Optimization and Research of Extraction Technologies and Alternative Solvents – ORTESA

Extraction Technology is one of the most promising themes that can strongly contribute to sustainable growth of the French economy. This conclusion was based upon two observations. Extraction plays a very important role in French industry. The chemical, food -and pharmaceutical industries heavily rely on extraction. These industries are of great importance for the french economy, contributing € 15 billion per year to the gross domestic product. Extraction processes have a major influence on the industrial energy consumption, product costs and cost price of products Capital investments for building separation installations are considerable. For new plants about 40-70% of capital investments are spent on extraction technology. The energy consumption allocated to extraction proceses is estimated at 50% of the total energy of chemical process industry.
ORTESA is a partnership in which industry and university work closely together to develop breakthrough extraction technologies for application in different sectors of the process industry especially in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutic areas. Common high-level drivers for all sectors involved are the needs to drastically reduce energy consumption of extraction processes, to meet the more and more stringent legal requirements on emissions, product/process and materials safety and control, and for cost reduction and increased quality as well as functionality to stay competitive on a global basis.
These main themes will be covered by this common laboratory :
• Development of new extraction principles. The full potential of extraction principles can be extended by better use of process conditions, driving forces and media. First conventional mechanisms and combinations of these will provide solutions. Subsequently (combinations of) unconventional processes, operating conditions, driving forces and complex media will be applied.
• Development of affinity extraction. One of the mild extraction technologies is affinity extraction, which is seen as having high potential for the food industry. Knowledge, development and use of new intensification process will, however, be essential for this. In conventional extraction thermal driving force is in opposit with mass transfer gradients, with microwave extraction the two gradients are in the same direction leading to reduction in energy and enhancement in productivity.
• Process engineering for continuous processes Continuous running impacts the requirements of hardware and system solutions on flexibility in stream, volume, feedstock, product, throughput and on minimal residence time. Engineering principles need to be applied and robust hardware needs to be developed for current and new separation technologies. Flow modelling, transport and complex fluid dynamics are to be applied.
• Integration and decoupling of (new) process steps It is expected that hybrid integration of reaction and separation will take place. However, flexibility will be created by decoupling of process steps, such as drying and conserving. Different combinations will be required for specific applications.
• Scaling up and scaling down Achieving the concept of the bio-extraction requires scaling up towards processing high throughput streams in the short term. However, in future new process and separation technologies will likely be on a smaller scale, moving towards micro systems.
• Measurement and control The need to improve in-line measurement and analysis for increasing process capability and control is identified also including development of in-line control.
• Modelling Modelling is required to improve the fundamental process understanding. This covers modelling of mixture, flow and engineering principles,