a b s t r a c t
In this study, microwave-assisted extraction was applied for pectin extraction from the dried orange
peel and Box–Behnken response surface design was used to study and optimize the effects of processing
variables (microwave power, irradiation time, pH and solid–liquid ratio) on the yield of pectin. The
amount of pectin extracted increased with increasing microwave power, while it reduces as the time,
pH and solid–liquid ratio increased. From the results, second order polynomial model was developed
and it adequately explained the data variation and significantly represented the actual relationship
between independent variables and the response. An optimization study using Derringer’s desired function methodology was performed and optimal conditions based on both individual and combinations of
all independent variables (microwave power of 422 W, irradiation time of 169 s, pH of 1.4 and solid–liquid
ratio of 1:16.9 g/ml) were determined with maximum pectin yield of 19.24%, which was confirmed
through validation experiments