In developing countries, there are many types of plant products that need to be extracted for export like herbs, spices,…. CO2 extraction technology promises to bring high-value, friendly and environmentally protective extraction products. However, the high investment cost is the main reason limiting the development of CO2 extraction.
Most CO2 extraction systems currently on the market are designed at 500bar pressure and run complex extraction process for a variety of applications, so the price is very high. While optimal extraction conditions for herbs and spices only require about 250bar -> 300bar and the process is much simpler.
For example, the optimal extraction condition for black pepper (500gr/L, 5.5% piperine, 2.3% VOC) is 300bar, 50 degrees Celsius, 5 hours. But we can also perform extraction on our special low pressure design at 180bar 38 degrees Celsius, which takes 14 hours to get the same yield.
We came to the conclusion that: The design of the CO2 extraction system must have an appropriate pressure level to reduce costs, and should have 2 levels of pressure. The 180bar type is specialized for extracting materials with low oleoresin content. The 300bar type is used to extract materials with high oleoresin content. This will help achieve reasonable investment costs.
| VOC | Piperine* | 300bar | 180bar | |
| Black pepper 500gr/L | 2.3 % | 5.5 % | 5 hours | 14 hours |
| Black Pepper 250gr/L | 3.2 % | 2.2 % | 3.5 hours | 8 hours |
In addition, with many years of experience in refrigeration system design, we have developed our own heatpump technology that is so optimal then no other heating components are needed when extracting herb & spice, reducing electrical consumption to a minimum.
If you are looking for a CO2 extraction solution with low investment costs, high efficiency, and quick return on investment, Please see our Catalog here !