What Are The Applications Of Short Path Distillation

Short path distillation is an efficient separation technology, and its principle is based on the different boiling points of mixture components. By heating the mixture under high vacuum, the components are separated from the mixture by using the boiling point difference between the mixture components.

The main feature of short-distance molecular distillation is separation at extremely low pressure and short distance. Usually, high vacuum equipment is used for operation. By controlling the temperature and pressure in the equipment, the components in the mixture evaporate and condense in a very short distance, so as to separate different components of the mixture.

Molecular distillation is a special liquid-liquid separation technology, which is different from traditional distillation based on the separation principle of boiling point difference of substances, but based on the average free path difference of molecular motion of substances in the mixture. According to the principle of average free path of molecular motion, as shown in the right figure, in an ideal state, if the liquid mixture is heated by flowing along the heating plate, light and heavy molecules will escape from the liquid surface and enter the gas phase. Because the free paths of light and heavy molecules are different, the molecules of different substances have different moving distances after escaping from the liquid surface. If a condensing plate can be properly set, the light molecules will reach the condensing plate and be condensed and discharged, while the heavy molecules will not reach the condensing plate and be discharged along the mixed liquid. In this way, the purpose of separating substances can be achieved. According to this principle, people have designed various evaporators, such as falling film evaporator, centrifugal evaporator and scraped film evaporator. In practice, due to various conditions, it is difficult to achieve the ideal purpose of molecular distillation separation, and all evaporators have a common feature that the distance between evaporation surface and condensation surface is very short, and the journey from molecules overflowing from evaporation surface to condensation into liquid is very short, so they are called short-distance distillers.

The Main Steps of Short Path Distillation

1. The source mixture enters the distiller, where a high vacuum state is maintained.
2. Heat the mixture in the distiller to make the components in it gradually start to vaporize.
3. The vaporized molecular components are mixed with inert gas (or inducer) in a short distance, which reduces the interaction between components and makes them easier to separate.
4. During the evaporation process, the components move quickly to the evaporator wall, colliding with other components and condensing. Due to the short separation path of short-distance molecular distillation, the distillation liquid can be separated in a short time.
5. Collect and extracting different component.

Operation Mode of Distillation Technology

• Direct Contact Type: The heating surface and condensation surface are in direct contact, with high heat transfer efficiency and large temperature gradient, which is suitable for low viscosity liquids.
• Filling Type: Filler is added between the heating surface and the condensation surface, so that liquid molecules form a retention layer in the filler and slowly spread to the condensation surface, which is suitable for high viscosity liquids.
• Scraping Film Type: A film scraper is added between the heating surface and the condensation surface, so that liquid molecules form a retention layer on the heating surface and quickly spread to the condensation surface through the film scraper, which is suitable for high-viscosity liquids and high-molecular-weight substances.
• Centrifugal Type: Liquid molecules are introduced into the heating surface and diffused to the heating surface by centrifugal force, which is suitable for high viscosity liquids and high molecular weight substances.

A complete short-distance distillation unit includes: Short path evaporator, heating system, feeding system, cooling system, vacuum system and material collection unit, etc.

Multi-stage film and evaporator are connected in series, and after continuous multi-stage distillation, the separation of multi-component complex mixture can be realized. We provide you with selection, production and installation, and after-sales service tracking. Short path distillation is the result of multi-discipline and teamwork. ACHIEVE CHEM has 15 years of team experience, and the R&D team combines the most advanced technologies in China, including chemical engineering and technology, mechanical design and manufacturing and automation, electric control, instrumentation and other multidisciplinary talents.

SPD technology has an important application in plant extraction of CBD (cannabidiol). We can provide the SPD equipment for lab, pilot and also industrial grade. CBD is a non-psychoactive component in cannabis plants, which has many pharmacological activities and potential medical application value.

Traditional extraction methods of hemp usually use solvent extraction or supercritical fluid extraction, but these methods are often difficult to achieve high-purity CBD extraction and may pollute the environment. The short-range molecular distillation technology can effectively solve these problems.

Using molecular distillation technology, the extraction process of CBD can be carried out at low temperature and pressure. By separating CBD from other components, this technology can realize efficient and high-purity extraction of CBD. The specific operation mode includes injecting hemp extract into short-range molecular distillation equipment, and controlling temperature and pressure under the conditions of high vacuum and short path distance, so that the CBD components can evaporate and condense in a very short distance, thus realizing the separation and purification of CBD.

The advantages of short-path molecular distillation technology in extracting CBD from plants:

High Efficiency: Short-distance molecular distillation technology can be carried out at low temperature, which avoids the thermal degradation of CBD and improves the extraction efficiency of CBD.

High Purity: Impurities and other components in hemp extract can be effectively separated and removed by short-distance molecular distillation technology, thus obtaining high purity CBD.

Environmental Protection: Compared with traditional solvent extraction methods, short-distance molecular distillation technology reduces environmental pollution and reduces the use of solvents.

APPLICATIONS

• Chemical engineering: Used for separation and purification of high-purity organic matter, widely used in preparation and treatment of coatings, resins, rubber, plastics, etc. It can be used to purify aromatic oil, purify polymer intermediates, and extract fine chemicals such as sheep fat.
• Pharmaceutical industry: To prepare high-purity pharmaceutical raw materials and intermediates, especially for natural products and drugs that are not resistant to high temperature, distillation technology can extract products at low temperature.
• Cosmetic industry: It is used to prepare fine cosmetics, such as perfume, vegetable oil, cream, glass liquid, hair dye, etc., and can also separate and recycle fine chemicals such as esters and alcohols.
• Biomedical engineering: To separate and purify biological macromolecules or drugs, such as protein, DNA, RNA and other biological macromolecules.
• Food industry: It can be used to extract high value-added food additives such as spices, flavoring agents and pigments, and it can also be used to extract, separate and purify food materials. It can be used in food industry applications such as oil refining, fish oil, grease, cowboy, refined high-carbon alcohol and mixed oil separation.
• Petroleum industry: In the petroleum industry, short path distillation equipment can be used to separate and purify various high-boiling organic substances and polymers.
• Environmental protection and other fields: Molecular distillation technology can also be applied to the field of environmental protection and the separation and purification of other daily chemicals.