Efficiency of aqueous oleosome extraction from capsicum seeds compared to classical oil extraction

The extraction of oil from oilseeds in intact oleosomes is one of the suggested processes that could replace the extraction of oil by pressing and solvent extraction, being milder, environmentally less impactful and potentially more efficient in its use of resources. This study assesses the latter using an exergy assessment of oleosome extraction for food emulsions. The contribution of each part of the process to the overall impact was investigated. Based on current lab-scale data, oleosome extraction has nearly twice the exergy loss compared to the industrial process of oil extraction and industrial assembly of emulsions. The exergy losses of the lab-scale oleosome extraction are currently dominated by the chemical exergy associated with product loss during the separation of oleosomes from the rest of the biomass. This loss is expected to significantly decrease when upscaled to industrial scale. When substituted with industrial material efficiencies, the total exergy loss decreased to nearly a quarter of the original loss, representing oleosome extraction as a potentially more effective and environment-friendly option.