Lycopene Extraction from Processed Tomatoes using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

This work investigates the effects of the transformation processes of tomatoes especially using supercritical CO2 on bioavailability and extractability of lycopene. The experimental extraction curves measured on dried vegetable samples, obtained from different transformation processes of tomatoes, have been correlated with an equation of the type of a Langmuir gas adsorption isotherm and with a mathematical model based on differential mass balances written on a section of the extraction bed. In the second case it has been verified, both from literature and experimental data, that only the external mass transfer resistance controls the extraction process and under this hypothesis the model was developed by using a constant value for the mass transfer coefficient.