Daniela Cerro

This study investigates polymer/ionic liquid/polymer trilayer membranes for recovering aroma and fragrance compounds from a simplified synthetic model aqueous solution via pervaporation. The membranes featured organophilic polymer layers (PEBA and POMS) sandwiching an intermediate ionic liquid (IL) layer ([P₁₄₄₄][Tf₂N] and [Bmim][Tf₂N]), which were gelled with 12-hydroxystearic acid to ensure structural integrity. The trilayer architecture significantly enhanced separation performance compared with monophase membranes. The PEBA/[P₁₄₄₄][Tf₂N]/PEBA configuration achieved the highest enrichment factors, reaching 1626 for hexanal and 963 for linalool. Meanwhile, the POMS/[P₁₄₄₄][Tf₂N]/POMS system exhibited the highest selectivity relative to water. The introduction of the IL gel layer reduced overall mass transfer resistance while simultaneously suppressing water flux from 0.312 kg h⁻¹ m⁻² (in pure PEBA) to between 0.013 and 0.023 kg h⁻¹ m⁻². Overall, the results demonstrate that combining polymer matrices with gelled ILs in a trilayer design effectively optimizes mass transfer and selectivity, offering a promising strategy for the future valorization of aroma compounds from agro-industrial aqueous streams.

The food industry has developed a vegan dressing-type mayonnaise due to new consumer demands. The aim of this study was to compare three commercial mayonnaise types with a vegan dressing, measuring their physicochemical properties. Four dressing samples were analyzed: vegan, homemade recipe, creamy, and light. The following properties were measured: water activity, color, droplet size, rheological properties, structural analysis, and oxidative stability. A high color difference was observed between vegan and the other samples due to the presence of chickpea protein. The size and distribution of droplets of the vegan sample were greater than the others. The rheological properties indicated that all samples are non-Newtonian pseudoplastic fluids. The FT-IR results indicated that the highest peak for vegan corresponded to its content in mono-unsaturated fat. Therefore, it showed the lowest oxidative stability. In conclusion, the mayonaise formulations were affected by physicochemical properties such as the content and composition of the oil, thickener and protein contents, along with processing technology.