Short path distillation (molecular distillation) is a thermal separation process for thermally sensitive products.
Its short residence time and low evaporation temperature will cause minimal thermal stress to the distilled product and consequently allow for a very gentle distillation.
By using vacuum in short path distillation, a substantial decrease of the boiling temperature is achieved by reducing the operating pressure.
As a result, it is a continuous separation process with very short residence time (tens of seconds) compared to hours on other conventional separation methods.
Vacuum is used to separate a liquid mixture via partial vaporisation of the components and the separate recovery of vapours and residues, where other distillation methods lead to breakdown of heat sensitive molecules.
Edwards’ application know-how, Chemical Process Industry (CPI) experience, most up-to-date process modelling techniques, and bespoke system design expertise can be used to optimise the pumping system configuration to maximise pumping performance in the most reliable, cost-effective and environmentally friendly way.
Using vacuum in short path distillation make for a gentle separation process that is widely applied on deodorisation, decolourisation, and purification of high value, heat sensitive substances, that can be easily oxidised.
