2017 14th International Conference on Engineering of Modern Electric Systems (EMES)

About the Extraction in Microwave Field of the

Essential Oils and Beta-Carotene from Carrots

Arion Mircea – Nicolae, Hathazi Francisc – Ioan, Molnar Carmen Otilia, Șoproni Vasile Darie, Codrean Marius
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Oradea
Oradea, România
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract—Carrot root has been used for medicinal purposes 175 g, this hybrid being created by ICDLF Vidra;
from ancient times, being well known its beneficial properties as
follow: anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, antioxidant, - Italian hybrid carrot Carota novela di ispica, a carrot from
hypoglycemic oil of carrot. The paper presents a study regarding Nantes type with tapered cylindrical shape, 30 mm diameter,
an extraction method of volatile oil from carrot root using with root length 25cm, deep orange color, weight 196g.
microwave energy and ethyl alcohol as a solvent. The yield of The main objective in these experiments was to highlight
extraction was examined in a series of experiments in order to
the possibilities of extracting of essential oils from carrot root
determine the effect of process parameters - initial temperature,
[5], by using microwave energy. A qualitative comparison and
the temperature of extraction and the particle size of carrot used.
The experiments conducted for the extraction of beta-carotene comparisons related to the main parameters of the process were
from carrots were performed in various conditions involving performed as well.
different temperatures and processing of the samples using From safety reasons, in order to avoid the phenomena that
ethanol as solvent. The samples used for the extraction were might affect the integrity of the microwave generator, the
tested at 40°C, 50°C, 60°C and 80°C. It was observed that the system will operate during experiment in pulses, using a
solubility and the yield of carotene from carrots depends on the magnetron with adjustable power.
temperature and time of extraction. It has been shown that the
most efficient extraction was performed with samples dried,
using a temperature range of 65° ÷ 75°C for a period of 4-5 II. EXPERIMENTS AND RESULTS
hours. At higher temperatures the sample was destroyed. The aim of the experiments is to determine possibilities of
extraction of beta-carotene and the essential oil from carrots.
Keywords—essential oils; microwave; extraction; solvent,
Also is realized a comparison between the two types of
process parameters; beta-carotene.
extracted oils in microwave field for the two types of hybrid,
using ethyl alcohol as a solvent C2H5 - OH.
I. INTRODUCTION
The carrot (Daucus carota), is originated in Central Asia
wherefrom it spread in all continents, so as the wild carrot
(Daucus carota) is the ancestor of cultivated carrot (Daucus
carota sativus) [1]. The wild form was used as a medicinal
plant since ancient times, however, the carrot is used primarily
grown as a root vegetable so as the carrot oil is used as a
flavoring agent in foods and cosmetics.
Herbs have been used since ancient times as drugs for the
treatment of wide range of diseases. In our days, modern
methods allow scientists to use plants to cure many diseases, so
that they have shown that the carrot presents anti-inflammatory
properties, antioxidant, anti-diabetic, etc., [3], [4]. The
medicinal soap production with oil extracted from seeds of
carrot has been shown effective in the treatment of infestation
by fungi such as the one caused by Trichophyton rubrum. Fig. 1. Extraction process (carrot – Daucus carota sativus)

In this work, the experiments were performed on two In order to perform these study, the experiments were
subspecies of carrots namely: carried out in two directions. In the first step of the analysis,
was extracted the essential oil from fresh roots of the two
- Romanian hybrid carrot Triunph 1, which is a carrot type hybrids, and in the second stage of experiment was studied the
Nantes with cylindrically shaped root with rounded tip, with extraction of essential oils from the dried roots from the two
convex middle side, root length 20cm, orange intense, weight hybrids. During the experiments the beta-carotene is extracted

978-1-5090-6073-3/17/$31.00 ©2017 European Union

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together with the essential oils, [5]. In order to obtain the beta- wavelength and current scanning of the lamp. The β-carotene
carotene and the volatile oils, experiments were performed for concentration (g/100ml) was calculated using the response
different microwave powers, using a microwave generator with factors as follows:
adjustable power 0 ÷ 1.5 kW.
A  d V
The solvent used for extraction of beta-carotene and   carotne 
E11cm
%
w
volatile oils is identical in both experiments, and consist in
ethyl alcohol. This solvent has been used because it has a low where: A – absorbance; d – Dilution; V – Volume (ml);
boiling point and there is no risk of the sample being destroyed 1%
E1cm - Coefficient of absorbance; w – Weight of sample (g).
[5]. The alcohol has good dissolving capacity of organic and
mineral substances, dissolving, in a greater extent the volatile
oils. In order to increase the extraction yield and to find the
proper concentration of the solvent, were prepared different
alcoholic solutions that were used during experiments.
Extraction conditions: The experimental materials were
shredded, 2mm / 2mm granules, without visible granulation
differences, so that the solvent will came into contact with a
larger surface of material, placed in the extraction space
inserted into a special filter cartridge. The extraction yield of
essential oil / beta-carotene was observed at different
temperatures (20°C, 40°C, 60°C, 80°C) for two programs of
microwave use. The first program presume bombing the
sample used for experiments at 10 seconds regular time steps.
The second program suppose consist in bombing the sample at
30 seconds intervals. In both cases was used as solvent the
Fig. 3. Chromatographic profile for Romanian hybrid carrot Triunph 1
ethyl alcohol with 90% purity. Samples consisting in extraction
cartridge filter and carrot beads subjected to the experiments
were 100 g in weight and 450 ml ethanol was used. After each
siphoning, a sample of 5 ml was taken for analysis. The roots
of the two hybrids used for the experiments were harvested in
August from the Western Plain, Oşorhei commune, Bihor
County, from the Northwestern of Romania.
The experimental equipment used for extraction consist in a
microwave extraction reactor comprises the variable power
magnetron (0 ÷ 1.5kW) and the 2.450MHz frequency, the
waveguide, the balloon for the solvent and the special filter
paper cartridge where the sample is placed (Fig.2). The
condensation part comprises a coil where the essential oil/beta-
carotene condenses, by using the cooling water having a
constant temperature of 15°C.
Fig. 4. Chromatographic profile for Italian hybrid carrot Carota novela di
ispica

