A water-based extraction method of eucommia ulmoides rubber
By combining water-based extraction methods and mechanical extraction devices with sedimentation separation technology, the problems of toxicity and high cost of organic solvents in Eucommia ulmoides rubber extraction have been solved, achieving high-purity, green and environmentally friendly rubber separation.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- HELAN MOUNTAIN LABORATORY
- Filing Date
- 2026-05-15
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-19
AI Technical Summary
Existing methods for extracting Eucommia ulmoides rubber using organic solvents present problems such as toxicity, environmental pollution, and high costs, and also make it difficult to effectively separate the gum-containing cells from the seed coat.
A water-based extraction method combined with mechanical extraction and sedimentation separation technology is used. The adhesive fibers are separated from the Eucommia ulmoides raw material by mechanical extraction device, and sedimentation separation is carried out by utilizing the density difference of water, thus avoiding the use of organic solvents.
This method achieves green and environmentally friendly extraction of Eucommia ulmoides rubber, reduces the content of impurities such as lignin, improves the purity of rubber, and solves the environmental pollution and high cost problems of traditional solvent methods.
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of Eucommia ulmoides rubber technology, and more specifically, to a water-based extraction method for Eucommia ulmoides rubber. Background Technology
[0002] Similar to rubber tree, eucommia gum is also a high-molecular-weight substance produced by the biosynthesis of gum-producing plants within the plant. Eucommia gum exists in the eucommia tree, not as an latex, but within the filamentous cells of the tree. This rubbery filament is highly viscous and, unlike an latex, does not flow; it possesses a certain degree of toughness, can be stretched, and can lengthen, and does not return to its original shape after the external force is removed. Eucommia gum is found in the six major tissues and organs of the eucommia tree: roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds. Eucommia leaves contain 2%-4% gum, the bark contains 8%-10%, and the seed coat contains 10%-15%.
[0003] All six major tissues and organs of the Eucommia ulmoides tree contain abundant gum cells, with the seed coat containing the largest amount. However, it is difficult to observe the rubber component in the seed coat because the gum cells in the seed coat near the seed are arranged along the longitudinal axis of the organ at a high density. This arrangement forms a complete network of protective covering, which completely and tightly protects the seed and makes it extremely difficult to separate it. This poses a great challenge to our study of the microscopic morphology of the gum cells in the seed coat.
[0004] Currently, solvent extraction is commonly used for Eucommia ulmoides rubber. The basic principle of solvent extraction is to find a suitable solvent for rubber based on the principle of "like dissolves like," thereby extracting the rubber from the plant tissue. Commonly used solvents for extracting natural rubber include toluene, petroleum ether, and chloroform. However, because chloroform corrodes metal containers, toluene and petroleum ether are more commonly used solvents. Solvent extraction of rubber faces drawbacks such as the toxicity of organic solvents, severe environmental pollution, and high cost. Summary of the Invention
[0005] To address the problems existing in the prior art, this invention provides a water-based extraction method for Eucommia ulmoides rubber.
[0006] The entire process of extracting Eucommia ulmoides rubber in this invention uses only water and no organic solvents, truly achieving a green and environmentally friendly process. Furthermore, this invention employs mechanical extraction to separate the rubber fibers, significantly reducing the lignin and other content in the extracted Eucommia ulmoides rubber and improving its purity.
[0007] One of the objectives of this invention is to provide a water-based extraction method for Eucommia ulmoides rubber.
[0008] The water-based extraction method for Eucommia ulmoides rubber includes:
[0009] (1) Pretreatment: Clean the Eucommia ulmoides raw material and freeze-dry it; (2) Separation of filaments: The pretreated Eucommia ulmoides raw material is mechanically extracted to obtain filaments; (3) Sedimentation separation: Add water to the rubber fibers and stir at high speed. Let it stand until it separates into layers. Collect the upper layer to obtain Eucommia ulmoides rubber.
[0010] The Eucommia ulmoides raw material is selected from at least one of Eucommia ulmoides leaves, bark, and seeds.
