MASS TRANSFER ECP 224

UNIT 4:
LEACHING
 outline
 Introduction
 Factors influencing the rate of extraction
 Equipment for leaching
 Rates of leaching
 Equilibrium relationship
 Single stage leaching
 Countercurrent multistage leaching

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 Introduction
 Leaching, is a liquid–solid operation

 It involves the removal of a soluble fraction (the solute or

leachant) of a solid material by a liquid solvent(1,2).

 Industrial applications of leaching include(1,3): removal of

copper from ore using sulfuric acid,
1. recovery of gold from ore using sodium-cyanide solution,
2. extraction of sugar from sugar beets using hot water,
3. extraction of tannin from tree bark using water,
4. removal of caffeine from green coffee beans using
supercritical CO2,
5. recovery of proteins and other natural products from
bacterial cells.
6. extraction of vegetable oil from soybeans with hexane
solvent

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Factors influencing the rate of extraction
 The selection of the equipment for an extraction process is
influenced by the factors which are responsible for limiting the
extraction rate(3).
 If the diffusion of the solute through the porous structure of the
residual solids is the controlling factor, the material should be of
small size so that the distance the solute has to travel is small.
 On the other hand, if diffusion of the solute from the surface of
the particles to the bulk of the solution is the controlling factor, a
high degree of agitation of the fluid is required.

 There are four important factors to be considered:

1. Particle size.
2. Solvent.
3. Temperature.
4. Agitation of the fluid.
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Equipment classification

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 EQUIPMENT FOR LEACHING
 The method of contacting solids with solvent are(2):
◦ percolation of solvent through a bed of solids or
◦ immersion of the solid in the solvent followed by agitation of
the mixture.
 When immersion is used, countercurrent, multistage operation
is common.
 With percolation, either a stage wise or a differential contacting
device is appropriate.
 An extractor must be efficient to minimize the need for solvent
because of the high cost of solvent recovery.

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 Fixed-bed leaching.
• Fixed-bed leaching is used in the beet
sugar industry and is also used for the
extraction of tanning extracts from
tanbark, for the extraction of
pharmaceuticals from barks and
seeds, and in other processes.
• A typical sugar beet diffuser or
extractor is shown. Cover is
removable, so sugar beet slices called
cassettes can be dumped into the
bed.
• Hot water at 344 K flows into the bed
to leach out the sugar, sugar solution
flows out the bottom onto the next
tank in series. Countercurrent
operation is used in the Shanks
system(1.2).
• The top and bottom covers are
removable so that the leached beets
can be removed and a fresh charge
added. J. GOVHA ;DEPARTMENT OF
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Percolation Extractor
• Batch extractor consists of a
vertical cylindrical vessel
divided into two sections by
a partition.
• Upper section is filled with
the charge of seeds/leaf
Extraction of which is sprayed with fresh
oil from solvent via a distributor.
seeds is • Solvent percolates through
illustrated(1) the bed of solids and drains
into the lower compartment
where it is continuously
boiled off by means of a
steam coil.
• The vapours are passed to
an external condenser, and
the mixed liquid is passed to
a separating box from which
Extraction the solvent is continuously
of steviol fed back to the plant and the
glycosides
water is run to waste.
from leaves J. GOVHA ;DEPARTMENT OF
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The Bollmann continuous moving bed extractor,
• It consist bof askets with
perforated bottoms that
move around a vertical loop
by a motor-driven chain drive
(2).

• Solvent percolates down,

from basket to basket,
through the solids.
• When a basket reaches the
top of the extractor, it is
inverted to dump extracted
solids and then filled with
fresh solids.
• Flow of liquid is
countercurrent to solids in
ascending baskets and
cocurrent in descending
baskets.
• Fresh solvent enters near
the top of the ascending leg.
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Bollmann extractor—filling and emptying of baskets

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• Another widely used continuous
extractor for flaked seeds and
beans is the Rotocel extractor.
• In this device, which resembles a
carousel and simulates a Shanks
system, walled, annular sectors,
called cells, on a horizontal plane,
are slowly rotated by a motor(3).
A rotocel extractor has a rotating
basket construction(4)
• The cells, which hold solids and
are perforated for solvent
drainage, successively pass a
solids-feed area, a series of
solvent sprays, a final spray and
drainage area, and a solids-
discharge area.
• Fresh solvent is supplied to the
cell located just below the final
spray and drainage area, from
where drained liquid is collected
and pumped to the preceding cell
location.
• The drainage from that cell is
collected and pumped to the cell
preceding that cell and so on. In
this manner, a countercurrent flow
of solids and liquid is achieved.
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 Continuous, perforated-belt extractor
• Continuous, perforated-belt
extractors, are used to
process sugar cane, sugar
beets, oil seeds, and apples (for
apple juice).
• The feed solids are fed from a
hopper to a slow-moving,
continuous, and nonpartitioned
perforated belt driven by
motorized sprockets at either end.
• The height of solids on the belt
can be controlled by a damper at
the feed hopper outlet.
• Belt speed is automatically
adjusted to maintain the desired
depth of solids.
• Extracted solids are discharged
into an outlet hopper at the end of
the belt by a scraper, and side walls
prevent solids from falling off the
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 Pachuca tank

• When the solids to be leached are in the form of fine particles,

perhaps smaller than 0.1 mm in diameter, batch leaching is
conveniently conducted in an agitated vessel
• Batch leaching is conveniently conducted in an agitated vessel.
A simple configuration is the Pachuca tank and used extensively
in the metallurgical industry.
• The tank is a tall, cylindrical vessel constructed of wood,
concrete, or metal that can be lined with an inert, noncorrosive,
nontoxic material.
• Solvent and solids are placed in the tank and agitation is
achieved by an air lift, whereby air bubbles entering at the
bottom of a circular tube, concentric with the tank, cause upward
flow and subsequent circulation of the solid–liquid suspension.

