Ch E 511A: Separation Processes and Introduction to Particulate Technology

Leaching
LEACHING/ SOLID EXTRACTION

- It involves treating a finely divided solid with a liquid that dissolves out and removes a solution contained in the
solid
- In leaching, the following steps can occur in the overall processes
1. The solvent must be transferred from the bulk solvent solution to the surface of the solid
2. The solvent must penetrate or diffuse into the solid
3. The solute dissolves into the solvent
4. The solute diffuses through the solid- solvent mixture to the surface of the particle
5. The solute is transferred to the bulk solution

Components: Assumptions:

1. Solute, A 1. Steady-state operation

2. Solvent, L’ or V’ 2. No solid in the overflow
3. Inert solid , B 3. Solid B is insoluble in the solvent

Streams:

 Underflow (L-phase)
o Pertains to the solids with the solute and solvent it carries flowing from stage to stage
 Overflow (V-phase)
o Pertains to the solvent with the solute it carries flowing from stage to stage

Types of Equipment for Leaching

1. Fixed- bed leaching – used in beet sugar industry, extraction of tanning extracts from tanbark, extraction of
pharmaceuticals from barks and seeds, etc.
2. Moving- bed leaching – used in extracting oil from vegetable seeds such as cottonseeds, peanuts, and soybeans
3. Agitated solid leaching

Methods of Operation in Leaching:

1. Batch or Unsteady-state conditions

2. Continuous Conditions
I. CONSTANT UNDERFLOW LEACHING
A. Constant Solvent Retention – the mass of solvent retained by the solid is independent of concentration
B. Constant Solution Retention – the mass of solution retained by the solid is independent of concentration
II. VARIABLE UNDERFLOW LEACHING
o The liquid retained in the solids underflow varies from stage to stage

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 Ch E 511A: Separation Processes and Introduction to Particulate Technology
Leaching
CONSTANT UNDERFLOW LEACHING

A. Constant Solvent Retention

mass of solvent retained ∈sol id L'
Retention=R= =
mass of solid B

Overflow

Extract, V1 Va Extracting Solvent, Vb

Solvent, V1’ + ya yb* Solvent ,Vb’
Solute (y1 = ya*) + Solute (yb)
1 a N-1 N b

Feed Raffinate
xa = ya* La xb=yb* (exhausted solid)
Solid, B Solution, L0 xa
Solid, B Solution, Lb
Solute , xo Solvent, Lo’
Solute, xb Solvent, Lb’

Underflow

Since the fresh feed does not contain any retained solvent, it is excluded in the constant underflow system

L1’ = L2’= L3’ =…= Ln’ = L’ ≠ Lo

V2’ = V3’ = V4’ =…= Vn’ = V’≠ V1

For the underflow: For the overflow:

mass of solute mass of solute
x= y=
mass of solvent , L ' mass of solvent ,V '

Number of Ideal Stages (Absorption Factor Method/ Tiller Tour Equation)

N−1=ln ¿ ¿

B. Constant Solution Retention

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 Ch E 511A: Separation Processes and Introduction to Particulate Technology
Leaching
mass of s olution retained∈solid L
Retention=R= =
mass of solid B

Overflow

Extract, V1 Va Extracting Solvent, Vb

Solvent, V1’ + ya yb* Solvent ,Vb’
Solute (y1 = ya*) + Solute (yb)
1 a N-1 N b

Feed Raffinate
xa = ya* La xb=yb* (exhausted solid)
Solid, B Solution, L0 xa
Solid, B Solution, Lb
Solute , xo Solvent, Lo’
Solute, xb Solvent, Lb’
Underflow
Since the fresh feed does not contain any retained solvent, it is excluded in the constant underflow system

L1 = L2 = L3 =…= Ln = L ≠ Lo
V2 = V3 = V4 =…= Vn = V≠ V1

For the underflow: For the overflow:

mass of solute mass of solute
x= y=
mass of solution , L mass of solution , V

Number of Ideal Stages (Absorption Factor Method/ Tiller Tour Equation)

N−1=ln ¿ ¿

PROBLEMS
1. Tung meal containing 55 weight % oil is to be extracted at a rate of 4000 lb/hr using n-hexane containing 5 wt% oil
as solvent. A countercurrent multi-stage extraction system is to be used. The meal retains 2 lbs of solvent per lb of
oil free meal. The residual charge contains 0.11 lb oil per pound of oil-free meal while the product is composed of
15% wt oil. Determine the number of ideal stages.

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 Ch E 511A: Separation Processes and Introduction to Particulate Technology
Leaching
2. A countercurrent multiple contact extraction system is to treat 50 tons/hr of wet sliced sugar beets, with fresh water
as solvent. The beets have the following analysis : 48 wt % water, 40 wt% pulp and 12 wt% sugar. The strong
solution leaving the system is to contain 0.15 fraction sugar and 97% of the sugar in the sliced beets is to be
recovered. Determine the number of extraction cells required, assuming equilibrium between the underflow and
overflow in each cell
a. If each ton of dry pulp retains 3 tons of water
b. If each ton of dry pulp retains 3 tons of solution
3. A continuous countercurrent multi-stage system is to be used to leach oil from meal by benzene solvent. The
process is to treat a meal containing 2000kg/hr of inert solid, 800 kg/hr or oil and 50 kg/hr benzene. The inlet flow
per hour of fresh solvent mixture contains 1310 kg benzene and 20 kg oil per hour. The leached solids are to
contain 120 kg/hr oil. Calculate the exit flows and compositions and the number of stages required if retention is
1.85 kg solid per kg solution.
4. A treated ore containing inert solid gangue and copper sulphate is to be leached in a countercurrent multi-stage
extractor using per water to leach the CuSO4. The solid charge rate per hour consists of 10,000 kg of inert gangue,
1200 kg CuSO4 and 400 kg water. The exit was h solution is to contain 92 wt% water and 8 wt% CuSO 4. A total of
95 % CuSO4 in the inlet ore is to be recovered. The underflow is constant at 0.5 kg inert gangue solid per kg of
aqueous solution. Calculate the number of stages.

