LAUSR

Abstract In this work, foam fractionation has been used to recover proanthocyanidin (PC) from Camellia seed shells which were a bulk by-product of stripping seeds from Camellia fruit. First, the operation conditions for leaching PC from Camellia seed shells by alkaline and ultrasound-assisted extraction were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). A collector of molecular imprinting chitosan nanoparticles (CMIPs) was prepared to achieve the attachment of PC on the bubble surface. The results of adsorption experiments indicated that the adsorption behavior of PC on the CMIPs could be interpreted by Freundlich model and it belonged to specific adsorption process. Foam fractionation was performed by using CMIPs and dodecyl dimethyl betaine (BS-12) as the collector and frother, respectively. The enrichment ratio and the recovery percentage of PC were as high as 10.34 ± 2.11 and 85.24 ± 3.05% under the suitable operation conditions.