Extractor and related methods
AssigneeBridgestone Corporation
InventorsRobert W. White, Michael R. Hartzell
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An extractor suitable for using a solvent to separate a compound from a solid or semisolid substance containing the compound. The extractor includes a conveying assembly having an inclined conveyor for receiving the substance from a substance inlet and moving the substance through the solvent, an inclined upper surface associated with the first conveyor and an inclined lower surface associated with the first conveyor. The conveyor is configured to move the substance downward through the solvent along the upper surface toward a lower end of the conveyor and upward through the solvent along the lower surface toward an upper end of the conveyor.
Claims20
A method of separating rubber from guayule biomass using solvent extraction, the method comprising:
- introducing the guayule biomass into a pool comprising at least one solvent capable of dissolving rubber;
- conveying the guayule biomass downward along a first inclined surface through the pool of the at least one solvent capable of dissolving rubber;
- conveying the guayule biomass upward along a second inclined surface through the pool of the at least one solvent capable of dissolving rubber;
- and
- conveying the guayule biomass upward along an inclined screen to separate the at least one solvent capable of dissolving rubber from the from the guayule biomass.
A method of separating rubber from guayule biomass using solvent extraction, the method comprising:
- introducing the guayule biomass into a pool of solvents comprising at least one solvent capable of dissolving rubber and at least one polar solvent, wherein the at least one solvent capable of dissolving rubber is selected from the group consisting of hexane, cyclohexane, pentane, and combinations thereof and the at least one polar solvent comprises acetone;
- conveying the guayule biomass downward along a first inclined surface through the pool of the solvents;
- conveying the guayule biomass upward along a second inclined surface through the pool of the solvents;
- and
- conveying the guayule biomas upward along an inclined screen to separate the solvents from the guayule biomass.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.