Valorization of industrial waste using energy saving procedures. Phenolic compounds purification from grape by-products by Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE)

The attention given by scientists these days to environment-friendly and energy saving procedures led us to work on the optimization of phenolic compounds extraction from waste industrial products using green technology methods. The growing attention towards phenolic compounds is basically due to the bioactivity of those molecules and their potential application in several industries such as pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and agriculture. In this paper we describe the extraction of phenolic compounds from grape by-products using Accelerated Solvent Extraction which was conducted and followed by a quantitative and qualitative study of the extracts in order to investigate the best extraction parameters. The extraction process using this energy saving method, showed that the optimal conditions are a 70% ethanol/water mixture (v/v) and a 140°C temperature. The quantity of the extracted phenolic compounds was determined by the Total Phenolic Index (TPI), while the qualitative study by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The results showed that phenolic compounds content, quantity and diversity in each sample was dependent on the extraction temperature.