Application of Electric Field Force for the Accumulation of Anthocyanins from Winery Wastewater

Abstract

The recovery of anthocyanins from winery wastewater constitutes an attractive option for both environmental and commercial valorization, as food colorants and nutraceutical ingredients. In this study, the electric field induced ion drift method is proposed as a promising technique for the purification of wastewater solutions as well as for the accumulation of anthocyanins. The cation of the anthocyanidin malvidin (C17H15O7+) was selected as the most representative of winery waste, in order to develop a theoretical model. The main principle of the model is based on the displacement of charged anthocyanin ions, under the influence of an electric field vertical to the flow of the solution, and their accumulation on the side walls of a conductor. Apparatus inducing an electric field drift is described, and critical parameters (i.e., final spatial distribution of concentration, electric field intensity, surface charge density, and potential) were calculated. The proposed model succeeded in reducing anthocyanin concentration by more than 90%, for duct widths smaller than 1 mm in the bulk of the solution, for applied potentials φ(0) in the range of 0.2–0.4 V and target concentrations equal to 1.2 × 10−3 mol/m3.