(81c) Application of Sfe Extraction in a Countercurrent Column with Structured Packing for Recovery of Purified Squalene from Oil Residues | AIChE

(81c) Application of Sfe Extraction in a Countercurrent Column with Structured Packing for Recovery of Purified Squalene from Oil Residues

Authors 

Fernandes, J. B. - Presenter, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia - Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Mota, J. P. B. - Presenter, Chemistry Department, FCT/UNL
Simões, P. C. - Presenter, Requimte/CQFB, Chemistry Department
Ruivo, R. - Presenter, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica


Squalene is a naturally occurring tri-terpenoid hydrocarbon, used in its natural form on health foods or in its hydrogenated form (squalene) in cosmetic preparations. For the past decades the main source of squalene has been the liver oil of some deep-sea sharks. The protection of marine life is leading to a forsaking of this raw material and other sources are being taken on account. The squalene can also be found in some vegetable natural oils, although in smaller concentrations, this seems to be a promising source of raw material.

This work presents the study of the supercritical extraction of squalene from deodorized oil distillates. To partly emulate the oil distillates a binary mixture of squalene and methyl oleate was used. This extraction is made in a SFE structured packing column. A dynamic model was developed for this fractionation.

The proposed model was validated in our lab-scale extraction apparatus. The model incorporates a set of differential equations corresponding to material and energy balances over the column and the algebraic equations that describe the heat and mass transfer kinetics of the process, the hydrodynamic behavior of the packing at high pressure conditions and the thermodynamic equilibrium of the system. GPROMS is used to solve these equations in order to time and axial position. The thermodynamic relations, the mass and heat transfer and the hydrodynamic equations were developed from experimental data previously collected. The physical and transport properties of the gas and liquid phases are allowed to vary axially and with time. The input variables of the model are the initial pressure and temperature of operation, and the flowrate and composition of the supercritical solvent and liquid feed streams entering the packed column.

References:

[1] Ruivo, R., Paiva, A., Simões, P., Phase Equilibria of the Ternary System Methyl Oleate / Squalene / Carbon Dioxide at High Pressure Conditions, J. Supercritical Fluids,vol. 29(1-2), 2004, p. 77

[2] Ruivo, Cebola, M. J., Simões, P., Nunes da Ponte, M., Fractionation of Edible Oil Model Mixtures by Supercritical Carbon Dioxide in a Packed Column ? Part I: Experimental Results, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., vol. 40(7), 2001, p. 1706

[3] Ruivo, Cebola, M. J., Simões, P., Nunes da Ponte, M., Fractionation of Edible Oil Model Mixtures by Supercritical Carbon Dioxide in a Packed Column ? Part II: A Mass Transfer Study, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., vol. 41, 2002, p. 2305