The Examples Of Molecular Distillation

Molecular Distillation is an efficient separation and purification technology, which is often used to treat high boiling point, high viscosity, heat sensitivity or polymer compounds. It uses the different volatility between molecules to separate and purify the components in the mixture.

The principle of distillation is based on the following two key concepts:

Distillation: In the process of distillation, the mixture is heated and injected into molecular distillation equipment to form steam. Steam passes through a long and thin channel in distillation equipment, which is called evaporator. In the evaporator, the temperature and pressure are precisely controlled to ensure that only molecules with lower boiling points evaporate.

Condensation: Steam is transported to the condenser through the evaporator, where it contacts the cooling surface. Due to the low temperature of the condenser, the steam changes into a liquid state and condenses into droplets on the surface of the condenser. These droplets are collected and called distillation products.

Carotenoids are a kind of pigment compounds, which widely exist in plants, such as carrots and tomatoes. They have rich antioxidant properties and nutritional value, and are widely used in food, health care products, cosmetics and other fields. The following is the application of distillation in carotenoid extraction:

Separation of different carotenoids: Carotenoids are a complex mixture, including β-carotene, α-carotene, lutein and other components. By adjusting temperature and pressure conditions, these components can be separated by molecular distillation. Because different kinds of carotenoids have different volatility, specific components can be purified and extracted by distillation.

Improve purity and activity: It can effectively extract carotenoids from the mixture and purify them to a higher purity level. This is very important for carotenoid products that need high purity, such as food and cosmetics industries. In addition, because distillation is carried out at low temperature and high vacuum, the pyrolysis and oxidation reactions of carotenoids can be reduced, so as to better retain their activity.

Impurities removal: For carotenoids extracted from plants, there are usually other compounds coexisting with them, such as fat, protein, etc. Through distillation, carotenoids and impurities can be separated and purer carotenoids can be obtained.

Obtain specific components: Some specific carotenoid components are more important in some applications, such as the application of β -carotene in food coloring. By adjusting the parameters of molecular distillation, these specific components can be selectively extracted and separated to meet different needs.

Molecular distillation came into being in the 1920s, and it is a new separation technology gradually emerging with the in-depth study of the theory of gas movement in vacuum and the continuous development of vacuum distillation technology. 

Different from the traditional distillation process, the distillation process is a continuous distillation process under high vacuum. This process is an irreversible distillation process, which is carried out at a temperature far away from the boiling point of substances at atmospheric pressure.

The basic principle of distillation technology is that different kinds of molecules have different average free paths because of their different molecular effective diameters. From the statistical point of view, the flight distance of the molecules that escape from the liquid surface without colliding with other molecules is different. The separation of distillation is realized by using the property that liquid molecules escape from the liquid surface after being heated, and the average free paths of different kinds of molecules are different after escaping. For example, the average free path of light molecules is large and the average free path of heavy molecules is small, so that light molecules fall on the condensation surface, and heavy molecules return to the original liquid surface because they can't reach the condensation surface, so that the mixture can be separated.

Volatile oil, also known as essential oil and essential oil, is a mixture of compounds with specific aroma and medicinal properties extracted from plants or other natural materials. Volatile oil is usually a highly volatile liquid with strong aroma and medicinal properties. Compendium of Materia Medica records the earliest detailed methods of extracting and refining camphor oil and camphor in the world. Volatile oil exists in glandular hairs, oil chambers, oil pipes, secretory cells or resin ducts of plants, mostly in the form of oil drops, some coexist with resin and mucus, and a few exist in the form of glycosides.

The components of volatile oil are produced by plants in the process of metabolism, including monoterpenes, esters, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols and other chemical components. These components contribute to the special aroma and medicinal properties of volatile oil. For example, the volatile oil of lemongrass contains monoterpenes such as Cyperulene, which presents a fresh fragrance like lemon; The volatile oil of rosemary is rich in phenols, ketones and aldehydes, which have antibacterial and antiviral effects, as well as refreshing and intellectual effects.

Volatile oil is often used in spices, food seasoning, cosmetics, medicine and other industries, and is also widely used in aromatherapy, massage, aromatherapy, bath salts and other fields. Volatile oil can be extracted by various methods, among which distillation is a common technology.

The reason for the widespread application of molecular distillation is its excellent separation effect, wide applicability, mature and cost-effective process, and its environmentally friendly and sustainable characteristics. Whether it is extracting fuel from the petroleum industry or the demand for pure products in fields such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food, distillation technology can achieve the separation and extraction of high-purity substances while meeting environmental requirements. This makes distillation an indispensable and important separation technology in various industries.