Alkaline Birch Ash Extract Solvent for Bioactive Compound Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional extraction methods using water or water-alcohol solutions are inefficient in recovering bioactive compounds and minerals from plant materials, particularly failing to effectively extract greases and oils.
Innovation Solution
The use of alkaline birch ash extract as a solvent, which is produced by boiling birch ash in water or birch sap, enhances the recovery of phenolic compounds and minerals by breaking down cell membranes and increasing the alkalinity of the extraction process, potentially combined with alcohol to improve the solubility of oils and greases.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If water or water-alcohol solutions are used as solvents, then the extraction process is simple and cost-effective, but the recovery of bioactive compounds and minerals is inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the solvent by using alkaline ash extract instead of neutral water or water-alcohol solutions. This parameter change (increasing alkalinity) enables more efficient extraction of bioactive compounds and minerals from plant materials, directly resolving the contradiction between recovery efficiency and process simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite solvent system combining ash extract with alcohol in specific proportions. This composite approach leverages the alkaline properties of ash extract for breaking down cell membranes and the solubility properties of alcohol for extracting oils and greases, achieving superior recovery efficiency while maintaining practical processability.
2Productivity
If conventional solvents are used, then the extraction process is straightforward, but greases and oils are not effectively extracted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the solvent's chemical composition by incorporating alcohol into the ash extract system. This parameter change enhances the solvent's ability to dissolve non-polar substances like greases and oils while maintaining the alkaline environment needed for bioactive compound extraction, thus improving recovery without significantly complicating the process.
Solution Approach 2:
The ash extract-alcohol solvent system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it breaks down cell membranes through alkaline action, extracts water-soluble bioactive compounds, and dissolves lipophilic substances like oils and greases. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by achieving comprehensive extraction efficiency while keeping the process simple.
3Productivity
If ash extract is used as a solvent, then the extraction of bioactive compounds is enhanced, but the solvent contains components from the ash itself
Solution Approach 1:
The patent selectively extracts only the beneficial components from the ash (alkaline substances and minerals) while filtering out and removing the unwanted ash components (solid particulates) through filtration steps. This extraction principle allows the beneficial ash-derived substances to remain in the solvent while eliminating the harmful or undesirable ash residues from the final extract.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses filtration as an intermediary process between the ash extract formation and the final extraction. This intermediary step separates the desired soluble components from the unwanted insoluble ash particles, allowing the extract to benefit from ash components while removing the harmful ash residues through the filtration barrier.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method results in a more efficient extraction of bioactive compounds and minerals, producing a preservable extract with a higher yield of desired substances compared to conventional methods, while also improving the recovery of oils and greases.
Implementation Method 1
An alkaline solvent breaks down cell membranes and increases efficiency in, inter alia, the recovery of phenolic compounds
Implementation Method 2
Extraction is a chemical separation method in which the desired substance can be separated from a solution on the basis of the solubility characteristics of the substance
Implementation Method 3
Also widely used are alcohol solvents or water-alcohol solvents, which dissolve greases and oils well
Implementation Method 4
Birch ash extract dissolves substances more effectively from the parts of plants and other starting materials than water or a water-alcohol solution
Data Source
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AI summary
The object of the invention is an extract from organic starting materials produced by means of a solvent and a method for producing the extract. In the method, alkaline ash extract of botanical or fungal origin is used as a solvent, as a consequence of which the finished extract contains components contained in the ash extract used as a solvent.