Welcome to our PSL 200 plant.

This plant is being operated by my colleagues Merlin

Mogollon, Sergio Pachon, and myself, Gisella Valderrama.

The process is based on the unit operation of leaching, which is a fundamental operation
for the recovery or extraction of one or multiple components from a solid phase that are
transferred to a liquid phase called solvent. This mass transfer occurs due to the dynamics
of the system and the effects of solubility.

At an industrial level, this operation is used in the production of extracts, vegetable oils,
dissolved coffee, sugar, in metallurgy for metal separation, among other applications
where the objective is to extract a soluble fraction from a permeable solid phase.

PACHON

To carry out this operation, we have 5 main equipment: an immersion-type

EXTRACTOR, which has a cylindrical stainless steel basket inside; an EVAPORATOR;
and a SOLVENT TANK. All three are graduated flasks with a capacity of 10 L.
Additionally, there is a CONDENSER and a SEPARATOR, all made of borosilicate
glass material. To provide the necessary heat for the extraction and evaporation
process, two heating mantles with a power of 1.8 KW are available.

The plant is equipped with a programmable logic controller (PLC) for automatic
control and a graphical display that can also be accessed remotely from a PC.

MERLIN

The extraction process carried out in the PSL 200 plant is a batch process, which
means it is done in batches. It starts in the EXTRACTOR, where the solid material is
placed in the basket and the solvent is added to the tank.

The solvent used in the process is water, but other solvents can be used if they
have the ability to dissolve a compatible substance present in the solid material.
During this stage, the phases are in contact for a certain period or until the solid
material is exhausted. The temperature is maintained below the boiling point of the
solvent, and heat is supplied by a heating mantle. In this stage, an extract is
obtained, consisting of the extracted solute and the solvent, which is gravity-fed
into the evaporator tank.

In the evaporator tank, the solvent is evaporated to continue the solvent recovery
process, while the extracted solute remains in liquid form and accumulates for later
removal. The solvent vapor, rich in solvent, is then passed through the
CONDENSER, where the solvent stream condenses with the help of cooling water
supplied by the PSI-100 plant. The condensed solvent, before being returned to the
extractor or solvent tank, passes through the Separator Tank. The recovered solvent
can be stored in the solvent tank or returned to the process.

This unit allows for various extraction practices, such as extracting sugars and
essential oils.