An overview of the impact of electrotechnologies for the recovery of oil and high-value compounds from vegetable oil industry: Energy and economic cost implications

Oil recovery from oilseeds and fruits is one of the food processes where efficiency is the key to ensure profitability. Wastes and by-products generated during oil production process are, on the other hand, a great source of high-added value compounds that could be recovered in turn at a later stage. In many cases, physical extraction processes present efficiency problems or just not profitable, requiring a chemical solvent extraction that could be toxic and difficult to manage from an environmental point of view. Furthermore, the use of high temperatures to improve and/or accelerate the processes (with consequent degradation of thermolabile compounds) is usually required. Therefore, the application of new pre-treatment technologies to replace partially or completely the conventional methods, and to achieve the processes more efficiently and sustainably is of great importance. Electrotechnologies, especially pulsed electric fields and high voltage electrical discharges are some of the most promising techniques. In this review, the main published results are summarized, emphasizing their potential applications and studying their energy and economic cost, a key aspect to assess their industrial viability. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.