Industry & Business

At the Vitafoods Europe show 2014 at Geneve the German extraction service provider NATECO2 gives advice in how to gain the maximum output of natural colours from a great variety of raw materials.

No matter whether it’s for getting intensive red asthaxantin and zeaxanthin from algae or goji-berries, dark green chlorophylls from plant leaves, bright yellow xanthohumol from hops or marine blue phycocyanine from spirulina algae: NATECO2’s experts get the best out of each raw material and optimize their clients’ value-chain by using carbon dioxide extraction. But not only natural colours can be gained without using any harmful solvents in an oxygen-free atmosphere: Also sensitive active ingredients like omega-3, triterpenes or vitamins can be concentrated in an ecological and natural way.

NATECO2 is the worldwide technology leader in CO2-extraction. The company not only offers extraction services for more than 30 years now, but also provides R&D and in-house laboratory services for supporting and consulting clients to develop new products, ingredients and extracts.
Last year NATECO2 was the first service provider to ramp up a 1.000 bar ultrahigh-pressure carbon dioxide extraction line in an industrial scale. This technology is crucial for state-of-the-art algae processing. Subsequently NATECO2 just started partnering the “D-factory” as extraction partner – the largest European research project on algae biorefinery, based on the Dunaliella algae.

In general oxygen-sensitive substances such as carotinoids or unsaturated fatty acids can be gained in outstandingly high quality by ultrahigh pressure extraction up to 1.000 bar. Also hardly soluble substances, amongst which are long-chain waxes for the cosmetics
industry or other large molecules, can be now extracted with CO2 gently. By using CO2-extraction tea can be decaffeinated, seeds can be defatted, odours can be removed and high-valuable oils can be produced with yields of over 90 percent – kosher, organic, ecologically friendly by using biogenic CO2 – and absolutely free from harmful
solvents.

Managing Director Dr. Andreas Wuzik describes the focus of NATECO2 as follows: “It is our specialty to accompany and implement the extraction processes of our customers from first lab tests to an industrial scale. Our team gives advice on how to use CO2-extraction in the best and most efficient way. Our worldwide unique industrial ultrahigh-pressure plant
shows our ability to convert challenges into economic processes.”

NATECO2 has been a subcontractor of CO2 extraction for more than 30
years and operates plants with up to 16.000 liters production capacity.