[0011] In step (1), the purpose of freeze drying is to make the filaments easier to separate from the Eucommia ulmoides raw material. As a preferred option, the freeze drying temperature is -60~0℃, for example -50℃, -40℃, -30℃, -20℃, -10℃.
[0012] In step (2), the mechanical extraction refers to pulling out the gum fibers from the Eucommia ulmoides raw material by external force. As a preferred option, a mechanical extraction device is used for mechanical extraction.
[0013] The mechanical extraction device, as a specific embodiment, includes a raw material container and gears. The raw material container is provided with a peeling opening, and the shaft of the gear is located outside the raw material container. The gear teeth extend into the raw material container along the peeling opening. The peeling opening is a narrow slit with a width of 0.5~5mm, preferably 0.5~2mm. The number of peeling openings can be several. The number of gears can also be several. One gear corresponds to one peeling opening. This mechanical extraction device is suitable for Eucommia ulmoides leaves.
[0014] The teeth of the rotating gear drive the Eucommia ulmoides leaves to attempt to pass through the peeling orifice. Unable to pass through the narrow orifice, the leaves exert a force opposite to the gear's rotation, causing the gear to peel (plane) the gum fibers from the leaves. The gum fibers peeled out in this way carry fewer impurities such as lignin, thus improving the purity of the Eucommia ulmoides gum.
[0015] As a preferred embodiment, the bottom surface of the raw material container has a mesh structure. While the gears peel the gum fibers from the Eucommia ulmoides leaves, the leaves are crushed at the peeling point, forming debris; the debris is discharged through the mesh structure at the bottom of the raw material container.
[0016] As a preferred embodiment, the gear rotates at a speed of 100-200 r / min. If the gear rotates too fast, the yield of the gum fibers detached from the Eucommia ulmoides leaves will be low.
[0017] The mechanical extraction device, in a preferred embodiment, includes a raw material container and gears. The raw material container has a peeling opening, and the gear's shaft is located outside the raw material container, with the gear teeth close to the peeling opening. The peeling opening is circular, with a diameter of 0.5~1.5mm. Under the condition of ensuring normal rotation of the gear, the gear teeth approach the peeling opening as closely as possible. The peeling opening can be located on the bottom surface of the raw material container. The number of peeling openings can be multiple. The number of gears can also be multiple. One gear corresponds to one peeling opening. This mechanical extraction device is suitable for Eucommia bark and Eucommia seeds.
[0018] Part of the Eucommia bark or seeds inside the raw material container extend outside the container through a peeling port. The teeth of a rotating gear attempt to push the bark or seeds through the peeling port. However, the bark or seeds cannot pass through, and the peeling port exerts a force opposite to the gear's rotation, causing the gear to peel (shave) the gum fibers from the Eucommia leaves. The gum fibers peeled out in this way carry fewer impurities such as lignin, thus improving the purity of the Eucommia gum.
[0019] As a preferred embodiment, the peeling opening is circular or approximately circular (e.g., a regular polygon, an irregular shape, an ellipse, etc.), and the diameter of the peeling opening is 0.5~1.5mm.
[0020] As a preferred embodiment, the gear rotates at a speed of 100-200 r / min. If the gear rotates too fast, the yield of the gum fibers detached from the Eucommia ulmoides leaves will be low.
[0021] Step (3) Sedimentation separation principle: The density of the gum fibers is less than that of water, so they float on the water surface, while other plant tissue components either dissolve in water or absorb water and sink to the bottom. Sedimentation can achieve the separation of Eucommia gum. The gum fibers and plant tissues are separated by "adding water to the gum fibers and stirring at high speed (strong shear stirring in an aquatic environment), and letting it stand until it separates into layers".
[0022] In step (3) sedimentation separation: the speed of high-speed stirring is preferably 500~15000 rpm, more preferably 3000~6500 rpm.
[0023] In step (3) sedimentation separation: the high-speed stirring time is preferably 1 to 10 minutes, more preferably 2 to 4 minutes.
[0024] In step (3) sedimentation separation: the temperature of high-speed stirring is room temperature to 100℃, more preferably 40 to 80℃.
[0025] Step (3), as a preferred option, involves repeating the sedimentation separation 2-5 times to further improve the purity of the rubber.
