This document provides an overview of leaching processes. It begins by defining leaching as a separation process that involves preferentially dissolving desired components from a solid mixture using a solvent like water or organic compounds. It then discusses:
- Preparing solids for leaching by crushing, grinding, drying, or other size reduction methods to increase surface area and accessibility.
- Common leaching equipment like fixed beds, moving beds, and agitated tanks.
- Equilibrium relationships where the solute concentration in the leached solid (underflow) equals the overflow if there is no adsorption.
- Countercurrent multistage leaching to improve separation efficiency using multiple stages of solids contact with fresh and
This document provides an overview of leaching processes. It begins by defining leaching as a separation process that involves preferentially dissolving desired components from a solid mixture using a solvent like water or organic compounds. It then discusses:
- Preparing solids for leaching by crushing, grinding, drying, or other size reduction methods to increase surface area and accessibility.
- Common leaching equipment like fixed beds, moving beds, and agitated tanks.
- Equilibrium relationships where the solute concentration in the leached solid (underflow) equals the overflow if there is no adsorption.
- Countercurrent multistage leaching to improve separation efficiency using multiple stages of solids contact with fresh and
This document provides an overview of leaching processes. It begins by defining leaching as a separation process that involves preferentially dissolving desired components from a solid mixture using a solvent like water or organic compounds. It then discusses:
- Preparing solids for leaching by crushing, grinding, drying, or other size reduction methods to increase surface area and accessibility.
- Common leaching equipment like fixed beds, moving beds, and agitated tanks.
- Equilibrium relationships where the solute concentration in the leached solid (underflow) equals the overflow if there is no adsorption.
- Countercurrent multistage leaching to improve separation efficiency using multiple stages of solids contact with fresh and
This document provides an overview of leaching processes. It begins by defining leaching as a separation process that involves preferentially dissolving desired components from a solid mixture using a solvent like water or organic compounds. It then discusses:
- Preparing solids for leaching by crushing, grinding, drying, or other size reduction methods to increase surface area and accessibility.
- Common leaching equipment like fixed beds, moving beds, and agitated tanks.
- Equilibrium relationships where the solute concentration in the leached solid (underflow) equals the overflow if there is no adsorption.
- Countercurrent multistage leaching to improve separation efficiency using multiple stages of solids contact with fresh and
Leaching Dr. Mohammed H. Al-Saleh Department of Chemical Engineering Jordan University of Science and Technology
Introduction
L-S separation process involves preferential solvation of the
desired component/s (solute/s) from a mixture of different components in a solid Diffusion of solutes through the solid phase:
Slow Complicate the separation process
Difficult to attain equilibrium
If water is used to leach undesired components from a solid
The process is called washing Wide use in the food and biological industries
Leaching of sugar from sugar beets using hot water
Vegetable oils are leached using organic solvents such as hexane and acetone.
In pharmaceutical industries, many products are obtained by
leaching plants roots, leaves and stems In metal industries, Copper salts are extracted from ground ores by sulfuric acid Coffee/tea
Solid preparation for leaching
4
In leaching, solvent diffuses inside the solid material to the
active sites where solute is available and dissolution occurs, thus the solid material should be ready for this mechanism The method for preparing the solid depends on:
Percent of the solute/s to be leached
The distribution of the solute/s within the solid The original particle size The nature of the solid (e.g. material that is completely surrounded by insoluble material, plant cell)
A B
A B
this would increase the rate of leaching where the solid portion becomes more accessible to the solvent Preparation techniques: Crushing and grinding
Slices: like in sugar beet
Drying of roots/leaves/stems: which causes rupture the cell wall
(used in pharmaceutical industry)
Rolling and flaking: used for soybeans and vegetable seeds where reducing the size to 0.1-0.5 mm cause cell walls rupture
Leaching Equipment A Fixed Bed Leaching
B Moving Bed Leaching
Used in sugar industry
In such equipment, 95% of
sugar can be leached
Solvent: Hot water
Bed or stage moves instead of
being stationary Used in extracting oil from vegetable seeds, soybeans Solvent: Usually petroleum products, eg. hexane
C Agitated Solid Leaching
When solids can be ground to 0.074 mm
Why 0.074mm?
Equilibrium Relations 8
A : Solute B: Solid C: Solvent
Overflow, contains A and C
Underflow (Slurry), contains A,C and B
In leaching we typically assume that there is no adsorption for
the solute by the solid.
Thus, Liquid (A,C) in the underflow is the same liquid in the overflow (A,C), i.e. concentration of solute in the underflow liquid (yA) is the same as that in the overflow (xA)
Equilibrium Diagram
Concentration of the solute in the overflow liquid:
xA =
Concentration of the solute in the underflow liquid:
yA =
kg A kg A + kg C
kg A kg A + kg C
Concentration of the solid (B) in the overflow and underflow
N=
kg solid kg B = kg A + kg C kg solution
Ideal case: Solute A is infinitely soluble in the solvent C.
