Abstract
Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) is a process that removes solutes from a solid matrix into a solvent. Phenomena such as electromagnetic transfer, heat transfer, mass transfer, and momentum transfer make the process complex. For developing process engineering, the characteristics of heat and mass transfer are extremely significant. Accurate and controlled heat is possible because of the capacity of microwave radiation to penetrate and combine with a substrate. Therefore, the microwave procedure can be designed to transport electromagnetic energy with specific power to the location of the compounds of interest in the substrate. The energy-saving factors and short processing times lead to a reduction in manufacturing costs, and improvement of product uniformity and yields, resulting in products with high quality compared with other extraction techniques. This chapter provides a general review of heat and mass transfer and gives a brief discussion on the factors influencing the extraction efficiency of MAE. The performance of MAE is also compared to other classical methods, thus explaining the advantages of MAE technology as applied to plant extraction research.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Chemat F, Abert-Vian M, Zill-e-Huma Y-J (2009) Microwave assisted separations: green chemistry in action. In: Pearlman JT (ed) Green chemistry research trends. Nova Science Publishers, New York, pp 33–62
Périno-Issartier S, Zill-e-Huma Y-J, Abert-Vian M, Chemat F (2011) Solvent free microwave-assisted extraction of antioxidants from sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) food by-products. Food Bioprocess Technol 4:1020–1028
Aguilera JM (2003) Solid–liquid extraction. In: Tzia C, Liadakis G (eds) Extraction optimization in food engineering. Dekker, New York, pp 35–55
Hu Z, Cai M, Liang HH (2008) Desirability function approach for the optimization of microwave-assisted extraction of saikosaponins from Radix bupleuri. Sep Purif Technol 61(3):266–275
Raynie DE (2000) Extraction. In: Wilson ID, Adlard ER, Cooke M, Poolie CF (eds) Encyclopedia of separation science. Academic Press, San Diego
Majors RE (2008) Practical aspects of solvent extraction. LCGC N Am 26(12):1158–1166
Routray W, Orsat V (2011) Microwave-assisted extraction of flavonoids: a review. Food Bioprocess Technol 5(2):1–16
Eskilsson CS, Björklund E (2000) Analytical-scale microwave-assisted extraction. J Chromatogr A 902:227–250
Thostenson ET, Chou TW (1999) Microwave processing: fundamentals and applications. Compos Part A Appl S 30(9):1055–1071
Metaxas AC, Meredith RJ (1983) Industrial microwave heating. Peter Peregrinus, London, pp 28–31
Kingston HM, Jassie LB (1988) Introduction to microwave sample preparation. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC
Acierno D, Barba AA, d’Amore M (2004) Heat transfer phenomena during processing materials with microwave energy. Heat Mass Transfer 40:413–420
Mandal V, Mohan Y, Hemalath S (2007) Microwave assisted extraction-an innovative and promising extraction tool for medicinal plant research. Phcog Rev 1(1):7–18
Jassie L, Revesz R, Kierstead T, Hasty E, Metz S (1997) In: Kingston HM, Haswell SJ (eds) Microwave-enhanced chemistry. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, p 569
Zlotorzynski A (1995) The application of microwave radiation to analytical and environmental chemistry. Crit Rev Anal Chem 25:43–75
Jain T, Jain V, Pandey R, Vyas A, Shukla SS (2009) Microwave assisted extraction for phytoconstituents: an overview. Asian J Res Chem 2(1):19–25
Buffler CR (1993) Microwave cooking and processing: engineering fundamentals for the food scientist. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York
Chen M, Siochi EJ, Ward TC, McGrath JE (1993) Basic ideas of microwave processing of polymers. Polym Eng Sci 33:1092–1109
Abhayawick L, Laguerre JC, Tauzin V, Duquenoy A (2002) Physical properties of three onion varieties as affected by the moisture content. J Food Eng 55:253–262