[0026] Technical effect The extraction process of this invention uses only water, making it truly green and environmentally friendly. Water is also inexpensive, which solves the problem of high solvent costs in traditional solvent methods for extracting Eucommia ulmoides rubber. Compared with traditional solvent methods, the method of this invention is simpler, but can still yield rubber with higher purity.
[0027] This invention uses a mechanical extraction method to remove the fibrous material from the Eucommia ulmoides raw material. Only the fibrous material is removed, while other components remain in the Eucommia ulmoides raw material. The obtained fibrous material carries fewer impurities such as lignin and has high purity. Detailed Implementation
[0028] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to specific embodiments. It should be noted that the following embodiments are only used to further illustrate the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention. Some non-essential improvements and adjustments made by those skilled in the art based on the content of the present invention are still within the scope of protection of the present invention.
[0029] Example 1 (1) Pretreatment: Eucommia ulmoides leaves, cleaned and freeze-dried at -5℃; (2) Separation of filaments: The pretreated Eucommia ulmoides raw material is added to a mechanical extraction device for mechanical extraction to obtain filaments; the mechanical extraction device includes a raw material container and a gear, the raw material container is provided with a peeling port, the shaft of the gear is located outside the raw material container, and the gear teeth extend into the raw material container along the peeling port; the peeling port is a narrow slit with a width of 0.5 mm; the bottom surface of the raw material container is a mesh structure; the rotation speed of the gear is 150 r / min; (3) Sedimentation separation: Add water to the rubber fibers and stir at high speed (3000 rpm, 4 minutes, 40°C); let stand until stratification, collect the upper layer; repeat sedimentation separation 3 times to obtain Eucommia ulmoides rubber. The purity of Eucommia ulmoides rubber is 98.6%.
[0030] Example 2 (1) Pretreatment: Eucommia ulmoides leaves, cleaned and freeze-dried at -5℃; (2) Separation of filaments: The pretreated Eucommia ulmoides raw material is added to a mechanical extraction device for mechanical extraction to obtain filaments; the mechanical extraction device includes a raw material container and a gear, the raw material container is provided with a peeling port, the shaft of the gear is located outside the raw material container, and the gear teeth extend into the raw material container along the peeling port; the peeling port is a narrow slit with a width of 0.5 mm; the bottom surface of the raw material container is a mesh structure; the rotation speed of the gear is 200 r / min; (3) Sedimentation separation: Add water to the rubber fibers and stir at high speed (3000 rpm, 4 minutes, 40°C); let stand until stratification, collect the upper layer; repeat sedimentation separation 3 times to obtain Eucommia ulmoides rubber. The purity of Eucommia ulmoides rubber is 97.4%.
[0031] Example 3 (1) Pretreatment: Eucommia ulmoides leaves, cleaned and freeze-dried at -5℃; (2) Separation of filaments: The pretreated Eucommia ulmoides raw material is added to a mechanical extraction device for mechanical extraction to obtain filaments; the mechanical extraction device includes a raw material container and a gear, the raw material container is provided with a peeling port, the shaft of the gear is located outside the raw material container, and the gear teeth extend into the raw material container along the peeling port; the peeling port is a narrow slit with a width of 0.5 mm; the bottom surface of the raw material container is a mesh structure; the rotation speed of the gear is 300 r / min; (3) Sedimentation separation: Add water to the rubber fibers and stir at high speed (3000 rpm, 4 minutes, 40°C); let stand until stratification, collect the upper layer; repeat sedimentation separation 3 times to obtain Eucommia ulmoides rubber. The purity of Eucommia ulmoides rubber is 96.1%.
[0032] Example 4 (1) Pretreatment: Eucommia bark, cleaned and freeze-dried at -5℃; (2) Separation of filaments: The pretreated Eucommia ulmoides raw material is added to a mechanical extraction device for mechanical extraction to obtain filaments; the mechanical extraction device includes a raw material container and a gear, the raw material container is provided with a peeling port, the shaft of the gear is located outside the raw material container and the gear teeth are close to the peeling port; the peeling port is circular with a diameter of 1 mm, the peeling port is located on the bottom surface of the raw material container, and the gear is located below the raw material container; the rotation speed of the gear is 150 r / min; (3) Sedimentation separation: Add water to the rubber fibers and stir at high speed (3000 rpm, 4 minutes, 40°C); let stand until stratification, collect the upper layer; repeat sedimentation separation 3 times to obtain Eucommia ulmoides rubber. The purity of Eucommia ulmoides rubber is 98.4%.
