Separation Science and Technology, Vol.46, No.9, 1406-1413, 2011
Separation of Liquiritin from Glycyrrhizic Acid in Licorice Root Extract by Nanofiltration Membrane
The aim of this work was to study the separation of liquiritin (LQ) from glycyrrhizic acid (GA), in licorice aqueous solutions using nanofiltration (NRT-7450) membrane. The LQ and GA components are the main active ingredients of licorice root extract with various pharmacological effects, The effects of transmembrane pressure, feed temperature, feed pH, and cross-flow velocity on permeate flux and recovery were determined. A lab scale cross-flow set up using flat-sheet configuration membrane was employed for all experiments. SEM micrographs showed the changes in the fouled surface during operating time. The applied transmembrane pressure, feed temperature, feed pH, and cross-flow velocity were varied from 4 to 10 bars, 30 to 40 degrees C, 3 to 9, and 0.8 to 3.1ms-1 respectively. The obtained recoveries for GA and LQ varied between 0.65 to 1.86% and 16.89 to 41.65%, respectively. The optimum operating conditions for separation LQ from GA in licorice aqueous solutions using NRT-7450 nanofiltration membrane were 1.8ms-1cross-flow velocity, 8 bars transmembrane pressure, 40 degrees C of feed temperature and pH 7.