Al-Harahshed M, Kingman SW (2004) Microwave-assisted leaching: a review. Hydrometallurgy 73:189–203
Datta AK (2007) Porous media approaches to studying simultaneous heat and mass transfer in food processes. I: Problem formulations. J Food Eng 80:80–95
Datta AK (2007) Porous media approaches to studying simultaneous heat and mass transfer in food processes. II: Property data and representative results. J Food Eng 80:96–110
Takeuchi TM, Pereira CG, Braga MEM, Maróstica MR Jr, Leal PF, Meireles MAA (2009) Low-pressure solvent extraction (solid–liquid extraction, microwave-assisted, and ultrasound-assisted) from condimentary plants. In: de Almeida Meireles MA (ed) Extracting bioactive compounds for food products, 1st edn. CRC Press/Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, pp 137–218
Navarrete A, Mato RB, Cocero MJ (2012) A predictive approach in modeling and simulation of heat and mass transfer during microwave heating. Application to SFME of essential oil of lavandin super. Chem Eng Sci 68:192–201
Sihvola A (2000) Mixing rules with complex dielectric coefficients. Subsurf Sensing Technol Appl 1:393–415
Chen L, Song D, Tian Y, Ding L, Yu A, Zhang H (2008) Application of on-line microwave sample-preparation techniques. Trends Anal Chem 27:151–159
Spigno G, De Faveri DM (2009) Microwave-assisted extraction of tea phenols: a phenomenological study. J Food Eng 93:210–217
Chan C-H, Yusoff R, Ngoh G-C, Kung FW-L (2011) Microwave-assisted extractions of active ingredients from plants. J Chromatogr A 1218:6213–6225
Tatke P, Jaiswal Y (2011) An overview of microwave assisted extraction and its applications in herbal drug research. Res J Med Plants 5:21–31
Brachet A, Christen P, Veuthey JL (2002) Focused microwave-assisted extraction of cocaine and benzoylecgonine from coca leaves. Phytochem Anal 13:162–169
Wang L, Weller CL (2006) Recent advances in extraction of nutraceuticals from plants. Trends Food Sci Technol 17:300–312
Zhou H-Y, Liu C-Z (2006) Microwave-assisted extraction of solanesol from tobacco leaves. J Chromatogr A 1129:135–139
Zigoneanu IG, Williams L, Xu Z, Sabliov CM (2008) Determination of antioxidant components in rice bran oil extracted by microwave-assisted method. Bioresour Technol 99:4910–4918
Talebi M, Ghassempour A, Talebpour Z, Rassouli A, Dolatyari L (2004) Optimization of the extraction of paclitaxel from Taxus baccata L. by the use of microwave energy. J Sep Sci 27:1130–1136
Song J, Li D, Liu C, Zhang Y (2011) Optimized microwave-assisted extraction of total phenolics (TP) from Ipomoea batatas leaves and its antioxidant activity. Innov Food Sci Emerg Technol 12:282–287
Pan X, Niu G, Liu H (2003) Microwave assisted extraction of tea polyphenols and tea caffeine from green tea leaves. Chem Eng Process 42:129–133
Eskilsson CS, Björklund E, Mathiasson L, Karlsson L, Torstensson A (1999) Microwave-assisted extraction of felodipine tablets. J Chromatogr A 840:59–70
Llompart MP, Lorenzo RA, Cela R, Jocelyn Pare JR, Belanger JMR, Li K (1997) Phenol and methylphenol isomers determination in soils by in-situ microwave-assisted extraction and derivatisation. J Chromatogr A 757:153–164
Lu Y, Ma W, Hu R, Dai X, Pan Y (2008) Ionic liquid-based microwave-assisted extraction of phenolic alkaloids from the medicinal plant Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. J Chromatogr A 1208:42–46
Chen Y, Xie M-Y, Gong X-F (2007) Microwave-assisted extraction used for the isolation of total triterpenoid saponins from Ganoderma atrum. J Food Eng 81:162–170
Wang Y, You J, Yu Y, Qu C, Zhang H, Ding L et al (2008) Analysis of ginsenosides in Panax ginseng in high pressure microwave-assisted extraction. Food Chem 110(1):161–167
Xiao W, Han L, Shi B (2008) Microwave-assisted extraction of flavonoids from Radix astragali. Sep Purif Technol 62(3):614–618
