One main objective of this study was to increase the utilization the raw material in the rose (Rosa damascena Mill.) essential oil industry. A new process for the recovery of polyphenols from distilled (de-aromatized) rose petals, the primary by-product of essential oil production, was developed. The process includes enzyme-assisted extraction and subsequent membrane separation for partial concentration. Following a green technology strategy, the newly developed process offers an environmentally-friendly alternative to the conventional processing, comprising organic solvent extraction and adsorber resin purification. Using multifactorial mathematical modeling (N = 23), the influence of working pressure, volume reduction ratio (VRR) and feed flow rate on the flux during ultrafiltration of rose petal extract was studied. For the 1 kDa molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) membrane VRR had the most significant effect (negative) on the flux, followed by the positive effects of working pressure and feed flow rate, while for the 10 kDa molecular MWCO membrane only VRR and working pressure were significant factors.
TEI of West Macedonia
