Effect of Gas Bubbles on the Recovery Efficiency of Paclitaxel from Biomass of Taxus chinensis in Ultrasonic Extraction

The synergistic effect of introducing both ultrasonic cavitation bubbles and gas bubbles to the extraction of paclitaxel from Taxus chinensis biomass was investigated. The addition of gas bubbles to ultrasonic extraction significantly improved the extraction efficiency, confirming that ultrasonic cavitation bubbles and gas bubbles have a synergistic effect. Furthermore, an ultrasonic power of 250 W and a gas flow rate of 1.750 L/min could recover up to 94% of the paclitaxel from the biomass. In addition, as the ultrasonic power and gas flow rate increased, the extraction rate constant, the effective diffusion coefficient, and the mass transfer coefficient also increased. The efficiency of paclitaxel extraction was improved by the efficient crushing of the biomass facilitated by the synergistic effect of the ultrasonic cavitation bubbles and the gas bubbles.