FATTY AND RESIN ACIDS RECOVERED FROM SPRUCE WOOD BY SUPERCRITICAL ACETONE EXTRACTION

Soxhlet and supercritical gas extracts of freshly cut Oriental spruce (Picea orientalis) were recovered using acetone at 240-degrees-C and 6.0-6.5 MPa. The yield of Soxhlet extract was 1.6% and the yield of supercritical gas extract was 6.8% by weight on a dry spruce powder basis. The fatty and resin acids present in the extracts were separated by chemical methods and analysed by combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The yield of fatty acids from the supercritical gas extract was about four times as high as the yield of Soxhlet extract but the increase in the yield of resin acids was slight.