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These "switchable" solvents can extract oils, waxes or other organics from mixtures and then can be separated from those organics and reused without need for distillation.
About
Do you want to extract motor oil from shredded motor oil bottles, or essential oils from plants, or polystyrene from mixed plastics? The solvents usually employed for those tasks are flammable and volatile. Ours are nonvolatile and have very high flash points, and yet are easy to separate from your product and recycle without any distillation step. The first solvent we discovered that could act in this way was unpleasant to work with, but since then we have found examples that are quite benign, REACH-registered, and acceptable for health, safety and the environment.
Key Benefits
Because the use, recovery and recycling of the solvent does not require distillation, there is no need for the solvent to be volatile. Therefore, compared to conventional organic solvents like acetone or hexane, the switchable solvent has the following advantages: • greatly reduced risk of fire or explosion • lower insurance costs • lower risks of inhalation hazards for workers In addition, our latest examples of the switchable solvents do not pose a significant risk for any of the following: acute toxicity (oral, inhalation or dermal), organ toxicity, skin corrosion/sensitization, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity. The solvents are not persistent or bioaccumulative and are readily biodegradable. They are also commercially available in significant quantities.
Applications
Extractions of hydrophobic organics from insoluble materials, such as: • extracting motor oil from shredded "empty" motor oil bottles • diluting used motor oil to allow filtration • extracting oil from drilling fines • washing lubricating oil from machined metal parts • extracting nutraceuticals, oils, or waxes from plants or seeds • extracting polystyrene from mixed plastics waste or from expanded polystyrene foam • extracting biopolymers from biomass • extracting lipids from seeds, microalgae, or macroalgae • extracting asphalt from used shingles • deinking recycled paper