Li J, Zu Y-G, Fu Y-J, Yang Y-C, Li S-M, Li Z-N, Wink M (2010) Optimization of microwave-assisted extraction of triterpene saponins from defatted residue of yellow horn (Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge.) kernel and evaluation of its antioxidant activity. Innov Food Sci Emerg Technol 11:637–664
Yan MM, Liu W, Fu YJ, Zu YG, Chen CY, Luo M (2010) Optimisation of the microwave-assisted extraction process for four main astragalosides in Radix astragali. Food Chem 119(4):1663–1670
Chemat S, Ait-Amar H, Lagha A, Esveld DC (2005) Microwave-assisted extraction kinetics of terpenes from caraway seeds. Chem Eng Process 44:1320–1326
Khajeh M, Akbari Moghaddam AR, Sanchooli E (2009) Application of Doehlert design in the optimization of microwave assisted extraction for determination of zinc and copper in cereal samples using FAAS. Food Anal Methods 3(3):133–137
Alfaro MJ, Belanger JMR, Padilla FC, Pare JRJ (2003) Influence of solvent, matrix dielectric properties, and applied power on the liquid-phase microwave-assisted processes (MAP™)1 extraction of ginger (Zingiber officinale). Food Res Int 36:499–504
Raner KD, Strauss CR, Vyskoc F, Mokbel L (1993) A comparison of reaction kinetics observed under microwave irradiation and conventional heating. J Org Chem 58:950–995
Huie CW (2002) A review of modern sample-preparation techniques for the extraction and analysis of medicinal plants. Anal Bioanal Chem 373:23–30
Ruan GH, Li GKJ (2007) The study on the chromatographic fingerprint of Fructus xanthii by microwave assisted extraction coupled with GC-MS. J Chromatogr B 850:241–248
Kovács Á, Ganzler K, Simon-Sarkadi L (1998) Microwave-assisted extraction of free amino acids from foods. Z Lebensm Unters Forsch A 207:26–30
Michel T, Destandau E, Elfakir C (2011) Evaluation of a simple and promising method for extraction of antioxidants from sea buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides L.) berries: pressurised solvent-free microwave-assisted extraction. Food Chem 126:1380–1386
Fan JP, Zhang RF, Zhu JH (2010) Optimization of microwave-assisted extraction of total triterpenoid in Diospyros kaki leaves using response surface methodology. Asian J Chem 22(5):3487–3500
Nyiredy S (2004) Separation strategies of plant constituents: current status. J Chromatogr B 812:35–51
Yuan L, Li H, Ma R, Xu X, Zhao C, Wang Z, Chen F, Hu X (2012) Effect of energy density and citric acid concentration on anthocyanins yield and solution temperature of grape peel in microwave-assisted extraction process. J Food Eng 109:274–280
Dhobi M, Mandal V, Hemalatha S (2009) Optimization of microwave assisted extraction of bioactive flavonolignan–silybinin. J Chem Metrl 3(1):13–23
Chemat F, Smadja J (2004) Brevet Européen. EP 1 439 218 A1
Vian M, Fernandez X, Visinoni F, Chemat F (2008) Solvent free microwave extraction of Elletaria cardamomum L.: a multivariate study of a new technique for the extraction of essential oil. J Chromatogr A 1190:14–17
Mengal P, Mompon B (1996) Method and apparatus for solvent free microwave extraction of natural products. Eur Patent P EP 698,076 B1
Virot M, Tomao V, Colnagui G, Visinoni F, Chemat F (2007) New microwave-integrated Soxhlet extraction. An advantageous tool for the extraction of lipids from food products. J Chromatogr A 1174:138–144
Chemat F, Smadja J, Lucchesi ME (2004) Solvent-free microwave extraction of volatile natural substances. US Patent 0,187,340, A1
Clayton B (1999) Heating with microwaves, Engineering World, 4–6
Wang LJ (2010) Advances in extraction of plant products in nutraceutical processing. In: Pathak Y (ed) Handbook of nutraceuticals, vol II: Scale up, processing and automation. CRC Press/Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, pp 15–52
Chemat F, Abert-Vian M, Visinoni F (2008) Microwave hydrodiffusion for isolation of natural products. European Patent EP 1,955,749 A1
Grigonis D, Venskutonis PR, Sivik B, Sandahl M, Eskilsson CS (2005) Comparison of different extraction techniques for isolation of antioxidants from sweet grass (Hierchloë odorata). J Supercrit Fluids 33:223–233
