Drying and essential oil extraction of Brazilian peppertree

• Published in: Revista brasileira de engenharia agrícola e ambiental Vol. 24; no. 9; p. 637
• Main Authors: Governici, Julia L, Sperotto, Naiara C.Z, Melo, Evandro de C, Gonzaga, Diego A, Carneiro, Antonio P.S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: ATECEL--Associacao Tecnico Cientifica Ernesto Luiz de Oliveira Junior 01.09.2020
• Subjects: Brasil
• ISSN: 1415-4366; 1807-1929
• DOI: 10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v24n9p637-643

The objectives of this work were to determine the effect of the drying air temperature and fruit fragmentation on the essential oil yield of Brazilian peppertree (Schinus terebinthifolius) fruits, to model drying curves, and evaluate the energy consumption of the drying process. The study was conducted in Vicosa, MG, Brazil, in May 2018. The experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design, in a 3 x 2 factorial arrangement (3 drying air temperatures and 2 fruit fragmentation types), with three replications. Whole fruits (350 g) were dried at 50, 60, and 70 [degrees]C until the water content reached a water content of 0.11 on dry basis; 90 g of these fruits where kept in the dryer until reaching an equilibrium water content for the modeling. The data of drying were fitted to 12 mathematical models, whose performances were evaluated by the coefficient of determination, mean relative error, mean estimated error, and residue distribution. The essential oil was extracted by hydro-distillation using whole or fragmented fruits. Fruits dried at 50 [degrees]C and fragmented before extraction had higher essential oil yield. The use of air temperature of 70 [degrees]C resulted in lower drying time and energy consumption. The data fitted to the Midilli model satisfactorily, regardless of the drying air temperature. Key words: medicinal plant, post-harvest, mathematical modeling, temperature, fruit fragmentation Objetivou-se determinar a influencia da temperatura do ar de secagem e da fragmentacao dos frutos no rendimento de oleo essencial de pimenta-rosa (Schinus terebinthifolius), ajustar as curvas de secagem e avaliar o consumo energetico do processo. O estudo foi conduzido em Vicosa, MG, em maio de 2018. Realizou-se o experimento no delineamento inteiramente casualizado e esquema fatorial 3 x 2 (tres temperaturas de secagem e dois tipos de fragmentacao do fruto), com tres repeticoes. Foram secos 350 g de frutos inteiros a 50, 60 e 70 [degrees]C ate atingir teor de agua de 0,11 base seca. Para modelagem, 90 g permaneceram no secador ate atingir teor de agua de equilibrio. Os dados experimentais de secagem foram utilizados para ajustar 12 modelos matematicos, cujos desempenhos foram avaliados pelo coeficiente de determinacao, erro medio relativo, erro medio estimado e distribuicao de residuos. Apos a secagem, extraiu-se o oleo essencial por hidrodestilacao com os frutos inteiros ou triturados. Frutos secos a 50 [degrees]C e triturados antes da extracao tiveram maior rendimento de oleo essencial. A temperatura de 70 [degrees]C apresentou menor tempo de secagem e consumo energetico. O modelo de Midilli se ajustou satisfatoriamente aos dados, independente da temperatura de secagem. Palavras-chave: planta medicinal, pos-colheita, modelagem matematica, temperatura, fragmentacao do fruto