ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Response surface optimization of cholesterol extraction from lanolin alcohol by selective solvent crystallization

Hui Ding, Dan Zhao, and Yujie Gao

School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

E-mail: wsgmdzs@163.com

Abstract: A process to extract cholesterol from lanolin alcohol by selective solvent crystallization and recrystallization was developed. The crude lanosterol crystallization process was performed in methanol-acetone (3:1, v/v) as solvent at 18 mL g⁻¹ liquid–solid ratio and 20.0 °C for 6 h. To be optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) coupled with central composite design, the process of cholesterol crystallization was carried out in acetic acid as solvent at 4.18 mL g⁻¹ liquid–solid ratio and 26.1 °C for 6 h. Under the optimized conditions, cholesterol purity was substantially improved increasing from 17.5 to 76.2%, while the purity and recovery efficiency of cholesterol increased to 94.7 and 88.0% after recrystallization, respectively.

Keywords: Selective solvent crystallization; Response surface methodology; Cholesterol; Crude lanosterol; Extraction

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-016-0043-1

Chemical Papers 71 (1) 71–79 (2017)