Microwave Assisted Extraction of Olive Oil Pomace by Acidic Hexane

In this study, Microwave-Assisted Solvent Extraction (MASE) was used to recover oil residues from pomace olive using acidic hexane. Results obtained demonstrated that oil extraction yield increased with time, the amount of acetic acid in hexane and power radiation. For both radiation powers used (170 and 510W), the optimal extraction time and most interesting content of acetic acid in hexane are 1.5 minutes and 5.0% respectively. Oil yield obtained at power 510 W was slightly higher than those corresponding to 170 W. Compared to results obtained with pure hexane, the yield increases were 8.4 % at 170 W and 6.0% at 510 W.  However, the oil extracted from pomace olive was found to be of poor quality; indeed only phenolic compounds concentration increased significantly with acetic acid content.