Abstract
Vitamin E in polycaprolactone nanoparticles was continuously produced by supercritical fluid extraction of emulsions using a high-pressure packing column in countercurrent mode. This operating mode reduces the amount of solvent required, increases production capacity and enables lower residual organic solvent concentrations in the raffinate. At 8.0 MPa and 313 K, with a packing height of 2 m, and a solvent to feed ratio of 5 kg L-1, the residual acetone concentration was 1400 ppm, far below 5000 ppm, and therefore suitable for pharmaceutical applications. The process was also simulated with Aspen Plus. It would be necessary to increase the packing height to 3.5m or the CO2 flow rate to 60 gmin(-1) in order to get a residual acetone concentration suitable for food applications (50 ppm). The nanoparticles produced were non-aggregated spheres, which had an encapsulation efficiency higher than 70% and particle size at the nanoscale. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.