Abstract:

A variable-frequency microwave-assisted method was applied in order to improve the forward extraction
efficiency of soy protein in sodiumbis (2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) reverse micelles. The effects of experimental
conditions such as temperature, pH value, the ratio of solution to material and extraction time on the extraction efficiency
were examined. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used for modeling and optimizing the process to gain a better
understanding of the process performance. By using RSM, the effects of temperature, pH value and extraction time on the
extraction efficiency were calculated and their interactions were determined. After statistical analysis, the results showed that
the effect of the extraction conditions followed the decreasing order: time ＞ temperature ＞ pH, and the optimum conditions
were determined as follows: temperature 43.3 ℃, pH 8.0 and time 23 min, resulting in a yield of soy protein of 80.61%. This
study showed that the variable-frequency microwave-assisted extraction can quickly enhance the extraction efficiency of soy
protein in AOT reverse micelles.

Key words: soy protein, reverse micelles, microwave, forward extraction, response surface methodology