Recovery of norbixin from a raw extraction solution of annatto pigments using colloidal gas aphrons (CGAs)

Soluble natural sweetener from date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) extract using colloidal gas aphrons generated with a food-grade non-ionic surfactant

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is the most commonly cultivated fruit tree in the Middle East and North Africa. Date fruits are an excellent source of nutrition due to their high sugar content and high levels of phenols, minerals, and antioxidants. This work aimed to prepare a soluble natural sweetener from date fruit extract using colloidal gas aprons (CGAs) generated with a food-grade non-ionic surfactant (Tween 20). Various process parameters, such as the flow rate of the CGAs, the volume of the feed, the temperature of the CGAs, and the feed solution, were varied to obtain the optimal parameters. In the foam phase, the maximum soluble sugar enrichment of 92% was obtained at a flow rate of 50 mL/min of CGA and a solution temperature of 23 °C. The formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the glucose molecules and the surfactant Tween 20 was confirmed by molecular modeling studies.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-023-05907-9.

Colloidal gas aphrons for biotechnology applications: a mini review

Colloidal gas aphrons (CGAs) are highly stable, spherical, micrometer-sized bubbles encapsulated by surfactant multilayers. They have several intriguing properties, including: high stability, large interfacial area, and the ability to maintain the same charge as their parent molecules. The physical properties of CGAs make them ideal for biotechnological applications such as the recovery of a variety of: biomolecules, particularly proteins, yeast, enzymes, and microalgae. In this review, the bio-application of CGAs for the recovery of natural components is presented, as well as: experimental results, technical challenges, and critical research directions for the future. Experimental results from the literature showed that the recovery of biomolecules was mainly determined by electrostatic or hydrophobic interactions between polyphenols and proteins (lysozyme, β-casein, β-lactoglobulin, etc.), yeast, biological molecules (gallic acid and norbixin), and microalgae with CGAs. Knowledge transfer is essential for commercializing CGA-based bio-product recovery, which will be recognized as a viable technology in the future.

Aphron applications--a review of recent and current research

Colloidal aphrons are multi-layered stable bubbles (CGAs) or droplets (CLAs), surrounded by a thin surfactant film. The small size of the aphrons creates a system with a high interfacial area which can be pumped like water without collapsing. The high stability of colloidal aphrons due to a thin soapy shell surrounding the core, and high interfacial area make them of interest in many processes such as mineral processing, protein recovery, drilling fluids, separation of organic dyes from waste water, predispersed solvent extraction of dilute streams, clarification and purification of suspensions, soil remediation, material synthesis and immobilization of enzymes. This article aims to provide a comprehensive database in generation, characterization and applications of colloidal gas and liquid aphrons from more than 140 published works so far. The article also reports scale up, industrial applications, technical limitation regarding aphrons application and important future research scopes.

Cloud Point Extraction of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Aqueous Solution with Nonionic Surfactants

A cloud point extraction (CPE) process using the two nonionic surfactants, Tergitol 15-S-9 and Tergitol 15-S-7, mixtures of secondary ethoxylated alcohols, to extract selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from aqueous solutions at 25°C was investigated. Cloud point temperatures (CPTs) of selected nonionic surfactants were studied against the effect of added electrolytes on their cloud points. Sodium iodide could increase the cloud points of selected nonionic surfactants, i.e., the salt-in effect, whereas sodium chloride, sodium phosphate and sodium sulfate could decrease the cloud point, i.e., the salt-out effect. Cloud point temperatures (CPTs) of these micellar solutions were regulated and reduced enough with addition of sodium phosphate and sodium sulfate, so that the cloud point extraction (CPE) process could be facilitated at 25°C. It was found that a higher preconcentration factor could be achieved in the micellar solution having a lower surfactant concentration. The average preconcentration factor was also discussed as a function of surfactant concentration used in the CPE process.

Separation of astaxanthin from cells of Phaffia rhodozyma using colloidal gas aphrons in a flotation column

The aim of this study is to investigate the separation of astaxanthin from the cells of Phaffia rhodozyma using colloidal gas aphrons (CGA), which are surfactant stabilized microbubbles, in a flotation column. It was reported in previous studies that optimum recoveries are achieved at conditions that favor electrostatic interactions. Therefore, in this study, CGA generated from the cationic surfactant hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) were applied to suspensions of cells pretreated with NaOH. The different operation modes (batch or continuous) and the effect of volumetric ratio of CGA to feed, initial concentration of feed, operating height, and flow rate of CGA on the separation of astaxanthin were investigated. The volumetric ratio was found to have a significant effect on the separation of astaxanthin for both batch and continuous experiments. Additionally, the effect of homogenization of the cells on the purity of the recovered fractions was investigated, showing that the homogenization resulted in increased purity. Moreover, different concentrations of surfactant were used for the generation of CGA for the recovery of astaxanthin on batch mode; it was found that recoveries up to 98% could be achieved using CGA generated from a CTAB solution 0.8 mM, which is below the CTAB critical micellar concentration (CMC). These results offer important information for the scale-up of the separation of astaxanthin from the cells of P. rhodozyma using CGA.