounds from watermelon ( C. lanatus ) rind (WMR) was optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with Rotatable Central Composite Design (RCCD). Four variables each at five levels i.e. enzyme concentration (EC) 0.5–6.5 %, pH 6–9, temperature (T) 25–75 °C and treatment time (t) 30–90 min, were augmented to get optimal yield of polyphenols with maximum retained antioxidant potential. The polyphenol extracts obtained under optimum conditions were evaluated for their in-vitro antioxidant activities and characterized for individual phenolic profile by RP-HPLC-DAD. The results obtained indicated that optimized EASE enhanced the liberation of antioxidant phenolics up to 3 folds on fresh weight basis (FW) as compared to conventional solvent extraction (CSE), with substantial level of total phenolics (173.70 mg GAE/g FW), TEAC 279.96 mg TE/g FW and DPPH radical scavenging ability (IC 50 ) 112.27 mg/mL. Chlorogenic acid (115.60–1611.04), Vanillic acid (26.13–2317.01) and Sinapic acid (113.01–241.12 μg/g) were major phenolic acid found in EASEx of WMR. Overall, it was concluded that EASE might be efficient and green technique to revalorize under-utilized WMR into potent antioxidant phenolic for their further application in food and nutraceutical industries.

Blackcurrant possesses various health‐endorsing attributes owing to its polyphenol profile. Recent studies have demonstrated its therapeutic potential against various health disorders. Various bioactives present in blackcurrants have different functional and pharmacological aspects including anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties. The most dominant and important bioactive include anthocyanins, flavonols, phenolic acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Food formats derived from blackcurrants comprise pomace, juice, powder, and extracts. All these food formats have industrial, prebiotic, and pharmacological benefits. In the current article, the nutritional composition, industrial applications, and therapeutic potential are discussed in the recent literature. Moreover, novel extraction techniques for the extraction of bioactive compounds present in blackcurrants and their safety concerns have been elaborated.

Tomato paste processing wastes, an important by-product of the paste industry, is rich in potentially health-promoting compounds such as lycopene. In this study, extraction yield of lycopene from tomato paste processing wastes by application of ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) was compared with conventional organic solvent extraction (COSE) method. BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) 0.05 % (w/v) added hexane:acetone:ethanol (2:1:1) mixture was used as solvent. Three different solvent solid ratios; 50:1, 35:1 and 20:1, (v/w) were used in both COSE and UAE. COSE experiments were performed at 20 °C, 40 °C and 60 °C for 10, 20, 30 and 40 min. 50, 65 and 90 W of ultrasonic power were applied in UAE for 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 min. Lycopene contents of the samples were determined by spectrophotometric method. The effects of different factors, including the temperature, solvent solid ratio and ultrasonic power on lycopene yield were investigated. It was determined that the most efficient application for COSE was extracting samples by 50:1 solvent solid ratio at 60 °C for 40 min run, for UAE, 35:1 (v/w) solvent solid ratio, 90 W ultrasonic power for 30 min run. It was showed that UAE of lycopene requires less time, lower temperature and lower solvent than COSE.

AbstractThe Schiff base extractant, (E)-4-(2-hydroxyethylimino)pentan-2-one (AcEt), for thorium(IV) ions was characterized in methylene chloride in chloride media. Analyses of the conventional log10D versus pH and versus log10 thorium ion concentration plots of the extraction equilibrium data reveal that the thorium(IV) ions were extracted as a complex that is characterized by having one ionizable hydrogen ion and a metal:ligand ratio of 1:1. The effects of contact time, A:O phase ratio and temperature on the extraction and stripping were studied. Extraction and stripping isotherms were constructed to determine the theoretical stages of the extraction and stripping processes. The thermodynamic parameters Gibbs energy (∆G°), enthalpy (∆H°) and entropy (∆S°) changes associated with the extraction processes were evaluated. Finally, the optimum parameters of solvent extraction were applied to a chloride leach liquor.Graphical Abstract

With most high-quality tungsten ores being exhausted, the enhancement of low-grade scheelite concentrates processing has attracted a great deal of attention. The objective of this study is to develop a method to maximize the recovery tungsten and molybdenum from a low-grade scheelite via a new acid leaching process followed by solvent extraction. Under optimal conditions (350 g/L H 2 SO 4 , 95°C, and 2 h), approximately 99.8% of tungsten and 98% of molybdenum were leached out. In the subsequent solvent extraction process, more than 99% of the tungsten and molybdenum were extracted with a co-extraction system (50% TBP, 30% HDEHP, and 10% 2-octanol in kerosene) using a three-stage cross-flow extraction. The raffinate can be recycled for the next leaching process after replenishing the H 2 SO 4 to the initial value (approximately 350 g/L). Based on these results, a conceptual flowsheet is presented to recover tungsten and molybdenum from the low-grade scheelite.

