Method and apparatus for extracting soluble and dispersible materials from products using a slotted scroll extractor

A method of extracting a substance from a product, comprising:

• A. feeding said product into an inlet of an extractor comprising a housing having first and second axially aligned sections and having a screw conveyor rotatably mounted therein, said screw conveyor including a rotatable shaft having generally transverse flights mounted thereon, said flights having elongated slots formed therethrough extending in a direction substantially non-parallel to the direction of shaft rotation;
• B. conveying said product through said housing in a first direction by rotating said shaft;
• C. feeding an extraction medium into an extraction medium inlet of said housing;
• D. conveying said extraction medium through said housing in a direction opposite to said first direction by alternately forcing said extraction medium through said product and through said slots in said flights, thereby extracting said substance from said product to form an effluent;
• E. removing at least a portion of said effluent from said housing between said first and second sections thereof;
• and
• F. compressing said product at a junction between said first and second sections, said junction having a reduced cross section when compared to that of both said first and second sections, to aid in effluent removal.

A method of extracting a material from a product, comprising:

• A. feeding said product into a product inlet of an extractor comprising a housing having first and second axially aligned sections and having a screw conveyor routably mounted therein and extending through said first and second sections, said screw conveyor including a rotatable shaft having generally transverse flights mounted thereon, said flights having passages formed therethrough for the passage of an extraction medium, said product inlet being located at a lower end of said first housing section;
• B. conveying said product through said housing in a first direction by rotating said shaft;
• C. feeding said extraction medium into extraction medium inlets formed in said first and second sections of said housing;
• D. conveying said extraction medium through said housing in a second direction opposite to said first direction by alternately forcing said extraction medium through said product and through said passages in said flights, thereby extracting said material from said product and forming an effluent;
• E. removing at least a portion of said effluent from said housing between said first and second sections.

A method of extracting a material from a product, comprising:

• A. feeding said product into an inlet of an extraction comprising a housing having first and second axially aligned sections and a screw conveyor rotatably mounted therein and extending through said first and second sections, said screw conveyor including a rotorable shaft having generally transverse flights mounted thereon, said flights having passages formed therethrough for the passage of an extraction medium;
• B. conveying said product through said housing in a first direction by rotating said shaft;
• C. feeding said extraction medium into an extraction medium inlet of said housing;
• D. conveving said extraction medium through said housing in a second direction opposite to said first direction by alternately forcing said extraction medium through said product and through said passages in said flights;
• thereby extracting said material from said product and forming an effluent:
• E. removing at least a portion of said effluent from said housing between said first and second sections;
• and
• F. compressing said product at a junction between said first and second sections, said junction having a reduced cross section when compared to that of both said first and second sections, to aid in effluent removal.

A method of extracting a sugar from pulp formed from citrus peels, comprising:

• A. feeding said pulp into an inlet of a housing comprising a housing divided into first and second axially aligned sections and having a screw conveyor rotatably mounted therein and extending through said first and second sections, said screw conveyor including a rotatable shaft having generally transverse flights mounted thereon, said flights having elongated slots formed therethrough extending in a direction substantially non-parallel to the direction of shaft rotation;
• B. conveying said pulp through said housing in a first direction while washing said pulp, said conveying and washing step including
• (1) conveying said pulp through said first section of said housing in said first direction while a first extraction medium flows through said first section of said housing in a second direction opposite to said first direction, said first extraction medium alternately flowing through said pulp and through said slots in said flights of said first section, thereby forming a first effluent,
• (2) compressing said pulp at a junction between said first and second sections to extract said first effluent from said pulp,
• (3) draining said first effluent from said housing, then
• (4) conveying said pulp through said second section of said housing in said first direction while a second extraction medium flows through said second section of said housing in said second direction, said first extraction medium alternately flowing through said pulp and through said slots in said flights of said second section, thereby forming a second effluent, and then
• (5) discharging said second effluent from said second section;
• and then
• C. discharging said pulp from said second section.