Method for extraction and concentration of carotenoids using supercritical fluids
US7329789B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 25, 2002 |
| Grant date | Feb 12, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 16, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02P20/54
- WIPO fieldOrganic fine chemistry
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
Carotenoids are extracted and/or enriched from a mixture containing such compounds. The extraction/enrichment process involves the use of liquefied or supercritical solvents to extract lipids and carotenoids from carotenoid-containing substrates. The extraction process can also be performed in two steps in which lipids and carotenoids are first removed from a carotenoid-containing substrate with a liquefied or supercritical solvent, and subsequently a liquefied or supercritical gas is used to separate the lipids from the carotenoids. The two step process can be reversed to first extract lipids with the liquefied or supercritical gas, and subsequently use the solvent to extract the carotenoids. The process is also applicable to yield an organic solvent-free product from a carotenoid-containing source that was first extracted using an organic solvent.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.