Extraction is one of the techniques for separating components of a mixture. It is closely related to distillation and may be used as a complementary or an alternative technique to it.

The feed liquid mixture in the form of a solution or part suspension, is brought into intimate contact with a suitable second liquid, the solvent, which is immiscible with the main component of the feed. Some or all of the secondary components of the feed partially dissolve in the solvent and are 'extracted' by it. The amount of a component extracted is governed by the efficiency of contact and the partition coefficient of the system, which may be determined from published data or found by experiment.

The technique may be used for removing impurities from the feed or in the recovery of small concentrations of valuable components from complex mixtures. In both cases there is usually a further separation stage by distillation, evaporation or precipitation to achieve the required products.

Garg Extraction Units

The complexity of the processes occurring in extraction units means that it is rarely possible to design an optimized production unit from purely theoretical considerations. the answer to this question is the use of pilot plant equipment in order to establish meaningful throughput data. The use of glass unit is an asset at both pilot plant and production scale.

- Transparency is a major advantage since it is important to know the position and the nature of the interface, to observe the flow pattern and to establish that efficient mixing is occurring.

- Glass is a modular material of construction which is easily modified so that an optimal unit arrangement is easily achieved.

- There is almost invariably an aqueous and an inorganic phase. The former may be corrosive to metals and the latter to plastics. The wide corrosion resistance of glass makes it an ideal material of construction.

Garg have facilities for pilot plant investigations and many years experience in the construction of the extraction systems. We will be happy to discuss further any particular problem you have concerning purification of, or separation of, a component from a liquid mixture.