Interview with Inventor

Interview with Prof. Alexey Tyrkov, Dean of the Chemical Department of ASU, Supervisor of the research project “Means to Extract & Composition of Oil from Watermelon Seeds”, Director of the Green Chemistry Research & Educational Center.

А.Г. Тырков – Professor, could you tell us about the specific features of your project?

– Its very essence is that oil from watermelon seeds is manufactured by applying energy-saving and environmentally-friendly technologies. Seeds are processed under conditions of a supercritical fluid extraction with the liquid carbonic gas, which provides quite a high yield of this product – over 10 % (unlike other methods, which imply solvation with organic solvents at an increased temperature). Such methods affect the environment negatively, as there’s a problem to dispose organic solvents, and a high temperature impacting on seeds contributes to destruction of the output product. As for our method, it makes it possible to obtain high-quality oil under mild conditions, to increase yield of useful components.

– In what fields can watermelon oil be applied?

– It has a large amount of Omega-3 fatty acids, which influence a human organism favorably. This product is applied in the food industry as an ingredient that enhances tastes and smells of, for example, bakery products. Besides, oil is widely applied in cosmetic pharmaceuticals: it softens skin, enhances its qualities, prevents it from drying, so it’s added into lipsticks, shampoos, mascaras, and so on.

– Are there any similar products?

– Oil from watermelon seeds is hardly sold anywhere; you won’t find it in an online store or in a pharmacy, so we have no competitors.

– Who are authors of this project?

– This project was carried out at the Green Chemistry Research & Educational Center. Astrakhan State University is the patent holder. Besides me, our team of researchers includes Professor Anatoliy Velikorodov, who heads our Chair of Organic, Inorganic, & Pharmaceutical Chemistry; two Associate Professors of the same Chair, who work at our Green Chemistry Center, – Vyacheslav Kovalyov and Svyatoslav Nosachyov; Professor Mikhail Puchkov, Director of the National Research Institute of Vegetable Farming & Melon Cultivation; our postgraduate students Mohammed Ahmed Abdelrakhim and Valentina Ionova.

– What difficulties can emerge while obtaining the material to manufacture this oil?

– It’s quite easy to obtain material to produce this oil, as Astrakhan Region is a land of watermelons, and a huge amount of these berries is grown here. I’d remark even ill-conditioned material may be applied – seeds that can’t be used either for sowing, or for selection. We signed an agreement with the National Research Institute of Vegetable Farming & Melon Cultivation, which can supply us with seeds.

– What’s the self-cost of your product?

– As for its self-cost, it’s pretty low if compared with other vegetable oils, as the product yield is high and our costs are quite small.

Interviewed by T.Yu. Gavrilkina (University Web Resources Information Support Laboratory of ASU)

Translated by E.I. Glinchevskiy (Center of Translation Studies & Conference Interpreting “ASTLINK”)

March 11, 2016

Последнее редактирование: 07-06-2016, Глинчевский Эдвард Иванович

Extraction Technique & Composition of Oil from Watermelon Seeds

Interview with Inventor