Kinetic study of the supercritical CO 2 extraction of 3 different plants from Lamiaceae family

23 The supercritical CO2 extraction of four different plants from Lamiaceae family, 24 namely oregano (Origanum vulgare), thyme (Thymus zygis), sage (Salvia officinalis) 25 and rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) was carried out in an experimental pilot-plant 26 comprising an extraction cell of two liters capacity. 600 g of leaves of each plant 27 material, with the same pre-treatment, were extracted at the same pressure and 28 temperature (30 MPa and 313 K) and using 2.4 kg/h of CO2. Further, the same 29 fractionation procedure in a two on-line decompressing separators at, respectively, 10 30 MPa and 0.1 MPa was employed. In this way, a thoughtful comparison of the 31 extraction kinetic was established and discussed, in terms of the extraction yields 32 attained in the separators, the variation of the essential oil composition with time and 33 the content of key bioactive substances identified in the different fractions. 34 35 36 37 38