Extraction of Carotenoids and Fatty Acids from Microalgae Using Supercritical Technology

The work described here is based on a comparative study of carotenoids and fatty acids extracted from Synechococcus sp. with 1) pure supercritical CO2; 2) CO2 with 5% (v/v) ethanol as cosolvent; and 3) ultrasound-assisted extraction using N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF). The effects of extraction conditions on supercritical CO2 extraction with and within cosolvent were analyzed at different temperatures (40 ̊C, 50 ̊C and 60 ̊C) and pressures (200, 300 and 400 bars). SFE with CO2 proved to be the most selective method for the extraction of β-carotene, but under these conditions the contents of zeaxanthin and fatty acids were only comparable to or lower than those obtained with techniques that use SFE cosolvent. The SFE technique with CO2 and ethanol simultaneously extracted β-carotene and zeaxanthin and not only increased the concentrations of fatty acids obtained, but also helped to remove fatty acids (palmitoleic and linolenic acid) that were not obtained with pure CO2. Comparison of the supercritical technology with the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) shows that the former technique is the most appropriate due to the fact that ethanol is generally regarded as a safe solvent in comparison to DMF.