The experiments were performed with both fresh material

and dehydrated material for both types of hybrids. In order to
determine the dry matter was used the gravimetrically method
where the sample moisture was analyzed for 100g sample,
dried on sieves placed in air draft, so as the sample is being
dehydrated at a temperature of 28°C. From these experiments,
resulting a concentrated compound which was analyzed.
The schematic diagram of the system in which experiments
were conducted is shown in Figure 2. The experiments were
carried out in two different directions: extraction of essential
oils and extraction of beta-carotene. During the extraction
process in the experiments, the following parameters are
Fig. 2. Microwave system used for extraction of essential oils / beta-carotene monitored:
Determination of β - carotene: The extract was determined - syphoning time [min];
spectrophotometric using an atomic absorption - microwave output parameters - by measuring the anode
spectrophotometer, type GBC GeminAA, which has automatic current of the magnetron;

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- initial and final temperature, monitored with thermal sensors
in order to avoid the stop of microwave emission;
- measurement of the temperature of the heated sample in the
microwave field is realized by using a thermal sensor for
temperature reading and for avoiding overheating areas,
monitoring that was carried out throughout the experiments in
order not to damage the sample;
- the behavior of sample and solvent used in microwave field;
- the operating mode of the microwave generator coupled to a
multimode type applicator (TE323) having a medium absorbing
load inside, characterized by a relative allowance value of 2,7
÷ 4 and a loss factor of order 10-2. Fig. 7. Report Syphoning / The obtained oil [ml]
Experimental results that shows the obtained data are
presented in Tables I ÷ III and Figures 3 ÷ 13 respectively.

TABLE I. EXTRACTION OF ESSENTIAL OILS FROM ROMANIAN HYBRID

CARROT TRIUNPH 1 (MICROWAVE POWER 250W)
The
Syphoning Starting Final
obtained
Syphoning Solvent time temperature temperature
volatile oil
[min] [°C] [°C]
[ml]
Syphoning 1 252 15,3 82,4 76
Syphoning 2 Ethyl 217 54,8 78,5 64
Syphoning 3 alcohol 176 52,5 77,6 58
Syphoning 4 144 51,9 77,2 51

Remarks:
- Acceptable amount of oil extracted;
- The use of thermal sensors for temperature measurement has Fig. 8. Microscopic view of the solution obtained after extraction for
proved to be a viable solution instead of the use of a Romanian hybrid carrot triunph 1, in the 1-4 syphonings
thermocouple.
TABLE II. EXTRACTION OF ESSENTIAL OILS FROM ITALIAN HYBRID
CARROT CAROTA NOVELA DI ISPICA 1 (MICROWAVE POWER 250W)
The
Syphoning Starting Final
obtained
Syphoning Solvent time temperature temperature
volatile oil
[min] [°C] [°C]
[ml]
Syphoning 1 227 14,8 78,4 112
Syphoning 2 Ethylic 208 52,3 76,8 94
Syphoning 3 alcohol 189 51,6 74,2 78
Syphoning 4 167 51,2 73,7 72

Remarks:
- the amount of oil extracted is higher in the case of this
hybrid;
Fig. 5. Report Syphoning / Syphoning Time [min] - syphoning time and lower temperatures.

Fig. 6. Report Syphoning / Initial / Final temperature [°C] Fig. 9. Report Syphoning / Syphoning Time [min]

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Fig. 10. Report Syphoning / Initial / Final temperature [°C]
Fig. 13. Total extraction time / yield β - carotene at different temperatures

III. CONCLUSIONS
It can conclude that during the experiments, the temperature
increase to 80°C positively influencing the yield of beta -
carotene extraction, however the deterioration of the material
undergoing experiments has been observed. It is therefore
recommended to extract β - carotene at lower temperatures in
range 40° ÷ 60°C.
Fig. 11. Report Syphoning / The obtained oil [ml] During the experiments are observed oscillations of
reflected power, the phenomenon being more accentuated to
high temperature, indicating changes in the dielectric
permitivity and the loss factor of the sample. The results
obtain through the analysis of the experimental results, shows
that the quality and color of the resulting oil can be improved
by using higher ethyl alcohol concentrations, which
automatically improves the characteristics of the obtained oil.
Presented method, has the advantage that it can be used for
the extraction of volatile oils from any vegetal substrate.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was co-financed from the European Regional
Fig. 12. Microscopic view of the solution obtained after extraction for Italian Development Fund through Sectoral Operational Program
hybrid carrot Carota novela di ispica, in the 1-4 syphonings “Increase of the Economic Competitiveness” – POS-CCE
2007-2013, project number POS-CCE 1843/48800, "Increasing
TABLE III. YIELD Β-CAROTENE (MG / 100G) AT 20°C, 40°C, 60°C, 80°C IN THE the capacity of research - development of the interdisciplinary
DRIED SAMPLES SUBJECTED TO THE EXPERIMENT (250W)
laboratories for the technologies in electrical engineering”,
Microwave developed by University of Oradea.
Extraction β – caroten β – caroten β – caroten β – caroten
pulse
time at 20°C at 40°C at 60°C at 80°C
application
[min] [mg / 100g] [mg / 100g] [mg / 100g] [mg / 100g] REFERENCES
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