Search

BR-102024017835-A2 - METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES

BR102024017835A2BR 102024017835 A2BR102024017835 A2BR 102024017835A2BR-102024017835-A2

Abstract

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES, within the scope of Green Chemistry, where such natural active substances originate from plants, fungi, lichens, insects, marine organisms, bacteria or microorganisms in general, using an extracting liquid, employing multiple physical effects resulting from the action of microwaves in a liquid-liquid or liquid-solid extraction system. Among these effects, the delayed boiling effect of said extracting liquid stands out, where the substrate is suspended in particulate form in said liquid, resulting from the volumetric heating produced by microwave irradiation. The same system can function as an infusion or percolation extractor with the advantages of precise temperature control obtained by the use of microwaves. The same system allows working with liquid-liquid extraction where liquids of opposite miscibilities are used to extract a given compound. The said system comprises means for agitating said suspension, comprising an agitator shaft (3), driven by a motor (5), as well as means for separating (17) the bioactives after their extraction from the biomass.

Inventors

  • JOSÉ LAVAQUIAL BIOSCA NETO
  • LETICIA MEGUMI ISHIBARU
  • MARCOS AURÉLIO CORRÊA MACHADO
  • RAFAEL NUNES SEGANTINE

Assignees

  • MICROONDAS DESENVOLVIMENTOS E TECNOLOGIAS LTDA

Dates

Publication Date
20260310
Application Date
20240829

Claims (20)

  1. 1. METHOD FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES, within the scope of Natural Products Chemistry, for the extraction of natural active substances originating from plants, fungi, lichens, insects, marine organisms and bacteria as important sources of biologically active substances, characterized by employing an extracting liquid and applying microwaves in a liquid-liquid or liquid-solid extraction system.
  2. 2. METHOD FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES, using an extraction liquid, characterized by comprising the use of the delayed boiling effect of said extraction liquid in the release of natural active substances, said bioactives, where a substrate is suspended in particulate form in said extraction liquid.
  3. 3. METHOD FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to claim 2, characterized in that said delayed boiling effect results from the volumetric heating of the liquid contained within a Reaction Module (1), produced by the application of microwaves.
  4. 4. METHOD FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to claim 2, characterized in that said microwaves are generated by magnetron valves (4).
  5. 5. METHOD FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to claim 3, characterized in that the operation of said magnetron valves is controlled by a signal from a temperature sensor (9) of said liquid contained within the Reaction Module.
  6. 6. METHOD FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to claim 5, characterized in that said signal is produced when said liquid reaches its boiling point.
  7. 7. METHOD FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to claim 6, characterized in that the magnetron valves are simultaneously switched off and a stirring device (3, 5) is activated when the boiling temperature is reached.
  8. 8. METHOD FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, after the extraction step of the bioactives by delayed boiling, it comprises forwarding the mixture comprising the extracting liquid, the substrate in suspension and the bioactives extracted therefrom, from the Reaction Module (1) to a separating device (17).
  9. 9. METHOD FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, after the extraction step of the bioactives by delayed boiling, it comprises forwarding the mixture comprising the extracting liquid, the natural active substance in suspension and the bioactives extracted therefrom, from the Reaction Module (1) to a filtering device.
  10. 10. METHOD FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to any one of claims 8 or 9, characterized in that said separating or filtering device (17) isolates the bioactives from the particulate substrate, where said bioactives are collected separately.
  11. 11. METHOD FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to claim 8, characterized in that said separating device (17) is a centrifugal separator.
  12. 12. SYSTEM FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES characterized by comprising a vertically arranged Reaction Module (1), comprising a resonant cavity inside which is disposed a tube of chemically inert material (2), provided with an agitator shaft (3) provided with a propeller of inert material propelling the liquid contents of the tube.
  13. 13. SYSTEM FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to claim 12, characterized in that said agitator shaft (3) is driven by a motor (5) associated with a rotation and speed inverter.
  14. 14. SYSTEM FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to claim 12, characterized in that it further comprises magnetron valves (4) coupled by means of waveguides to said resonant cavity.
  15. 15. SYSTEM FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to claim 12, characterized in that it comprises means for loading substrates associated with the upper and lower ends of the Reaction Module (1), and means for draining the contents of said Reaction Module at the lower end thereof.
  16. 16. SYSTEM FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to claim 15, characterized by being provided with a double form of lower and upper loading allowing operation in continuous, semi-continuous, batch and liquid-liquid modes.
  17. 17. SYSTEM FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to claim 15, characterized in that said substrate loading means associated with the upper end of the Reaction Module (1) comprise a pyramidal funnel (6) whose apex is coupled to a screw conveyor (7).
  18. 18. SYSTEM FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to claim 12, characterized in that it further comprises an extractor liquid reservoir (12) coupled to the lower end of the Reaction Module by means of a pipe and a valve (14).
  19. 19. SYSTEM FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to claim 12, characterized in that it further comprises a washing liquid reservoir (11) located above the upper end of the Reaction Module and coupled to it by means of a pipe (15) and a valve (10).
  20. 20. SYSTEM FOR MICROWAVE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL ACTIVE SUBSTANCES according to any one of claims 12 to 19, characterized in that it comprises a temperature sensor (9) installed in the lower region of the Reaction Module (1).

