Abstract
An investigation was carried out to evaluate the feasibility of using an ultrafiltration membrane technique to concentrate polyphenolic acids in the juice of Echinacea herb plant materials. The processing was conducted using a commercially available ultrafiltration membrane of 5kD MWCO (Pellicon XL50, Millipore, U.S.A and Sartocon Micro, Sartorius, Germany). Initial trials with the Echinacea herb extracts obtained from an industrial extracts company in New Zealand, showed that the permeate flux was low with the undiluted feed, and only 10-20% increase in concentration was possible. Several dilutions of the feed were needed to achieve an enrichment of more than two times. The dilution also resulted in a significant increase in flux and percentage recovery of the desired components, e.g. polyphenolics. The processing was done with freshly squeezed juice of Echinacea herb plant material (tops and stalk) harvested from Rewa Herb, Rangitaiki, New Zealand. With this feed in undiluted form, the permeate flux was higher but the percentage recovery of the polyphenolics was lower.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 71-78 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Developments in Chemical Engineering and Mineral Processing |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2005 |
| Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemical Engineering
- Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology