Improved extraction of oil from chickpea under ultrasound in a dynamic system

In this work, ultrasound-assisted dynamic extraction (UADE) is proposed. The dynamic approach allows go-and-backward circulation of solvent through the sample subjected to the action of ultrasound. The extraction efficiency of hexane, isopropanol, a hexane–isopropanol mixture as well as the comparison between static extraction and flow-through extraction with or without ultrasound were evaluated. The effects of ultrasonic power, extraction temperature, time and extractant flow rate on the yield of oil from chickpea were also investigated. Results showed that solvent type significantly influenced extraction efficiency, the combination of hexane and isopropanol obtained the highest oil yield. Dynamic system and ultrasonication dramatically enhanced the extraction of oil. Moreover, results indicated that 20 min was sufficient for UADE with lower cost to obtain higher extraction yields (10.45% and 2.06% higher) than those by 4 h conventional solvent extraction (CSE) and 30 min ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) for oil. Gas chromatography analysis of chickpea oil indicated that the oil was enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids and few changes in fatty acid composition occurred in ultrasonicated oil.