We have reported a waste-minimized protocol for the Sonogashira cross-coupling exploiting the safe use of CPME/water azeotropic mixture and the utilization of a heterogeneous hybrid palladium catalyst supported onto silica/β-cyclodextrin...
Natural caffeine from decaffeination processes is widely used by pharmaceutical, cosmetic and soft-drink industries. Supercritical CO2 extraction (SFE–CO2) is extensively exploited industrially, and one of its most representative applications is the decaffeination process, which is a greener alternative to the use of organic solvents. Despite its advantages, extraction kinetics are rather slow near the CO2 critical point, meaning that improvements are highly sought after. The effect exerted by a combination of SFE–CO2 and ultrasound (US–SFE–CO2) has been investigated in this preliminary study, with the aim of improving mass transfer and selectivity in the extraction of caffeine from green coffee beans. This hybrid technology can considerably enhance the extraction efficiency and cut down process time. Further studies are in progress to demonstrate the complete decaffeination of green coffee beans of different types and origins.
Folpet,
a fungicide used on several crops, easily degrades into
phthalimide (PAI) at high temperatures and basic pH. The maximum admitted
limit for Folpet in foodstuffs as coffee is defined by the sum of
its amount and that of PAI. Noteworthy, PAI can also arise from the
reaction between ubiquitous phthalate derivatives and NH3. This work aims to demonstrate that the detection of PAI in roasted
coffee is not necessarily diagnostic for Folpet as it can also originate
from the reaction between phthalic anhydride (PAA), derived from phthalates,
and amino acids (AAs), as a NH3 source. Thermal treatment
of AAs with PAA confirmed that PAI generation follows a temperature-dependent
path. Experiments with diethyl phthalate (DEP) and AAs have shown
that maximum PAI generation via heating occurs at 200 °C for
60 min. PAI generation has also been proven for Folpet-free green
coffee beans that were heated under laboratory and industrial roasting
conditions.
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