Hao J-Y, Han W, Huang S-D, Xue B-Y, Deng X (2002) Microwave-assisted extraction of artemisinin from Artemisia annua L. Sep Purif Technol 28(3):191–196
Pan X, Liu H, Jia G, Shu YY (2000) Microwave-assisted extraction of glycyrrhizic acid from licorice root. Biochem Eng J 5:173–177
Bagherian H, Ashtiani FZ, Fouladitajar A, Mohtashamy M (2011) Comparisons between conventional, microwave- and ultrasound-assisted methods for extraction of pectin from grapefruit. Chem Eng Process 50:1237–1243
Chen Y, Ming-Yong X, Xiao-Feng G (2007) Microwave-assisted extraction used for the isolation of total triterpenoid saponins from Ganoderma atrum. J Food Eng 81:162–170
Wakte PS, Sachin BS, Patil AA, Mohato DM, Band TH, Shinde DB (2011) Optimization of microwave, ultrasonic and supercritical carbon dioxide assisted extraction techniques for curcumin from Curcuma longa. Sep Purif Technol 79:50–55
Gallo M, Ferracane R, Graziani G, Ritieni A, Fogliano V (2010) Microwave assisted extraction of phenolic compounds from four different spices. Molecules 15:6365–6374
Raghavan S, Richards MP (2007) Comparison of solvent and microwave extracts of cranberry press cake on the inhibition of lipid oxidation in mechanically separated turkey. Food Chem 102(3):818–826
Hemwimon S, Pavasant P, Shotipruk A (2007) Microwave-assisted extraction of antioxidative anthraquinones from roots of Morinda citrifolia. Sep Purif Technol 54(1):44–50
Cravotto G, Boffa L, Mantegna S, Perego P, Avogadro M, Cint P (2008) Improved extraction of vegetable oils under high-intensity ultrasound and/or microwaves. Ultrason Sonochem 15(5):898–902
Chemat F, Lucchesi ME, Smadja J, Favretto L, Colnaghi G, Visinoni F (2006) Microwave accelerated steam distillation of essential oil from lavender: a rapid, clean and environmentally friendly approach. Anal Chim Acta 555(1):157–160
Farhat A, Fabiano-Tixier A-S, Visinoni F, Romdhane M, Chemat F (2010) A surprising method for green extraction of essential oil from dry spices: microwave dry-diffusion and gravity. J Chromatogr A 1217(47):7345–7350
Hongyan L, Deng Z, Wu T, Liu R, Loewen S, Tsao R (2012) Microwave-assisted extraction of phenolics with maximal antioxidant activities in tomatoes. Food Chem 130(4):928–936
Kapás Á, András CD, Dobre TG, Székly G, Stroescu M, Lányi S, Ábrahám B (2011) The kinetic of essential oil separation from fennel by microwave assisted hydrodistillation (MWHD). UPB Sci Bull Ser B 73(4):113–120
Kaufmann B, Christen P, Jean-Luc V (2001) Parameters affecting microwave-assisted extraction of withanolides. Phytochem Anal 12(5):327–331
Lucchesi ME, Chemat F, Smadja J (2004) Solvent-free microwave extraction of essential oil from aromatic herbs: comparison with conventional hydro-distillation. J Chromatogr A 1043(2):323–327
Lucchesi ME, Smadja J, Bradshaw S, Louw W, Chemat F (2007) Solvent free microwave extraction of Elletaria cardamomum L.: a multivariate study of a new technique for the extraction of essential oil. J Food Eng 79(3):1079–1086
Mandal V, Dewanjee S, Mandal SC (2009) Microwave-assisted extraction of total bioactive saponin fraction from Gymnema sylvestre with reference to gymnemagenin: a potential biomarker. Phytochem Anal 20(6):491–497
Martino E, Ramaiola I, Urbano M, Bracco F, Collina S (2006) Microwave-assisted extraction of coumarin and related compounds from Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pallas as an alternative to Soxhlet and ultrasound-assisted extraction. J Chromatogr A 1125(2):147–151
Pan X, Niu G, Liu H (2001) Microwave-assisted extraction of tanshinones from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge. with analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography. J Chromatogr A 922(1–2):371–375
Sahraoui N, Vian MA, Bornard I, Boutekedjiret C, Chemat F (2008) Improved microwave steam distillation apparatus for isolation of essential oils: comparison with conventional steam distillation. J Chromatogr A 1210(2):229–233
