Experimental study an‎d optimization of the separation process of polyphenols in Aspen Adsorption medium

9/16/2026 12:00:00 AM

In recent years, concerns about the harmful effects of chemicals on human health an‎d the environment have increased attention towards natural sources such as medicinal plants. Polyphenols, known for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, an‎d anticancer properties, play an important role in the pharmaceutical, food, an‎d cosmetic industries. This research aimed to efficiently extract an‎d separate polyphenols from grape pomace using adsorption in a fixed-bed column with macroporous resin LXA-10. After collecting an‎d drying, the pomace samples contained three key polyphenols including catechin, procyanidin B, an‎d gallic acid. The adsorption process was conducted under controlled conditions using LXA-10 resin, an‎d the adsorbed compounds were recovered from the resin with methanol. Identification an‎d quantification of polyphenols were performed using UV-Vis an‎d HPLC analyses. To optimize operational conditions, the adsorption process was simulated using Aspen software, examining parameters such as concentration, column height, an‎d flow rate. Results showed that the adsorption process on LXA-10 resin was well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model (R² = 0.99) an‎d Langmuir isotherm model (R² = 0.93). The highest polyphenol adsorption capacity obtained experimentally was 0.598 g per gram of resin (at 90 cm column height an‎d 30.22 mL/min flow rate). In simulations, the highest adsorption capacity was 0.570 g/g resin at 80 cm column height an‎d 26.55 mL/min flow rate. Changes in flow rate, column height, an‎d resin structure significantly affected the adsorbent usage an‎d the shape of breakthrough curves. The simulations showed good agreement with experimental data, with a maximum error of 4.91%. Three-dimensional simulation plots effectively illustrate the trend of polyphenol adsorption over time an‎d space, an‎d parameters such as adsorption an‎d desorption rates, breakthrough time, an‎d unused bed length were analyzed. To more accurately describe the process, the stoichiometric isotherm was also employed as a complementary model. The highest adsorption capacity predicted by simulations under the same conditions was 0.519 g/g resin. The use of LXA-10 resin in a fixed-bed column combined with software simulation provides an efficient method for polyphenol extraction with potential for industrial scale-up. Therefore, to enhance prediction accuracy an‎d improve process performance, it is recommended that the effects of additional operational parameters be investigated in future studies.

مطالعه تجربي , شبيه‌سازي جذب گياهي , مدلسازي , پلي‌فنول هاي تفاله انگور , رزين ماكرومتخلخل

Experimental study , plant adsorption simulation , modeling , grape pomace polyphenols , macroporous resin

Dorsa Nemati

Dr. Shahrokh Shahhosseini