Exergoeconomic analysis of ultrasound-assisted extraction of tannins from acorn fruit

Acorn fruit (AF) is a valuable yet tannin-rich forest byproduct. The removal of bitter-tasting tannins is essential for its use as food. This study investigated exergoeconomic analysis of ultrasound-assisted extraction (USAE) with varying amplitudes (20%-60%-100%) and duty cycle conditions (20%-60%-100%) to extract tannins from AF. Conventional solvent extraction (CSE) was used as comparison. AF, mixed with water (1:10 w/v), subjected to ultrasound until tannin content reached 0.0274 mg TAE/mg DM. The study evaluates process conditions' impact on performance and tannin's unit extraction cost. Exergoeconomic analysis was conducted by considering the exergy values, operating costs, investment costs, and extraction time. CSE requires 300 min for target tannin content, while USAE reduces this time to 40-fold. The highest energy efficiency (84.44 +/- 2.97) and exergy efficiency (83.68 +/- 3.61) were determined at 20% amplitude-20% duty cycle. USAE reduces extraction costs by 25% compared to CSE. USAE has the potential for rapid tannin extraction and cost reduction.