Sequential Drying and Extraction of Lipids and Bioactives from High-Moisture Food Side Streams Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide: A Novel Approach to Side-Stream Valorization

Sequential Drying and Extraction of Lipids and Bioactives from High-Moisture Food Side Streams Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide: A Novel Approach to Side-Stream Valorization

ACS Sustainable Resource Management

10.1021/acssusresmgt.5c00311

https://doi.org/10.1021/acssusresmgt.5c00311

Yun Zou, Lay Kien Yang, Christian Hermansen, Md Mahabubur Rahman Talukder, Melanie Weingarten, Nur Eka Fitriani, Mario Wibowo, Yoganathan Kanagasundaram, Christina Khoo, Lai Yeng Lee, Jun Wei Ng, Sreenivasa Reddy Puniredd

supercritical carbon dioxide, supercritical drying, side stream valorization, high-moisture food side stream, food upcycling

10 October 2025

Zou, Y., Yang, L. K., Hermansen, C., Talukder, M. M. R., Weingarten, M., Fitriani, N. E., Wibowo, M., Kanagasundaram, Y., Khoo, C., Lee, L. Y., Ng, J. W., & Puniredd, S. R. (2025). Sequential Drying and Extraction of Lipids and Bioactives from High-Moisture Food Side Streams Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide: A Novel Approach to Side-Stream Valorization. ACS Sustainable Resource Management. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssusresmgt.5c00311

Supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO2) offers multiple advantages such as low processing temperature and an oxygen-free processing environment for applications like drying food side streams and extracting lipids and bioactives. In this work, SCCO2 drying was investigated for four food side streams, including SBP (soybean pulp), brewer’s spent grain (BSG), spent coffee grounds (SCG), and cranberry pomace (CBP). The Taguchi method was used to systematically vary the processing parameters (pressure, temperature, flow rate, and extraction time) to assess their impact on moisture removal. SCCO2 drying extracted around 83–90% of the water from food side streams without affecting the properties of high-value products within the side streams. Optimal drying conditions were found to be at 100 bar and 70 °C for BSG and SCG, at 200 bar and 70 °C for SBP, and at 100 bar and 60 °C for CBP, with drying times and flow rates of CO2 ranging from 2.5 to 3 h and 90 to 150 g/min, respectively. Following drying, a sequential extraction strategy was implemented: neat SCCO2 was initially employed to extract lipids, followed by ethanol injections to recover leftover lipids and ethanol-soluble bioactives and, subsequently, sequential injections of 70% ethanol and water to extract the remaining bioactives. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) analyses of each fraction collected from CBP demonstrated that SCCO2 not only enabled efficient drying and concurrent extraction of water-soluble bioactives but also allowed for stepwise lipid extraction and selective fractionation of bioactives at each stage. This integrated, one-pot SCCO2 process offers a sustainable and efficient approach for the comprehensive valorization of high-moisture food side streams.

Publisher Copyright

This research / project is supported by the This research / project is supported by the National Research Foundation, Singapore, and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) - Singapore Food Story R&D Programme Theme 2 - Industry Alignment Fund - Pre-Positioning Cycle 2 on Advanced Biotech-Based Protein Production Programme - NA
Grant Reference no. : A21H7a0132

This research / project is supported by the National Research Foundation, Singapore, and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) - Singapore Food Story R&D Programme Theme 2 - Industry Alignment Fund - Pre-Positioning Cycle 2 on Advanced Biotech-Based Protein Production Programme - NA
Grant Reference no. : W22W2D0001

This research / project is supported by the the National Research Foundation, Singapore, and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) - Singapore Food Story (SFS) R&D Programme 1.0 Theme 2 Future Foods: Shared Lab Facilities Whitespace Funding - NA
Grant Reference no. : W23W2D0012

This research / project is supported by the the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Singapore Institute Food & Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI) - Central Funds, Council Strategic Funds, BMRC programmes - NA
Grant Reference no. : C210314014 and C210314016

This research / project is supported by the A*STAR under the Manufacturing, Trade and Connectivity Industry Alignment Fund─Pre-positioning (MTC IAF-PP) Food Manufacturing Thematic Grant (FMG) administered by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research. - NA
Grant Reference no. : M24N2a0036

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Sustainable Resource Management, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/acssusresmgt.5c00311

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2837-1445
2837-1445

Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation