Optimization of parameters for supercritical extraction of watermelon seed oil

The present work shows that watermelon seeds have great potential to producing high linoleic and oleic acid content vegetable oil, which have beneficial effects on human health. In concern with developing new green processes for high-quality yield, the extraction is carried out with supercritical CO2 and compared with conventional extraction technique. Extraction has been conducted within the temperature and pressure range of 60-100 degrees C and 200-400 bar, respectively. To describe the kinetics, the extended Lack model has been selected and effectively applied to the description of extraction curves. The fitting parameter Z, W, and x(k) have been optimized by Box optimization technique.