underflow
N vs. yA
xA=yA
overflow 0
N vs. xA xA, yA 1
yA
0 10
xA
Non-Ideal Case: This case happens
when:
There is insufficient contact time
the solute will not be completely dissolved OR There is adsorption of the solute on the solid
underflow
N vs. yA N overflow
N vs. xA xA, yA
OR solute being soluble in solid
yA> xA
yA
0 11
xA
Single stage leaching
12
Overflow V1, x1
Solvent V2, x2
Slurry L0, N0, y0, B
Underflow L1, N1, y1, B
Total Balance:
Total flowrate of A and C
L0 + V2 = L1 + V1 = M
Component A balance: L0 y A0 + V2 x A2 = L1 y A1 + V1 x A1 = MxAM
Component B balance: B = L0 N 0 + 0 = L1 N1 + 0 = MN M
L : Flowrate of (A+C) in the slurry/underflow
V: flowrate of the Overflow solution (A+C) B: Flowrate of dry solute free solid
L1
L1MV1 : Should be on straight line (and most likely vertical)
LoMV2 : Should be on straight line
N NM
V1 V2 xAM
L0
xA, yA
Example
In a single-stage leaching of soybean oil from flaked soybeans with
hexane, 100 kg of soybeans containing 20-wt-% oil is leached with 100 kg of fresh hexane solvent. The value of N for the slurry underflow is essentially constant at 1.5 kg insoluble solid/kg solution retained. Calculate the amounts and compositions of the overflow V1 and the underflow slurry L1 leaving the stage 13
Overflow
Slurry
Solvent
V2=100 xA2=0; xC2=1
Underflow
B=100*(1-0.2)= 80 kg Lo=100*0.2 = 20 kg yAo=(kgA)/(kgA+kgC) = 20/(20+0) = 1
L (slurry) = Liquid phase (A and C) B = amount of solid Assumption: Solid B is insoluble and is not lost in the liquid Overall balance for the first n stages:
Vn+1 + L0 = V1 + Ln
Component A balance for the first n stages:
Vn+1 xn+1 + L0 y0 = V1 x1 + Ln yn
If we plot the above operating line-equation on xy diagram, it
will passes through the terminal points (x1, yo) and (xN+1,yN)
If the viscosity and density of the solution change remarkably
with the solute concentration
Solid from the lower-numbered leaching stages may retain more
liquid solvent because A concentration decreases from stage 1 to N
Ln and the slope of operating line will vary from stage to stage 16
A Variable underflow (Case 1)
The approach is similar to liquid-liquid extraction with partially miscible liquids Overall total solution balance (A+C):
VN +1 + L0 = V1 + LN = M
VN +1 x AN +1 + L0 y A0 = V1 x A1 + LN y AN = MxAM
Component A balance :
B = N0 L0 = N N LN = N M M
Total solid balance on B:
Terminal and M points
L0
L0 and VN+1 are usually known & yAN is set
LN
The coordinates of point M (xM,NM) can be calculated
L0 M VN+1 must lie on a straight line
V1 M LN must also lie on a straight line
NM
V 1 can be found
V1
VN+1 xAM xA, yA
17
Stage to stage calculations
For stage 1:
V2 + L0 = V1 + L1
For stage n:
Vn+1 + Ln-1 = Vn + Ln
Rearrange for the difference D:
This holds for all stages:
L0 - V1 = Ln - Vn+1 = LN - VN +1 = = D
The coordinates for the point D can be determined by applying
component A balance and balance on solid B: x AD =
L0 y A0 - V1 x A1 L0 - V1
B B = D L0 - V1
ND =
18
L0 - V1 = L1 - V2 = D
LN y AN - VN +1 x AN +1 LN - VN +1
N 0 L0 L0 - V1
Operating point D
Graphical determination of the point D:
1) Locate the terminal points
2) Draw the line L0V1 3) Draw the line LNVN+1 4) The intersection of the two lines is D
LN L 2 L1
Number of Stages
L0
1) Draw a tie line from V1 to locate L1
2) Draw the line L1D to locate V2
3) Draw A tie line from V2 gives L2
4) Continue until you reach the desired LN
According to the drawing on the right, 3 stages
are required for the separation
VN+1 V2 V1 xA, yA
D 19
Example A continuous countercurrent multistage system is to be used to leach oil from meal by benzene solvent. The process is to treat 2000 kg/h of inert solid meal (B) containing 800 kg oil (A) and also 50 kg benzene (C). The inlet flow per hour of fresh solvent mixture contains 1310 kg benzene and 20 kg oil. The leached solids are to contain 120 kg oil. Settling experiments similar to those in the actual extractor show that the solution retained depends upon the concentration of oil in the solution. The data are tabulated below as N kg inert solid B/kg solution and yA kg oil A/kg solution.
Calculate the amounts and concentrations of the stream
leaving the process and the number of stages required
20
VN+1=1310+20= 1330 kg/h
V1 , x1
xAN+1=20/1330= 0.015
Overflow
Leaching solvent Leached solid
Feed solid
y N , NN LN, B
B= 2000 kg/h Lo= 800+50=850 kg/h
yAo= 800/850= 0.94
No=2000/850 = 2.36 NN=kg B/LN
yAN=kg A/LN
NN/yAN=kg B/kg A = 2000/120 = 16.67
Go to the figure and plot a straight line from the yA=0 and N=0 with a slope of 16.67 21
Overall balance
Lo+VN+1= M= 850+1330 = 2180 kg/h
Component balance yAoLo+xN+1VN+1= xAMM
(0.941)(850)+(0.015)(1330) = xAM 2180 xAM = 0.38 Solid balance
