Pervaporation: The emerging technique for extracting aroma compounds from food systems

To date, according to the latest literature inputs, membrane-based technologies have demonstrated to meet the recovery of several high-added-value compounds from agro-food products. Particularly, Pervaporation (PV), as a highly selective membrane technique, has demonstrated its ability in separating specific solutes like aroma compounds, which represent a current research challenge for food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. The goal of this paper is to provide a critical overview of the ongoing development works aimed at extracting aroma compounds and their derivatives from their original sources. The literature data is shown, analyzed and discussed in relation to the separation process, molecule properties, membrane characteristics and key factors affecting the performance of such technology. Particular attention is paid to experimental results reported in the most recent findings. In addition, the generalities of PV, as well as the theoretical aspects and its role in separation, are also provided.