Ionic Liquid Extraction for Citrus Oil Residue Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for removing agricultural residues from essential oils, such as distillation, absorption, and solvent extraction, are inefficient and often damage the essential components of the oil, making it difficult to achieve a safe and economically viable reduction in residue levels.
Innovation Solution
Treatment of essential oils with ionic liquids having limited solubility, such as dialkylimidazolium alkylsulfate or dialkylpyridinium alkylsulfonate, which selectively remove agricultural residues while preserving the essential components, using a single extraction process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If distillation is used to remove agricultural residues, then residue removal effectiveness is improved, but energy consumption increases and processing time lengthens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical-chemical parameters of the extraction system by using ionic liquids with specific properties (low solubility in essential oils, high affinity for agricultural residues) instead of traditional solvents. This parameter change enables effective residue removal at ambient conditions without the energy-intensive heating required by distillation, thus resolving the contradiction between removal effectiveness and energy consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The ionic liquid acts as an intermediary substance that selectively binds to agricultural residues through ion-dipole interactions and hydrogen bonding, facilitating their separation from essential oils. This intermediary mechanism achieves effective residue removal without requiring the high energy input of distillation, resolving the contradiction between removal effectiveness and energy consumption
2Manufacturing precision
If traditional extraction methods are used, then agricultural residues are removed, but essential components of the oil are also removed or destroyed
Solution Approach 1:
The ionic liquid exhibits local quality in its interaction with different substances: it has high affinity and selectivity for agricultural residues (through ion-dipole interactions and hydrogen bonding) while showing minimal solubility and interaction with essential oil components. This localized selective action enables effective residue removal without loss of essential oil components, resolving the contradiction between removal effectiveness and substance preservation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the extraction system by using ionic liquids with specific functional groups and charge distributions that create selective interactions. These parameter changes enable the extraction medium to differentiate between residues and essential components, achieving selective residue removal without destroying valuable oil components
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple distillation passes are used to reduce residues, then residue levels decrease, but processing time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The ionic liquid performs preliminary selective binding with agricultural residues in a single extraction step, pre-concentrating the residues in the ionic liquid phase. This preliminary action achieves significant residue reduction (over 50% in one step) without requiring multiple sequential distillation passes, thus resolving the contradiction between residue reduction level and processing time
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses liquid-liquid extraction to take out agricultural residues from the essential oil phase into the ionic liquid phase in a single operation. This extraction mechanism achieves substantial residue removal (over 50% reduction) in one step, eliminating the need for multiple time-consuming distillation passes and resolving the contradiction between residue reduction level and processing time
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
This method achieves a significant reduction of agricultural residues by over 50% in a single extraction step, particularly effective in citrus oils like orange oil, without removing essential components, and can be repeated for further refinement.
Implementation Method 1
a particular method. There is therefore provided a method of reducing the proportion of ARs present in an essential oil, comprising the treatment of the oil with an ionic liquid that has at most limited solubility in the oil
Data Source
AI summary
A method of reducing the proportion, of agricultural residues (ARs), such as pesticides and herbicides, present in an essential oil, comprising the treatment of the oil with an ionic liquid that has at most limited solubility in the oil, the ionic liquid having an anion and a cation chosen from the following table (1). The method is particularly effect with citrus oils, especially orange oil, and it can remove most ARs, without removing essential components of the oil.