The Pod centrifugal contactor is a unique processing system for liquid-liquid extraction. It uses centrifugal force to accelerate processing and is commonly applied in extraction, reaction, chemical washing, and phase separation. By increasing the driving force, it greatly shortens separation time while improving productivity.
You can think of the Pod contactor as a sieve-tray tower wrapped around a rotating shaft. As the contactor rotates, centrifugal force drives the heavy and light liquids in countercurrent motion. This force, which pushes the heavy liquid outward and the light liquid inward, is thousands of times stronger than gravity alone. As a result, it dramatically reduces the height and time required for countercurrent extraction.
The Importance of “Intimate Contact”
Through a series of concentric perforated motions, the two phases flow in opposite directions, creating repeated droplet movement and coalescence. This produces “intimate contact” between the liquids, allowing the extracted product to transfer from one liquid stream to the other.
Typical Applications
- Extraction
- Tylosin, fermentation recovery
- Lovastatin
- Erythromycin, fermentation recovery
- Chemical Wash
- Impact modifier
- Butyl acrylate
- Maleic anhydride
- Polymer Washing
- Polyether polyols
- Polycarbonates
- Bromobutyraldehyde rubber
| Processing Capacity | ||||
| Pod configuration | E* m³/h | E* gal/min | F* m³/h | F* gal/min |
| A-25 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.05 | 0.2 |
| B-250 | 9 | 40 | 6 | 25 |
| D-450 | 34 | 150 | 15 | 65 |
| D-900 | 68 | 300 | 30 | 130 |
| E-1200 | 136 | 600 | 60 | 260 |
The principle of reaction is similar to that of extraction, except that a chemical reaction causes the soluble product to transfer from one liquid medium to another.
The same principle applies to chemical washing, except that one of the two liquids is water.
In separation mode, there is no countercurrent contact zone, and the entire rotor is used for phase separation. It is especially suitable for separating corrosive materials, such as sulfuric acid or fuming sulfuric acid recovered from treated petroleum fractions for the production of special alloy materials.
Specific gravity differences vary
The Pod extractor works in the same way. As mentioned above, the Pod liquid-liquid extractor can process materials with a wide range of small specific gravity differences. It can separate materials with a specific gravity as low as 0.01 while still maintaining high throughput. Because it multiplies gravitational force many times, the Pod extractor can process more viscous liquids or solvents without affecting efficiency.
Suitable for a wide range of liquid-liquid contact and treatment processes.
The Pod contactor has versatile processing capabilities and is suitable for almost any liquid-liquid contact process. Examples include penicillin production, citrus flavor and fragrance extraction, and estrogen extraction from pregnant mares. Most of the antibiotics produced worldwide through fermentation are processed using Pod contactors.
The Pod contactor can be used for solvent extraction, fermentation broth recovery, water washing, liquid ion exchange for heavy metal recovery, phenol oil washing, lubricating oil extraction, naphthenic acid recovery, and more.