Influence of green solvent extraction on carotenoid yield from shrimp (Pandalus borealis) processing waste

In this work, sunflower oil (SF) and methyl ester of sunflower oil (ME-SF) were introduced as two green solvents for extracting astaxanthin (ASX) from shrimp processing waste. The effects of temperature (25, 45, 70 °C), solvent to waste ratio (3, 6, 9), waste particle size (0.6 and 2.5 mm) and moisture content (0% and 86.8%) as well as stirrer speed (120, 200, 400 rpm) were studied during the process. In all the experiments, ASX yields from extraction with ME-SF were higher than with SF. For both solvents, the highest ASX content using a short extraction time was achieved at a temperature of 70 °C, a solvent to waste ratio of 9 and a stirrer speed of 400 rpm while the waste particle size and moisture content were 0.6 mm and 86.8%, respectively. ME-SF and SF seem promising solvents extracting respectively about 80% and 60% of the total ASX extracted by organic solvents.