Produção de cafeína por processo supercrítico a partir da erva-mate

Abstract

Caffeine anhydrous is a psychoactive substance widely used in the pharmaceutical and food industries. The production of this substance is commonly carried out by extracting it from the coffee bean. However, this is not the only biological matrix that can be used to obtain it, with yerba mate being a viable alternative. In this way, the company CREMMATÊ proposes the production of caffeine extracted from mate leaves using supercritical carbon dioxide as a solvent. It can also be noted that this process does not generate solid waste, as these are destined for companies that produce animal feed. With a market study, the company is located in the city of Ponta Grossa (PR), due to its proximity to suppliers and pharmaceutical centers. The production scale of 1 ton per month was defined taking into account the capacity of the equipment that is needed for this process, the low quantity of product is justified by their small capacity. Finally, the viability of the project was not possible, with a negative net present value (NPV), the main consequence of which is the low concentration of caffeine in the yerba mate leaf and the high cost of electricity related to supercritical protection, to to reverse this situation the main product can be changed to green tea, for example, in addition to generating its own electricity. The project proved to be unprofitable for an annual production of 12.58 tons of caffeine per year with shifts of 8h/day.