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Blue Spring Corporation offers patented PrecipROTM zero discharge membrane-based system is used for heat-less aqueous extraction of natural ingredients from natural raw materials, and for isolation of chemical reaction products from complex reaction mixtures.
Natural ingredients such as oils and physiologically active pharmaceuticals such as sterols are often extracted from natural raw materials using organic solvents. Natural ingredients are most susceptible to thermal degradation. In extraction of natural ingredients from natural raw materials, PrecipROTM zero discharge heat-less closed-loop aqueous extraction system is capable of recovering almost 100% of the desired product without thermal degradation.
Synthetic products such as hydroquinone are traditionally extracted from chemical reaction mixtures by conventional extraction processes involving organic solvents. Traditionally, water has been looked down as a solvent mainly because many synthesized organic chemicals have very little solubility in water. Dilute solutions require large amount of energy for recovery of the solutes. Blue Spring's patented PrecipROTM membrane-based aqueous extraction process overcomes this objection by the use of concentrative properties of reverse osmosis membranes. The energy consumption of the heat-less PrecipROTM system is an order of magnitude lower than the energy consumption of traditional product isolation processes involving organic solvents and distillation.
To be able to recover the product in the PrecipROTM heat-less aqueous product extraction system, it must have limited aqueous solubility. The reactants must have higher aqueous solubility than the product. Total Dissolved solutes in the aqueous phase should be preferably under 5,000 mg/L
PrecipROTM heat-less aqueous product extraction system avoids thermal degradation of heat-sensitive products, which is characteristic of the traditional distillation process.
PrecipROTM heat-less aqueous product extraction system is inherently environmentally friendly, because it avoids the use of toxic organic solvents which pollute water resources and the air. PrecipROTM based product extraction system is also inherently safer than organic solvent based systems because most organic solvents are highly flammable and toxic.
PrecipROTM heat-less aqueous product extraction system is more economical than organic solvent based product extraction systems, because organic solvents are expensive and they require energy-intensive distillation for recovery and recycling.
which offers a highly economical and environmentally friendly alternative to such hazardous, expensive, toxic and environmentally unfriendly traditional extraction processes. In the Blue Spring PrecipROTM process, the desirable natural ingredient or synthetic chemical product is leached with water in a leaching tank which could also serve as the reaction vessel. The aqueous extract is transferred to the PrecipROTM system which separates the dissolved product or the mix of products and also recycles the water in a purified form to the leaching operation. The system concentrates the desirable product to a point where it precipitates out as the result of exceeding its aqueous solubility. Thus, low solubility of the product becomes an advantage rather than a drawback. Actual separation of the product may be accomplished by a liquid/liquid separator in case of liquid ingredients such as oils. In case of a solid product, a centrifuge or a filter may be used. In most cases, the only energy input in the entire operation is a single pump.
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