Description

Field of Invention [001] The present invention, situated in the field of Natural Products Chemistry, relates to the use of microwave technologies in the extraction of natural active substances originating from plants, fungi, lichens, insects, marine organisms and bacteria as important sources of biologically active substances. Preliminary [002] Plants, fungi, lichens, insects, marine organisms, bacteria, and microorganisms in general are important sources of biologically active substances, and most drugs in clinical use are either of natural origin or have been developed by planned chemical synthesis from natural products. Although there are currently several strategies and methodologies available for synthesizing and discovering new drugs, natural product chemistry represents one of these successful alternatives, historically privileged. [003] According to estimates from the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Brazil hosts between 15 and 20% of all global biodiversity, being considered the largest country on the planet in terms of the number of endemic species. Statistical data also indicate that there are 55,000 plant species, 517 amphibians (294 endemic), 1,622 birds (192 endemic), 524 mammals (about 130 endemic), 468 reptiles (172 endemic), 3,000 species of freshwater fish, and about 15 million insects, many completely unknown. With all this biological richness, the country's largest commercial export product (ca. 40%) refers to exotic plant species that were introduced, such as oranges, soybeans, sugarcane, and eucalyptus. [004] Brazil's biodiversity is considered a source of biologically active substances, and its preservation is fundamental both for the intrinsic value of this immense biological wealth and for its enormous potential as a source of new drugs, which has aroused the covetousness of research laboratories of pharmaceutical companies located, for the most part, north of the Equator. Given this reality, several bioprospecting research projects in our biomes have been implemented with the aim of rationally searching for value-added bioproducts. The present invention contributes to the effort to provide a more efficient extraction technique for these important natural products, both for research into the discovery of drug and/or phytopharmaceutical prototypes, and for advancing multidisciplinary basic research, as well as for the industrial process to obtain large volumes to meet market demands, also contributing to national technological development, considering that the micromolecular diversity of the numerous Brazilian biomes is still largely unexplored as a source of substances of pharmacological interest. [005] The demand for Natural Active Substances has been steadily increasing worldwide, mainly from industries in the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics sectors. The global trend of seeking natural products that promote benefits to human health has resulted in the evolution of the plant extracts market and its economic impact, which currently generates more than one billion dollars annually. [006] Although the great interest in plant and/or biological extracts in recent years has boosted their production, it is known that, industrially, the processes employed for this purpose are still the same as those used decades ago. In most industries, the extraction of natural products is still carried out through conventional processes, considered simple, but with unsatisfactory efficiency and in some cases using outdated technologies. [007] The most widely used conventional extraction methods (e.g., Soxhlet maceration, percolation, and hydrodistillation) have disadvantages such as long processing times, high energy consumption, low productivity, and high solvent volume. Furthermore, the use of high temperatures in some extraction processes can result in the degradation of thermolabile compounds and consequent loss of quality and added value of the final product. Therefore, the use of these extraction methods, in addition to presenting economic disadvantages, can also have environmental impacts. [008] Consequently, there is a growing demand for improvements in the efficiency of extraction processes as well as for reducing environmental impacts, which makes process intensification strategies widely explored. In recent years, several innovative technologies have been developed to intensify extraction processes, providing significant reductions in extraction time, energy consumption and solvent use, in addition to ensuring high extract quality. The most promising non-conventional technologies for obtaining bioactive compounds are microwaves, ultrasound, supercritical fluid, pressurized liquid and pulsed electric field. [009] This Patent Application stands out for its microwave methodology, which has shown excellent performance in obtaining a wide variety of plant extracts. The main advantages of this method are the significant reduction in extraction time, relatively low operating