Performance optimization of the process of drying and extraction of polyphenols from wine residual biomass

Abstract

A mathematical model of the pomace drying process and the extraction of its phenolic compounds is described, with the aim of recovering bio-compounds from the waste of the wine industry for its revaluation. The behavior of operative variables of interest is analyzed when maximizing the total recovery of the extraction for different amounts of raw material feed into the system. The optimum recovery is really high throughout the analyzed range, slightly decreasing with the increase in fresh pomace feeding. To maximize total recovery, the concentrated extract reaches the maximum concentration of soluble solids allowed in all cases while increasing the final product flow. The performance of the model is acceptable, which leads to the expansion of the analysis, in future works, considering not only operational but also techno-economic aspects in order to make it more efficient within the framework of the circular economy.