One of the world's acclaimed pioneers in supercritical fluid technology is now the Fulbright Canada Visiting Research Chair in Food Science in the Faculty of ALES.
Jerry King, an Emeritus/Adjunct Professor at the University of Arkansas and the author of more than 260 publications, is an expert in chemical separations using compressed fluids such as carbon dioxide and/or water.
These separations, or extractions, are accomplished through the technology when temperature and pressure are increased to above or below the critical point of CO2 or H20, respectively. CO2 then has properties in-between those of a liquid and a gas and hence can be manipulated in various ways.
For instance, CO2 can be used as an extraction solvent that replaces petroleum-based solvents used in the processing of various agricultural products.
"The CO2 extraction is safer and greener, more sustainable and in some cases more specific," said King, whose accomplished career in supercritical fluid research includes posts at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the National Centre for Agriculture Utilization Research, a United States Department of Agriculture lab in Peoria, Illinois.
Of note is that nearly 50 years ago, King helped co-develop a solubility parameter theory, which predicts the optimum processing pressure needed for various substances.
During his Fulbright, King is striving to determine the solubility parameter to enhance the extraction of a class of lipids called phospholipids. His partner in the research is ALES food process engineer, Feral Temelli, also a world-renowned authority on using supercritical carbon dioxide technology for the processing of lipids and nutraceuticals.
Phospholipids are a critical component in foodstuffs, nutraceuticals, and at certain levels, in doctor-prescribed products to assist in the treatment of human health issues.
Knowing the optimum pressure and temperature for the extraction of a targeted material (i.e. phospholipids) enhances the recovery of these health-beneficial ingredients.
"Right now we can predict these optimum conditions, but we have concerns that the resultant predictions may be in error, and that experimental verification is needed," King said. He will be using another technique- inverse gas chromatography - to determine these parameters experimentally.
"Having a world-renowned authority like Dr. King in our group is incredible as we expand our capabilities to include solubility parameter determinations both experimentally and theoretically for different bioactive components," said Temelli.
King and Temelli are also completing a reference book for the academic publisher, Elsevier, about applying supercritical fluids to food-related products. It will update current developments in this area, which is by far the most successful application for the technology. Among the products it's produced are decaffeinated coffee, hop extracts, omega-3 fish oils, and many other health supplements and nutraceuticals.
There are other uses for the technology that are imminent, said King, such as applying CO2 extraction for hemp-cannabis that's intended for medicinal and recreational use, and for the processing of marine and algae materials to obtain food and medicinal ingredients.
On December 1, King will deliver a lecture on Pan-Canadian-U.S. initiatives using critical fluid technologies that will touch on their many applications. It will take place in room 1-007 of the Engineering, Teaching and Learning Complex (ETLC) at 3:00 p.m.
Jerry King, an Emeritus/Adjunct Professor at the University of Arkansas and the author of more than 260 publications, is an expert in chemical separations using compressed fluids such as carbon dioxide and/or water.
These separations, or extractions, are accomplished through the technology when temperature and pressure are increased to above or below the critical point of CO2 or H20, respectively. CO2 then has properties in-between those of a liquid and a gas and hence can be manipulated in various ways.
For instance, CO2 can be used as an extraction solvent that replaces petroleum-based solvents used in the processing of various agricultural products.
"The CO2 extraction is safer and greener, more sustainable and in some cases more specific," said King, whose accomplished career in supercritical fluid research includes posts at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the National Centre for Agriculture Utilization Research, a United States Department of Agriculture lab in Peoria, Illinois.
Of note is that nearly 50 years ago, King helped co-develop a solubility parameter theory, which predicts the optimum processing pressure needed for various substances.
During his Fulbright, King is striving to determine the solubility parameter to enhance the extraction of a class of lipids called phospholipids. His partner in the research is ALES food process engineer, Feral Temelli, also a world-renowned authority on using supercritical carbon dioxide technology for the processing of lipids and nutraceuticals.
Phospholipids are a critical component in foodstuffs, nutraceuticals, and at certain levels, in doctor-prescribed products to assist in the treatment of human health issues.
Knowing the optimum pressure and temperature for the extraction of a targeted material (i.e. phospholipids) enhances the recovery of these health-beneficial ingredients.
"Right now we can predict these optimum conditions, but we have concerns that the resultant predictions may be in error, and that experimental verification is needed," King said. He will be using another technique- inverse gas chromatography - to determine these parameters experimentally.
"Having a world-renowned authority like Dr. King in our group is incredible as we expand our capabilities to include solubility parameter determinations both experimentally and theoretically for different bioactive components," said Temelli.
King and Temelli are also completing a reference book for the academic publisher, Elsevier, about applying supercritical fluids to food-related products. It will update current developments in this area, which is by far the most successful application for the technology. Among the products it's produced are decaffeinated coffee, hop extracts, omega-3 fish oils, and many other health supplements and nutraceuticals.
There are other uses for the technology that are imminent, said King, such as applying CO2 extraction for hemp-cannabis that's intended for medicinal and recreational use, and for the processing of marine and algae materials to obtain food and medicinal ingredients.
On December 1, King will deliver a lecture on Pan-Canadian-U.S. initiatives using critical fluid technologies that will touch on their many applications. It will take place in room 1-007 of the Engineering, Teaching and Learning Complex (ETLC) at 3:00 p.m.