Pomegranate seed oil presents nutraceutical properties. Industrial processes for extraction of edible oils from seeds generally involve a solvent extraction step. Safety considerations on the use of organic solvents prompted attempts to develop aqueous extraction. However, aqueous extraction processes are usually characterized by low oil yields. The objective of this work was to overcome these low yields by using enzymes. The pomegranate seeds were treated with two enzymes—cellulase and Peclyve V. The extraction temperature, the time, the enzyme concentration, and the water/seeds ratio were varied between 35 and 55 °C, 2 and 8 h, 2 and 4 % w/w, and 2/1 and 6/1 mL/g, respectively. The optimum yield accomplished (15.33 g oil/100 g dry seeds at 2 h or 81 % oil recovery) was comparable to the yields obtained by other extraction methods, such as normal stirring, cold pressing, superheated fluid extraction, indirect ultrasound-assisted extraction and supercritical extraction, (4.29–25.11 g oil/100 g seeds) at similar or longer extraction times (10 min–72 h). In addition, this work studies the enhancement of aqueous enzymatic extraction of pomegranate seed oil by ultrasound probe. It was found that only 10 min in water are needed to recover oil with a yield of 18.15 g oil/100 g dry seeds, a value similar to or higher than those of the conventional procedures. Thus, the use of ultrasounds increased the yield of enzymatic extraction by 18.4 % and reduced the extraction time by 91.7 %.

It has been reported that coconut oil supplementation can reduce neuroinflammation. However, coconut oils are available as virgin coconut oil (VCO), crude coconut oil (ECO), and refined coconut oil (RCO). The impact of coconut oil extraction process (and its major fatty acid component lauric acid) at cellular antioxidant level, redox homeostasis and inflammation in neural cells is hitherto unexplained. Herein, we have shown the antioxidant levels and cellular effect of coconut oil extracted by various processes in human neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y) cultured in vitro. Results indicate VCO and ECO treated cells displayed better mitochondrial health when compared to RCO. Similar trend was observed for the release of reactive oxygen species (ROS), key oxidative stress response genes (GCLC, HO-1, and Nqo1) and inflammatory genes (IL6, TNFα, and iNOS) in SH-SY5Y cells. Our results signified that both VCO and ECO offer better neural health primarily by maintaining the cellular redox balance. Further, RCO prepared by solvent extraction and chemical refining process lacks appreciable beneficial effect. Then, we extended our study to find out the reasons behind maintaining the cellular redox balance in neuroblastoma cells by VCO and ECO. Our GC-MS results showed that lauric acid (C14:0) (LA) content was the major difference in the fatty acid composition extracted by various processes. Therefore, we evaluated the efficacy of LA in SH-SY5Y cells. The LA showed dose-dependent effect. At IC50 concentration (11.8 µM), LA down regulated the oxidative stress response genes and inflammatory genes. The results clearly indicate that the LA inhibited the neuroinflamation and provided an efficient cellular antioxidant activity, which protects the cells. The efficiency was also evaluated in normal cell line such as fibroblasts (L929) to cross-validate that the results were not false positive. Different concentration of LA on L929 cells showed high compatibility. From our observation, we conclude that VCO and ECO offers better cellular protection owing to their powerful antioxidant system. Therefore, we advocate the inclusion of either VCO and/or ECO in the diet for a healthy lifestyle.

Defatted soy flour is a potential source of food protein, amino acids, ash and isoflavones. The supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO 2 ) and a traditional organic solvent extraction methods were used to remove fat from soy flour, and the quality characteristics of a control soy flour (CSF), defatted soy flour by SC-CO 2 (DSFSC-CO 2 ) and defatted soy flour by an organic solvent (DSF-OS) were compared. The SC-CO 2 process was carried out at a constant temperature of 45 °C, and a pressure of 40 MPa for 3 h with a CO 2 flow rate of 30 g/min. The DSFSC-CO 2 had significantly higher protein, ash, and amino acids content than CSF and DSF-OS. The sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis demonstrated that CSF and DSFSC-CO 2 had protein bands of similar intensity and area that indicated no denaturation of protein, whereas DSF-OS showed diffuse bands or no bands due to protein denaturation. In addition to higher nutritional value and protein contents, DSFSC-CO 2 showed superior functional properties in terms of total soluble solids content, water and oil absorption, emulsifying and foaming capacity. The SC-CO 2 method offers a nutritionally and environmentally friendly alternative extraction processing approach for the removal of oil from high-protein food sources. It has a great potential for producing high-protein fat-free, and low-calorie content diet than the traditional organic solvent extraction method.