Response surface methodology for optimizing high shear emulsifier-assisted extraction of essential oil from pine needles.

We used the response surface method to optimize the conditions for steam distillation extraction of essential oil from pine needles assisted by high shear emulsifier technology. Based on the results of single-factor tests and steepest ascent experiment, we used Box-benhnken Design (BBD, Design Expert 7) to design an experiment with three factors (high shear emulsifier rotary speed, shearing time, salt concentration) as variables and essential oil extraction rate as function value for optimizing the extraction conditions. The results showed that the optimal parameters of high shear emulsifier-assisted extraction were: high shear emulsifier rotary speed 14 950.65 r/min, shearing time 5.13 min, and mass fraction of salt 3.06%. Under these conditions, the essential oil extraction rate was 18.2 μL/g, exhibiting a good agreement with the predicted values.