Organic Extraction, Purification and Evaluation of Long Chain Fatty Alcohol from Saccharum officinarum of Sugar Refinery Waste for Human Wellness

Abstract

The current study has explored an extraction and purification method for 1-octacosanol from sugarcane waste, commonly known as press mud, through the application of SCFE by the unique concept of solid-solid and liquid-liquid extraction which increases content and decreases impurity which is an extra advantage at purification stage by help of green solvent instead any carcinogenic solvent, which reduce process time, increase content and environment friendly. The isolated compounds were characterized by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection, which shows 50% content of octacosanol in the final product. Novel refinement technique through hot ethanolic reflux method has substantially increased the octacosanol assay to ≥ 50% with more than 67% purity from the crude wax assay of 26% obtained by the current method of extraction. The identity of said compound was further authenticated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Diffraction scanning calorimetry (DSC) and FTIR studies. The purity of the octacosanol obtained was ≤70% and the conversion recovery of octacosanol was 80.04% by the reflux method, thereby representing the simplicity of the above process for industrial feasibility. The current process represents a value addition liquid-liquid supercritical extraction with a time-saving, cost-effective, reproducible, newer, green, safe, and sustainable technology valorizing sugarcane waste for a high-end nutraceutical