Mircea Vinatoru

An overview of the ultrasonically assisted extraction of bioactive principles from herbs

This paper presents a review of the ultrasonically assisted extraction of bioactive principles from herbs. Much of the work was carried out under European community grants under the COPERNICUS programme and in a COST D10 network. Some aspects of classical and non-conventional extraction procedures are also presented and briefly discussed.

Investigation of the effects of ultrasound on vegetal tissues during solvent extraction.

The paper presents an insight into the mechanism of the ultrasonic enhancement of solvent extraction through the effect of ultrasound on the vegetal material involved. Thus, a series of experiments has been developed to investigate the effect of ultrasonic energy on the vegetal material and the solvent used. Several results concerning the ultrasonic extractive value, ultrasonic swelling index and the effects of frequency on vegetal material are presented.

Sonolysis of Chlorobenzene in Fenton Type Aqueous Systems

The influence of ultrasounds (200 kHz frequency) on the decomposition of chlorobenzene (CB) in a water solution (around 100 ppm concentration) containing iron or palladium sulfates was investigated. The intermediates of the sonolysis were identified, thus allowing a deeper insight into the degradation mechanism. It was established that CB degradation starts by pyrolysis inside the cavitation bubbles. The initial sonolysis product is benzene, formed in a reaction occurring outside the cavitation from phenyl radicals and the hydrogen atoms sonolytically generated from the water. Polyphenols as products of the CB sonochemical degradation are reported for the first time. The palladium salt was found to be a useful and sensitive indicator for differentiating the sites and mechanisms of the product formation. An alternative mechanism for the CB sonolysis is advanced, explaining the formation of phenols, polyphenols, chlorophenols and benzene.

A comparison between the sonochemical and thermal reaction of 5H,5Cl-Dibenz[a,d]cycloheptatriene with nitrobenzene

The reaction of 5H,5Cl-dibenzo[a,d]cycloheptatriene with nitrobenzene was investigated under both thermal (210 degrees C) and ultrasonic (50 degrees C, 40 kHz) activation. The reaction products of both procedures are similar, but their amounts depend on the activation source. To account for the products a common electron transfer reaction is postulated through the dibenzotropylium cation. The differences between the thermal and ultrasonic process is thought to arise from the role of nitrobenzene as oxidant. Under thermal conditions this occurs throughout the reaction mixture but under sonication it occurs only in the cavitation bubble and in its immediate vicinity.

The ultrasonically induced reaction of benzoyl chloride with nitrobenzene: an unexpected sonochemical effect and a possible mechanism.

A mixture of benzoyl chloride and nitrobenzene is not known to be chemically reactive, indeed the mixture is chemically inert when subjected individually to either ultrasonic irradiation or heating. However, if this system is initially subjected to ultrasound and then heated for several hours at 200 degrees C, a reaction does occur and the products are benzoic anhydride, hydrochloric acid, nitrous and nitric acid together with some minor products. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of a reaction where the effect of ultrasound does not appear to be the consequence of the direct action of acoustic cavitation bubbles. A possible explanation of this behaviour is advanced which involves an electron transfer reaction in which nitrobenzene is first activated by ultrasound and then acts as oxidant in the thermal stage of reaction.

Sonolysis of chlorobenzene in the presence of transition metal salts

Sonolysis of aqueous solution of chlorobenzene at 200 kHz frequency in the presence of transition metals chlorides was investigated. Through analyzing the nature and distribution of the products detected in the reaction mixture, a new mechanism of sonodegradation is advanced. Depending on the metals used and their behavior during sonolysis, we were able to discriminate between inside and outside cavitation bubble mechanisms. Iron and cobalt chlorides, which could undergo redox reactions in the presence of HO radicals generated ultrasonically, give higher amounts of phenolic compounds compared with palladium chloride that undergoes a reduction to metal. Palladium reduction takes place in bulk solution and therefore all organic reactions that compete for hydrogen must occur also in bulk solution. Accordingly, palladium can be a useful tool in determining the reaction site and the decomposition mechanism of organic compounds under ultrasonic irradiation.