VARIABLE UNDERFLOW LEACHING

- Retention in the solid varies per stage

Overflow

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1 N-1 N
 Ch E 511A: Separation Processes and Introduction to Particulate Technology
Leaching
Extract, Va Extracting Solvent, Vb
Solvent, Va’ + Solvent ,Vb’
Solute (ya) + Solute (yb)
a b

Feed Raffinate
(exhausted solid)
Solid, B Solution, La
Solid, B Solution, Lb
Solute , xa Solvent, La’
Solute, xb Solvent, Lb’
Underflow

L∧L' are not constant

B=solid=constant

Graphical methods of determining the number of Stages:

1. Ponchon- Savarit Method

2. Mccabe-Thiele Method

PONCHON SAVARIT METHOD

Let: A = solute of soluble matter B = inert or insoluble solid

L’ or V’ = solvent L or V = solution
mass of solid , B
N=
mass of solution , L

Underflow: Overflow:

mass of solute , A mass of solute , A

x= y=
mass of solution , L mass of solution, V

**** For the overflow, N= 0 since no solid is in the overflow. For the underflow, N varies depending on the solute
concentration in the liquid

**** Each terminal stream is represented by a point in the diagram with coordinates as follows:

Point representing the feed, La : (xa, Na)

Point representing the raffinate, Lb : (xb, Nb)
Point representing the extracting solvent, Vb : (yb, 0)
Point representing the extract, Va : (ya, 0)

These 4 points are plotted on the underflow and overflow curves as shown below

Lb Underflow Curve (x, N)

La
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Leaching

Vb Va

Overflow Curve (y,N)

MCCABE- THIELE METHOD

Va Vn+1
ya 1 n yn+1 N

La Ln
xa xn

- In using the McCabe- Thiele method, two lines are needed: the Operating line and the Equilibrium Curve
a. Operating Line
Balance around the dashed line
TMB: La +V n +1=Ln+ V a
Solute bal: La x a+V n+1 y n+1=Ln x n+V a y a

Rearranging, OPERATING LINE EQUATION:

Ln V a y a−La x a
y n+ 1=( )(
V n+ 1
xn )+
V n+1

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Leaching
o The terminal points on the operating line are determined using material balances around the whole
system
o The intermediate points are computed by choosing an intermediate value of xn to fix Ln , and Vn+1 is
calculated using TMB around the dashed line. The composition of the overflow yn+1 is then calculated
using the Operating Line Equation. Point (xn, yn+1) is plotted along with the terminal compositions to give
the curved operating line
b. Equilibrium Line
o Assuming that the requirements for equilibrium are met, then the concentration of the liquid retained by
the solid leaving any stage is the same as that of the liquid overflow from the same stage.
o The equilibrium relationship is x=y ( 45° line)

Equilibrium Curve

Operating Line

PROBLEMS

1. Halibut oil is extracted from halibut livers in a countercurrent multi-batch arrangement using ether as solvent. The solids
charged contain 0.35 kg oil per kg exhausted livers and it is desired to obtain a 90% oil recovery. How many theoretical
stages are required if 50 kg ether is used per 100 kg of untreated solids? The entrainment are as follows:

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 Ch E 511A: Separation Processes and Introduction to Particulate Technology
Leaching
kg oil
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.67
kg solution
kg solution
0.28 0.34 0.40 0.47 0.55 0.66 0.80 0.96
kg solids
2. A continuous countercurrent multi-stage system is to be used to leach oil from meal by benzene solvent. The process is
to treat meal containing 2000 kg/hr of inert solid meal, 800 kg oil and 50 kg benzene. The inlet flow per hour of solvent
contains 1310 kg benzene and 20 kg oil. The leached solids are to contain 120 kg oil. Calculate the amounts of
concentration of the streams leaving the process and the number of stages required.

kg oil
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
kg solution
kg inert
2 1.98 1.94 1.89 1.82 1.75 1.68
kg solution
3. A countercurrent leaching process treats 420 tons of ore per day with 200 tons of wash water containing 1% solute by
weight. The ore contains16.8% solute, 16.5% water and the balance, inerts. The overflow discharge from the process is
to contain 33% be weight solute based on 69% recovery of the solute from the underflow feed.

lb solution
0.473 0.51 0.575 0.631 0.688 0.812
lbinert
lb solute
0 0.147 0.301 0.401 0.479 0.580
lb solutio n
4. Soybean flakes containing 22% oil are to be leached in a countercurrent multi-stage process to contain 0.8 kg oil per
100 kg inert using fresh and pure n-hexane as solvent. For every 1000 kg of soybean , 1000 kg hexane is used.
Experiments give the following retention of solution with the solids in the underflow:

kg inert
1.73 1.52 1.43
kg solution
kg oil
0 0.2 0.3
kg solution
Calculate the exit flows and compositions and the number of theoretical stages needed.

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