Purified Natural L-Menthol Adsorption Process
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for purifying natural (L)-menthol are expensive, difficult to industrialize, and fail to effectively remove impurities that cause unpleasant tastes and flavors, making it challenging to produce a high-quality menthol with a refreshing feeling and mint-like flavor.
Innovation Solution
A method involving heating and melting crude menthol, adding activated carbon to absorb impurities, filtering, and recrystallizing the menthol to remove impurities and enhance flavor, using a process that includes stirring and filtering steps to achieve high purity and flavor quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If supercritical carbon dioxide method is used to purify natural (L)-menthol, then impurities such as unpleasant smell and bitter components are removed, but expensive devices are required making industrialization difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive supercritical carbon dioxide equipment with inexpensive activated carbon, a low-cost adsorbent material that can be easily obtained and disposed of after use, achieving purification without requiring complex industrial equipment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the complex mechanical supercritical fluid extraction system with a simple adsorption process using activated carbon, replacing sophisticated equipment with a basic chemical absorption mechanism
2Manufacturing precision
If acetonitrile dissolution and cooling method is used to purify natural (L)-menthol, then chemical purity of more than 99% is achieved, but working environment is limited due to requirement of organic solvent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the purification parameter from temperature-based crystallization (cooling) to adsorption-based purification (activated carbon treatment), allowing the process to work at various temperatures without requiring specific cooling conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the organic solvent acetonitrile with activated carbon, eliminating the need for special solvent handling facilities and expanding working environment flexibility while maintaining high purification effectiveness
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional purification methods are used, then production cost is reduced, but unpleasant taste and lack of refreshing feeling remain due to insufficient impurity removal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes activated carbon, a porous material with high surface area and adsorption capacity, to effectively trap and remove trace impurities that cause unpleasant taste, achieving superior flavor quality at low cost
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines activated carbon with the natural (L)-menthol purification process, creating a composite purification system that leverages the adsorption properties of activated carbon to enhance flavor quality without significantly increasing production cost
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 allows for the cost-effective and stable production of purified natural (L)-menthol with a refreshing feeling and mint-like flavor, achieving high purity and minimal impurities, which is not achievable with conventional methods.
Implementation Method 1
a step of adding activated carbon to the liquid crude menthol, and a step of stirring the obtained liquid menthol to make the activated carbon absorb impurities in the crude menthol
Implementation Method 2
a step of heating and melting crude menthol containing 90% or more of the purified natural (L)-menthol to obtain a liquid crude menthol
Implementation Method 3
a step of cooling down and recrystallizing the menthol
Data Source
AI summary
[Problem] To provide a natural (L)-menthol purified product that eliminates unpleasant tastes and combines a cool sensation and a mint-like aroma, and to provide a production method and an evaluation method for supplying the natural (L)-menthol purified product easily and inexpensively. [Solution] To make a natural (L)-menthol purified product characterized by combining a cool sensation and a mint-like aroma and having a color saturation of 1 or lower as measured by the method described below. (1) A step for vacuum distilling the purified natural (L) -menthol purified product while the purified product is in a heat-melted state and obtaining a vacuum distillation residue. (2) A step for adding ethanol to the vacuum distillation residue obtained in step (1) and obtaining an ethanol solution. (3) A step for making a color difference measurement sample of the ethanol solution obtained in step (2) and assessing the color saturation using a color difference meter that conforms to ISO 7724 (JIS Z 8722).