Ultrasound-assisted extraction of sunflower oil from the cake after sunflower seed pressing

Abstract

The influence of ultrasound application on the extraction (UE) of the cake after sunflower seed pressing was studied. Three different solvents were used for extraction in the Soxhlet apparatus: n-hexane, petroleum ether and extraction petrol. Petrol for extraction showed the highest yield. It has been shown that the using of ultrasound improved the extraction kinetics in the initial period - washing, and in the second period - the diffusion of oil from the mass of the cake. The parameters of the non-stationary diffusion model with and without the use of ultrasound were k' = 0.039 min-1, k' = 0.026 min-1 and b' = 0.713, i.e. b' = 0.589, respectively. Oil yield was also slightly higher in the ultrasonically supported extraction.