[0033] Example 5 (1) Pretreatment: Eucommia bark, cleaned and freeze-dried at -5℃; (2) Separation of filaments: The pretreated Eucommia ulmoides raw material is added to a mechanical extraction device for mechanical extraction to obtain filaments; the mechanical extraction device includes a raw material container and a gear, the raw material container is provided with a peeling port, the shaft of the gear is located outside the raw material container and the gear teeth are close to the peeling port; the peeling port is circular with a diameter of 1 mm, the peeling port is located on the bottom surface of the raw material container, and the gear is located below the raw material container; the rotation speed of the gear is 150 r / min; (3) Sedimentation separation: Add water to the rubber fibers and stir at high speed (3000 rpm, 4 minutes, 40°C); let stand until stratification, collect the upper layer; repeat sedimentation separation 3 times to obtain Eucommia ulmoides rubber. The purity of Eucommia ulmoides rubber is 98.6%.
Claims
1. A water-based extraction method for Eucommia ulmoides rubber, characterized in that, The method includes: (1) Pretreatment: Clean the Eucommia ulmoides raw material and freeze-dry it; (2) Separation of filaments: The pretreated Eucommia ulmoides raw material is mechanically extracted to obtain filaments; (3) Sedimentation separation: Add water to the rubber fibers and stir at high speed. Let it stand until it separates into layers. Collect the upper layer to obtain Eucommia ulmoides rubber.
2. The water-based extraction method for Eucommia ulmoides rubber as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The Eucommia ulmoides raw material is selected from at least one of Eucommia ulmoides leaves, bark, and seeds.
3. The water-based extraction method for Eucommia ulmoides rubber as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The freeze-drying temperature in step (1) is -60~0℃.
4. The water-based extraction method for Eucommia ulmoides rubber as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The mechanical extraction in step (2) refers to using external force to pull out the gum fibers from the Eucommia ulmoides raw material.
5. The water-based extraction method for Eucommia ulmoides rubber as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Step (2) involves mechanical extraction using a mechanical extraction device; the mechanical extraction device includes a raw material container and a gear, the raw material container has a stripping opening, the gear shaft is located outside the raw material container, and the gear teeth extend into the raw material container along the stripping opening; the stripping opening is a narrow slit; preferably, The width of the peeling opening is 0.1~5mm, preferably 0.2~2mm; or / and, The bottom of the raw material container has a mesh structure.
6. The water-based extraction method for Eucommia ulmoides rubber as described in claim 5, characterized in that, Step (2) Mechanical extraction is performed using a mechanical extraction device; the mechanical extraction device includes a raw material container and a gear, the raw material container is provided with a peeling port, the shaft of the gear is located outside the raw material container, and the gear teeth are close to the peeling port; the peeling port is circular and the diameter of the peeling port is 0.5~1.5mm.
7. The water-based extraction method for Eucommia ulmoides rubber as described in claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, The rotational speed of the gear is 100~200 r / min.
8. The water-based extraction method for Eucommia ulmoides rubber as described in claim 1, characterized in that, In step (3) sedimentation separation: The high-speed stirring speed is 500~15000 rpm; or / and, The high-speed mixing time is 1-10 minutes; or / and, The temperature for high-speed stirring is room temperature to 100℃.
9. The water-based extraction method for Eucommia ulmoides rubber as described in claim 1, characterized in that, In step (3) sedimentation separation: The high-speed stirring speed is 3000~6500 rpm; or / and, Stirring time is 2-4 minutes; or / and, The stirring temperature is 40~80℃.
10. The water-based extraction method for Eucommia ulmoides rubber as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Step (3) Sedimentation separation is repeated 2-5 times.