Purification and fractionation of crude seaweed extracts by adsorption-desorption processes

Crude seaweed extracts are excellent sources of phlorotannins and low molecular weight polyphenols, whose health benefits have been widely proven. However, these extracts also contain other compounds that influence their polyphenolic purity and, therefore, their applications. Resin purification (RP) and adsorption preparative liquid chromatography (APLC) have been extensively studied to purify and isolate polyphenols. Both processes are governed by the adsorption/desorption separation phenomenon but use different resins, macroporous for RP and microporous for APLC. The preliminary study of the adsorption phenomenon improves the RP and APLC response variables (yield, purity, resolution, and productivity) by narrowing the process operating range. Hence, exploratory experiments on RP and APLC systems, which are usually more time-consuming and costly, are reduced. Additionally, response variables can be efficiently optimized using first-principles models.