Industrialization of hydrodynamic cavitation in plant resource extraction
Francesco Meneguzzo, Federica Zabini
Abstract
Substantial evidence has accumulated about the outstanding effectiveness and efficiency of controlled hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) processes for extracting plant resources, as well as its compliance with the principles of green extraction of natural products. A few applications, such as the manufacturing of certain vegetable beverages and beer, offer considerable potential for industrial applications. However, resistance to innovation and possibly the issue of capital costs needed to replace or integrate existing installations can represent important barriers. Further promising application fields concern the manufacturing of dry extracts rich in bioactive compounds from plant resources. However, water removal steps account for most of the energy consumption, thus as high as possible biomass concentration should be used, which sets the design and test of effective strategies to intensify cavitation as a research priority. This short review surveys the most recent studies and proposes practical recommendations toward the actual industrialization of HC processes.