Chlorophyll Extraction from Wood Plants at Elevated Temperatures

Yao Tsung Lee¹, Donyau Chiang², Mao Kuo Wei³ and Sanboh Lee¹*

• ¹Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan
• ²Taiwan Instrument Research Institute, National Applied Research Laboratories, Taiwan
• ³Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan

Received:June 10, 2021;   Published:June 22, 2021

*Corresponding author:Sanboh Lee, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan

DOI: 10.32474/SJFN.2021.04.000178

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Abstract

Chlorophyll is a significant component in tea leaves and plays a vital role in health and industrial applications, but its extraction kinetics using solvent did not report in the literature. The chlorophyll extract from Shy Jih Chuen, Ttes No 12, and Chin Shin Oolong were conducted at different temperatures using acetone, ethanol, and methanol. Shy Jih Chuen, which harvests all year round, has the most remarkable chlorophyll extraction rate; Ttes No 12, offspring of Chin Shin Oolong, has a higher extraction rate than Chin Shin Oolong. The amounts of chlorophyll increased with the increase of temperature and time. The chlorophyll extraction from the fresh leaves is faster than that from the dried leaves due to thermal aging. The solvent to decrease the chlorophyll extraction rate follows the sequence acetone > ethanol > methanol, implying that the lower polarity solvent achieves the higher extraction rate because chlorophyll is hydrophobic. A diffusion model coupled with surface wetting is used to explain the extraction kinetics. Surface structure affects the epidermis wetting. The diffusivity, wetting time, and relaxation time satisfy the Arrhenius equation. The activation energies of chlorophyll diffusion and surface wetting are greater for wood plants than for herbaceous plants, implying that the chlorophyll extraction rate of the former is lower than that of the latter.

Keywords:Tea Leaf; Chlorophyll Extraction; Diffusion; Activation Energy