Growing consumer interest in healthy foods has led to an increased demand for bioactive compounds derived from eco-technologies. This review highlighted two emerging technologies, pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), which are based on clean processes aimed at recovering bioactive compounds from different food sources. We studied how the different processing conditions provide many advantages and a great opportunity to obtain compounds with antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, or antifungal activity from plant matrices and industrial biowaste, especially antioxidant compounds (anthocyanins and polyphenols) due to their important role in health promotion. Our research was conducted through a systematic search in different scientific databases related to the PLE and SFE topics. The review analyzed the optimal extraction conditions using these technologies, which lead to the efficient extraction of bioactive compounds, the use of different equipment, and recent combinations of SFE and PLE with other emerging technologies. This has given rise to the development of new technological innovations, new commercial applications, and the detailed recovery of various bioactive compounds extracted from different plant and marine life food matrices. These two environmentally friendly methodologies are fully valid and have great future application prospects in biowaste valorization. They represent a feasible technological tool that can promote the implementation of a circular economy model for the food industry. The underlying mechanisms of these techniques were discussed in detail and supported by current literature.

The effects of thermal and non-thermal pretreatments combined with different drying methods on the drying kinetics, physicochemical properties, and bioactive compounds of the Chilean wild mushroom Morchella conica were investigated. Fresh samples were subjected to hot-air drying (HAD, 60 °C), freeze-drying (FD), and a hybrid process (FD–HAD), applied directly or after pretreatments including thermal pre-drying (55 and 75 °C), ultrasound (US, 10 and 20 min), and high hydrostatic pressure (HHP, 600 MPa). Drying curves were successfully fitted using the Weibull model (R² > 0.987), showing that HAD combined with thermal and ultrasound pretreatments increased drying rates, while FD–HAD reduced total drying time. Freeze-drying better preserved color (ΔE < 2) and minimized shrinkage (<8%), whereas HAD produced darker samples and greater structural deformation. Water activity decreased below 0.30 in most treatments, ensuring microbiological stability. Thermal pretreatments enhanced total phenolic content, while FD preserved antioxidant capacity. Principal component analysis explained 62.2% of the total variance, revealing distinct quality profiles among drying methods. Overall, FD and hybrid FD–HAD combined with moderate pretreatments showed the best balance between drying efficiency and quality preservation, while HHP improved antioxidant properties under specific conditions. These findings highlight the potential of integrating innovative pretreatments with drying technologies to optimize processing of Morchella conica.

Understanding and optimizing supercritical CO₂ extraction requires modelling approaches capable of describing extraction kinetics, mass-transfer mechanisms, and process performance. This study developed an integrated modelling framework combining empirical kinetic models, Hot Ball Diffusion (HBD) modelling, and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) to describe and optimize the supercritical CO₂ extraction of lipophilic compounds from 50:50 blends of maqui and calafate biowaste. Experiments were conducted using an augmented Response Surface Methodology design considering extraction pressure, temperature, and CO₂ flow rate as independent variables. The highest experimental extraction yield (9.38%) was obtained at 450 bar, 60 °C, and 0.5 L min⁻¹. Five empirical kinetic models were evaluated, with Model IV providing the best fit to the experimental data (average SSerr = 0.0523; average R² = 0.9910). The initial extraction slope estimated by this model was subsequently used for HBD modelling and ANN optimization. The integrated modelling strategy combined accurate kinetic description, mechanistic interpretation of diffusion-controlled mass transfer, and predictive optimization. Among the evaluated approaches, the ANN achieved the highest predictive performance (R² = 0.9240; SSerr = 0.0025) and predicted optimum operating conditions of 401 bar, 60 °C, and 0.4 L min⁻¹, corresponding to an initial extraction slope of 0.13858 min⁻¹, representing a 3.83% improvement over the highest experimental value. These results demonstrate that integrating empirical kinetics, diffusion modelling, and machine learning provides a robust framework for understanding, optimizing, and scaling up supercritical CO₂ extraction for sustainable berry biowaste valorization.

The effects of thermal and non-thermal pretreatments combined with different drying methods on the drying kinetics, physicochemical properties, and bioactive compounds of the Chilean wild mushroom Morchella conica were investigated. Fresh samples were subjected to hot-air drying (HAD, 60 °C), freeze-drying (FD), and a hybrid process (FD–HAD), applied directly or after pretreatments including thermal pre-drying (55 and 75 °C), ultrasound (US, 10 and 20 min), and high hydrostatic pressure (HPP, 600 MPa). Drying curves were successfully fitted using the Weibull model (R² > 0.987). The highest drying rates were observed in HAD combined with thermal and ultrasound pretreatments, whereas the FD–HAD process significantly reduced the total drying time. Freeze-drying preserved color (ΔE < 2) and minimized shrinkage (< 8%), while HAD resulted in darker samples and greater structural deformation. Water activity decreased below 0.30 in most treatments, ensuring microbiological stability, with the lowest values observed for HPP–FD and US 20 min–FD (0.10–0.11). Thermal pretreatments enhanced total phenolic content, whereas FD preserved antioxidant capacity. Principal component analysis explained 68.9% of the total variance and revealed distinct quality profiles among drying methods. These findings indicate that combining moderate pretreatments with freeze-drying or hybrid drying processes improves the technological efficiency and functional quality of Morchella conica.