Pulsed electric field assisted sunflower oil pilot production: Impact on oil yield, extraction kinetics and chemical parameters

Abstract Sunflower oil pilot-production based on local raw materials assisted by pulsed electric field (PEF), which is produced in terms of oil yield, extraction kinetics and chemical parameters on pilot scale mill with continuous-flow material treatment developed in this work. PEF treatment with electric field strength 7 kV/cm and energy consumption of 6.1 kJ/kg on the sunflower seed increased the value of extraction yield by 2.3%, with respect to a control one. Extraction parameters obtained by pulsed electric field treatment showed that diffusion coefficient, micropore volume, and disintegration index were significantly higher than control ones (on 55.5%, 32.2% and 43% respectively). Furthermore, the use of PEF treatment had minor effects on the main chemical characteristics (acid and peroxide value etc.) and color parameters of the sunflower oil. On the basis of obtained results, it can be concluded that PEF could be a high potential industrial technology to improve enriched in human-health-related compounds of sunflower oil. Practical applications The obtained results are relevant for specialists using PEF technologies and developing PEF equipment. The data will also be in demand when calculating the economic efficiency of PEF application on an industrial scale.