Aprovechamiento de desechos orgánicos: 1. Extracción y caracterización del aceite de semillas de naranja colectadas en expendios ambulantes de jugos

Abstract

The Soxhlet extraction, using n-hexane as solvent, of the orange seed oil from waste residues obtained in street sales of fruit juices of Merida, Venezuela, was studied. Yields of 5.1% oil (w/w) and 42.7% (w/w) relative to the initial mass of the residue and dry seeds, respectively, were obtained. The oil was subjected to a transesterification process with methanol and the main components of the mixture of methyl esters achieved were quantified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS), which turned out to be: linoleate (311%), oleate (311%), palmitate (303%) and magnesium stearate (7.10.5%). The mixture of methyl esters was subjected to the hydrolysis reaction in aqueous alkaline medium yielding the respective acid mixture which, after a precipitation process in HCl aqueous solution and its re-crystallization in n-hexane, generated an acid mixture with a higher content of unsaturated acids.

Keywords

• Orange seed oil
• Exploitation of organic wastes
• Unsaturated acids
• Transesterification