Principal component analysis of commercial tannin extracts using digital images on mobile devices

Abstract

Tannins from trees are an abundant renewable resource. The use of tannins is safe for the environment and human health, making it possible to develop environmentally friendly products, such as adhesives, flocculant agents for water treatment, flame retardant foams and anticorrosives. In this study, a methodology was developed for the identification of six commercial tannin extracts (chestnut, valonea, tara, myrobalan, quebracho and black wattle) using digital images on mobile devices. The identification of the extracts was based on principal component analysis using the PhotoMetrix® mobile application. In the evaluation of the principal components, it was possible to define the separation between the six classes of extracts by color evaluation, according to the extract origin. In the analysis of PC1 × PC2, black wattle was very close to quebracho and chestnut was close to valonea; these extracts are chemically similar. The methodology developed for the analysis of tannin extracts obeys the principles of green chemistry requiring no reagents, and is fast, non-destructive and inexpensive.