Zill-e-Huma Y-J, Vian MA, Fabiano-Tixier A-S, Elmaataoui M, Dangles O, Chemat F (2011) A remarkable influence of microwave extraction: enhancement of antioxidant activity of extracted onion varieties. Food Chem 127(4):1472–1480
Jensen WB (2007) The origin of the Soxhlet extractor. J Chem Educ 84(12):1913–1914
de Luque Castro MD, Garcia-Ayuso LE (1998) Soxhlet extraction of solid materials: an outdated technique with a promising innovative future. Anal Chim Acta 369:1–10
Kaufmann B, Christen P, Veuthey J-L (2001) Parameters affecting microwave-assisted extraction of withanolides. Phytochem Anal 12:327–331
Pan X, Niu G, Liu H (2002) Comparison of microwave-assisted extraction and conventional extraction techniques for the extraction of tanshinones from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge. Biochem Eng J 12:71–77
Brunner G (2005) Supercritical fluids: technology and application to food processing. J Food Eng 67:21–33
Pereira CG, Meireles MAA (2010) Supercritical fluid extraction of bioactive compounds: fundamentals, applications and economic perspectives. Food Bioprocess Technol 3:340–372
Stalikas CD (2007) Extraction, separation, and detection methods for phenolic acids and flavonoids. J Sep Sci 30(18):3268–3295
Chemat F, Zill-e-Huma Y-J, Khan MK (2011) Applications of ultrasound in food technology: processing, preservation and extraction. Ultrason Sonochem 18(4):813–835
Jian-bing J, Xiang-hong L, Mei-qiang C, Zhi-chao X (2006) Improvement of leaching process of geniposide with ultrasound. Ultrason Sonochem 13(5):455–462
Gaete-Garretón L, Vargas-Hernández Y, Cares-Pacheco MG, Sainz J, Alarcón J (2011) Ultrasonically enhanced extraction of bioactive principles from Quillaja saponaria Molina. Ultrasonics 51(5):581–585
Mason TJ, Paniwnyk L, Lorimer JP (1996) The use of ultrasound in food technology. Ultrason Sonochem 3(3):253–8260
Vinatoru M (2001) Na overview of the ultrasonically assisted extraction of bioactive principles from herns. Ultrason Sonochem 8(3):303–313
Sivakumar V, Ravi Verma V, Rao PG, Swaminathan G (2007) Studies on the use of power ultrasound in solid–liquid myrobalan extraction process. J Cleaner Prod 15(18):1815–1820
Majors RE (2006) Modern techniques for the extraction of solid materials: an update. LC-GC N Am 24(7):648–660
Cha KH, Kang SW, Kim CY, Um BH, Na YR, Pan CH (2010) Effect of pressurized liquids on extraction of antioxidants from Chlorella vulgaris. J Agric Food Chem 58(8):4756–4761
Santos DT, Veggi PC, Meireles MAA (2012) Optimization and economic evaluation of pressurized liquid extraction of phenolic compounds from jabuticaba skins. J Food Eng 108:444–452
Richter BE, Jones BA, Ezzell JL, Porter NL (1997) Accelerated solvent extraction: a new technique for sample preparation. Anal Chem 68(6):1033–1039
Kaufmann B, Christen P (2002) Recent extraction techniques for natural products: microwave-assisted extraction and pressurised solvent extraction. Phytochem Anal 13(2):105–113
Brachet A, Rudaz S, Mateus L, Christen P, Veuthey J-L (2001) Optimisation of accelerated solvent extraction of cocaine and benzoylecgonine from coca leaves. J Sep Sci 24(10–11):865–873
Acknowledgments
Priscilla C. Veggi thanks Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) for Ph.D. assistantships (2008/10986-2). The authors thank FAPESP (2009/17234-9) and CNPq (302778/2007-1) for financial support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Veggi, P.C., Martinez, J., Meireles, M.A.A. (2012). Fundamentals of Microwave Extraction. In: Chemat, F., Cravotto, G. (eds) Microwave-assisted Extraction for Bioactive Compounds. Food Engineering Series. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4830-3_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4830-3_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-4829-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-4830-3
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)