Study on optimization of SF-CO2 extraction of essential oil from seeds of pomegranate by response surface methodology

Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize for the supercritical CO2 extraction process of essential oil from pomegranate seeds. Three extraction parameters including extraction pressure, extraction temperature, and extraction time were selected as dependent variables based on the experiment of a single factor. The interaction of the respective variables and their influence on the oil yield were studied by using central composite design and response surface analysis theory. The quadratic polynomial regression equation of prediction regression model was established. The results indicated that the optimal extraction process was obtained as follows:45MPa of extraction pressure, extraction temperature of 50℃ , 90min of extraction time, which resulted in a maximum oil yield of 20.3%.