Preface

In the last year, society has increased its interest in green technology due to higher awareness about the environment. Analytical chemistry plays a valuable role in the sustainable development of the planet. It is not just for pollutant monitoring in the environment, but also for the development of more sustainable processes. In this sense, the replacement of existing extraction techniques with more environmentally sustainable extraction techniques is an important step to the final greenness of the entire process. Also in food analysis, it is one of the main strategies to make it greener. One of the main aspects to be considered when processing to change from a current extraction method to a greener one is the choice of solvent. The degree of environmental impact changes according to the type of solvent used because it depends on the way natural resources are harvested, energy usage, and emissions to air and water from the production and the use of solvents, transportation, and disposal or recycling.

This book is composed of 14 chapters providing the reader with the last trends in the development and applications of green extraction techniques in food analysis. Chapter 1 presents the current state of the art of Green Analytical Chemistry and its main strategies for improving the sustainability of analytical methods, reducing their environmental impact, and offering solutions to the needs that arise from food analysis. Chapter 2 introduces the principles of green extraction techniques and makes an overview of the main green extraction techniques (such as microwave-assisted extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, subcritical water extraction, and supercritical fluid extraction). Chapter 3 provides an overview of the environmentally friendly solvents most commonly used in food analysis (including water, carbon dioxide, ethanol, ionic liquids, natural deep eutectic solvents, surfactants, and switchable solvents), in which the advantages and limitations of the use of these solvents in food analysis from the perspective of green analytical chemistry are described. In addition, some applications of the combination of environmentally friendly solvents with assisted extraction techniques and miniaturized techniques are discussed. In Chapters 4-6, recent applications of deep eutectic solvents, ionic liquids, and supramolecular solvents, respectively, in food analysis are described in depth. While Chapters 7-14 are focused on the applications of supercritical fluid extraction, gas-expanded liquids extraction, pressurized liquid extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, enzyme-assisted extraction, pulsed electric field, high-voltage electrical discharges, and high hydrostatic pressure in food analysis, respectively. Also, the main fundamentals/principles, instrumental setups, as well as, the advantages and drawbacks of the use of these green extraction techniques are broadly explained and detailed in these chapters.

This book is intended for a large audience comprising Ph.D. students and experts working on different topics related to food analysis with new technological and methodological approaches to make extraction techniques greener and more sustainable.

We would like to sincerely thank all authors who have collaborated in writing this book for their excellent contributions. We wish to express our scientific gratitude to them for sharing all their knowledge and experience on the development of more efficient green extraction processes.