Oleaginous Material Extraction With Cooled Miscella Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solvent extraction processes face challenges in efficiently separating and recovering alcohol-based solvents from miscella streams, particularly in the context of oil extraction from oleaginous materials, due to consumer sensitivity towards food production processes and the need for effective solvent recovery.
Innovation Solution
A system and method utilizing an alcohol-based solvent in a countercurrent direction through an extractor, followed by phase separation and membrane or thermal separation techniques to separate and recycle solvent-rich and oil-rich phases, allowing for the recycling of concentrated solvent back to the extractor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional solvent extraction processes are used, then oil extraction can be achieved, but solvent recovery efficiency is poor and energy consumption is high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes phase transition by cooling the miscella stream to cause phase separation between the aqueous solvent and oil-rich phase. This allows the solvent to be recovered in a concentrated form without requiring extensive energy-intensive processing, thereby improving solvent recovery efficiency while reducing energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the temperature parameter of the miscella stream to achieve phase separation. By cooling the stream to a specific temperature range, the physical properties of the mixture change, enabling natural separation of solvent and oil phases, which improves recovery efficiency and reduces processing energy.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple wash stages are used to separate solvent and oil, then separation quality improves, but process complexity and energy usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs phase transition through cooling to achieve high-quality separation in a single stage. The phase separation process naturally divides the miscella into solvent-rich and oil-rich phases, eliminating the need for multiple sequential wash stages while maintaining high separation quality and reducing process complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical wash stages with a thermal/physical phase separation process. Instead of using multiple mechanical separation stages, the system uses temperature-induced phase transition to achieve separation, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining or improving separation quality.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If alcohol-based solvent is used instead of hexane, then consumer safety improves, but solvent recovery becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses phase transition by cooling the miscella to achieve phase separation, which is particularly effective for alcohol-based solvents. This method simplifies the recovery process by enabling natural separation of the aqueous alcohol solvent from the oil phase, making solvent recovery less complex compared to conventional methods while maintaining consumer safety benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the temperature parameter to exploit the different physical properties of alcohol-based solvents compared to traditional solvents like hexane. By cooling the miscella to a specific temperature range, the system achieves efficient phase separation, simplifying the recovery process while maintaining the safety advantages of using alcohol-based solvents.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances the efficiency of solvent recovery and oil extraction by minimizing energy usage and reducing the number of wash stages, while ensuring high-quality solvent and oil recovery for downstream processing.
Implementation Method 1
The oleaginous material is contacted with an organic solvent within the extractor, causing the oil to be extracted from a surrounding cellular structure into the organic solvent
Implementation Method 2
the miscella stream may be cooled to a temperature effective to cause phase separation between the aqueous solvent and the oil in the stream
Implementation Method 3
In the case of a decanter or other phase separation device, a light phase that can be the solvent-rich phase can be separated from a heavy phase that can be the oil-rich phase
Implementation Method 4
The separation device can separate the light phase recycle stream into a purified solvent stream. The concentrated light phase stream may contain all or substantially all of the oil from the original light phase recycle feed stream
Implementation Method 5
The two streams, individually or combined, may be sent to a downstream thermal treatment device, such as an evaporator, to vaporize residual solvent for recovery of both the solvent and extracted oil
Data Source
AI summary
A solvent extraction process may be used to generate a miscella stream. The miscella stream may be processed by a separation device, such as a decanter, to form a light phase stream and a heavy phase stream. In some examples, a portion or all of the light phase recycle stream passes to a solvent purification device, such as a membrane, that separates the feed stream into a purified solvent stream and a concentrated light phase stream. The purified solvent stream may be solvent that is substantially or completely free of oil. The concentrated light phase stream contains a portion of the solvent from the feed stream together with nearly all or all of the oil in the feed stream. The purified solvent stream can then be used to supplement the fresh solvent feed to the extractor.