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 Agitated leaching

• During agitation, air continuously enters

and leaves the vessel. When the
desired degree of leaching is
accomplished, agitation stops and solids
are allowed to settle into a sludge at the
bottom, where it is removed with the
assistance of air.
• The supernatant extract is removed by
siphoning from the top of the tank.
Agitation can also be achieved by a
paddle stirrer or by the use of a
propeller mounted in a draft tube to
provide upward flow and circulation of
the solid–liquid suspension, much like
that in the Pachuca tank.

Pachuca tank J. GOVHA ;DEPARTMENT OF

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D.D.S. double-screw, slope extractor

• The D.D.S. double-screw, slope extractor is a very versatile unit(2).

• Although used mainly for extraction of sugar beets, the device has been applied
successfully to a range of other feed materials, including sugar cane, flaked seeds
and beans, apples, pears, grapes, cherries, ginger, l, red beets, carrots, coffee, and
tea.
• The opposite-turning screws of the metal ribbons are pitched so that both
screws move the solids uphill in parallel, cylindrical troughs.
• Extract flows through the screw surface downhill to achieve a differential,
countercurrent flow with the solids. A novel feature is the ability to turn one
screw slightly faster and then slightly slower than the other screw, causing the
solids to be periodically squeezed. J. GOVHA ;DEPARTMENT OF
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Example:
500 kg of the inert solid containing 28 percent by mass of the
water-soluble component (A), is agitated with 100 m3 of water for
600 sec. After each decanting 25% of the solution produced
remain in the residue. Water is saturated with the solute at a
concentration of 2.5 kg/m3. Find the concentration of the solute (A)
in the solution after the leaching and number of washing such that
the concentration of A in the solid residue is 0.01% by mass. In a
pilot scale test using a vessel 1m3 in volume, a solute was leached
from an inert solid and the water was 75 percent saturated in 10 s.
Assuming conditions are equivalent to those in the pilot scale
vessel.

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Equilibrium Relationship in Leaching
 In leaching it is assumed that there is sufficient solvent
present so that all the solute in the entering solid can be
dissolved into the liquid, equilibrium is reached when the
solute is dissolved.
 Hence, all the solute is completely dissolved in the first stage.
 It is also assumed that the solid is insoluble, and no adsorption will
happen for the solute in the solid, meaning that the solution in the
liquid phase leaving a stage is the same as the solution remaining
with the solid matrix in the settled slurry leaving the same stage.
 The settled solid leaving a stage always contains some liquid. This
solid-liquid stream is called the underflow or slurry stream. The liquid
is called the overflow stream.
 The concentration of oil or solute in the overflow stream is equal to
that in the liquid solution accompanying the slurry or underflow
stream. Hence, on an xy plot the equilibrium line is on the 45o line.

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Christine John Geankoplis, Transport Processes and Separation
Process Principles, 4th Edition, 2003, PHI Learning Private Limited

Example L1: Single-Stage Leaching of Flaked

Soybeans
In a Single-Stage Leaching of soybean oil from flaked
soybeans with hexane, 100 kg of soybeans containing 20
wt % oil is leached with 100 kg of fresh hexane solvent.
The value of N for the slurry underflow is constant at 1.5
kg insoluble solid/kg solution retained. Calculate the
amounts and compositions of the overflow V1 and the
underflow L1 leaving the stage.

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 Solution:
The process flow diagram and known variables are as follows.

The point M is plotted along with V2 and L0.

A vertical tie line is drawn to locate L1 and V1 in equilibrium with each other.
So N1 = 1.5, yA1 = xA1= 0.167.
By using lever-arm rule, we obtain
L1 =M* (Nm-Nv1)/(N1-Nv1 )=53.3 kg and
V1 =M* (N1-Nm)/(N1-Nv1 )66.7 kg. J. GOVHA ;DEPARTMENT OF
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Seader J. D, Henley Ernest. J, Keith Roper D. Keith, Separation
Process principles, 2nd Edition, 2011, Wiley

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 Reference
1. Christine John Geankoplis, Transport Processes and
Separation Process Principles, 4th Edition, 2003, PHI
Learning Private Limited
2. Seader J. D, Henley Ernest. J, Keith Roper D. Keith,
Separation Process principles, 2nd Edition, 2011, Wiley
3. Coulson, J.M.; and Richardson, J.F.; Chemical Engineering Volume 2,
5th Ed., 1999, Butterworth-Heinemann
4. https://www.steviashantanu.com/new-extraction-methods

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