The disclosed embodiments include systems and methods for the solvent extraction of a substance from a material. The disclosed systems include multiple tanks and an extraction chamber in communication with the tanks. Solvent transport is accomplished by heating and/or cooling selected tanks to cause the solvent to be transported between tanks.

A system for processing essential oils includes a mixing tank, three winterization vessels, three respective filtering vessels, a fine filtering vessel, a holding tank, an evaporator, an essential oil reservoir, a solvent reservoir, and a solvent filtering vessel. The evaporator can include a heat exchanger configured to heat a plate down which a mixture including the oils flows, to evaporate other components of the mixture. Fluids can be advanced through the system using a pressurized inert gas.

The disclosed embodiments include systems and methods for the solvent extraction of a substance from a material. The disclosed systems include multiple tanks and an extraction chamber in communication with the tanks. Solvent transport is accomplished by heating and/or cooling selected tanks to cause the solvent to be transported between tanks.

Disclosed is a method for producing algae-derived polyunsaturated fatty acids, comprising the steps of a) contacting dry algae with ethanol; b) removing ethanol to obtain crude oil; c) subjecting the crude oil to a transesterification reaction with a lower alcohol to generate fatty acid alkyl esters; d) extracting the fatty acid alkyl esters to result in a phase containing fatty acid alkyl esters; e) collecting the phase containing fatty acid alkyl esters; and f) contacting the collected phase with silica gel. Also disclosed is a method for effectively removing impurities, including chlorophyll, fucoxanthin and beta-carotene, from crude algal fatty acid alkyl esters, comprising contacting the crude algal fatty acid alkyl esters with silica gel in hexane.

Compositions for increasing corn oil recovery and embodiments of methods for using the composition for corn oil separation are described. The composition(s) incorporate an admixture that includes a polymer selected from a polyglycol ester, a polyethyleneoxide-polypropyleneoxide block copolymer, a poloxamine, or a mixture thereof. The methods include admixing the compositions with a process stream for, for example, the extraction of oil from milled corn and residues from a fermentation step, including stillage (e.g., thin stillage or mid stillage), distiller's wet grain, distiller's dry grain and distiller's dry grains with solubles.

Refrigerated solvent is fed through a cooling jacket around an essential element extraction vessel. After circulating through the cooling jacket, the solvent is re-chilled and at least some of the solvent is passed into the extraction vessel, in which essential elements dissolve into the solvent. Downstream of the extraction vessel, after adsorbent media treatment, the extracted oil and solvent mixture is filtered, in a chilled state, through one or more filtration units. A filtration unit may be a system of vertically oriented filters of decreasing pore size sealed and insulated from the atmosphere. Pressurized gas is used to force the oil and solvent through the filters. Each filter stage has a removable lid, which provides convenient access for replacing the filter cartridge without disturbing the thermally insulated sidewalls of the filter stage.

A method is disclosed for recovering lipids from microbial biomass, and for producing lipids. In the method, an aqueous suspension includes fermentation broth containing oleaginous yeast biomass which is subjected to hydrothermal treatment and lipids are recovered from the biomass by solvent extraction.

Compositions for increasing corn oil recovery and embodiments of methods for using the composition for corn oil separation are described. The composition(s) incorporate an admixture that includes a polymer selected from a polyglycol ester, a polyethyleneoxide-polypropyleneoxide block copolymer, a poloxamine, or a mixture thereof. The methods include admixing the compositions with a process stream for, for example, the extraction of oil from milled corn and residues from a fermentation step, including stillage (e.g., thin stillage or mid stillage), distiller's wet grain, distiller's dry grain and distiller's dry grains with solubles.

The invention relates to a method of combined cell digestion and extraction of oil-containing seeds having an oil content of >30% by mass, wherein production of a slurry from the oilseeds and ethanol is followed by a combination cell digestion with a subsequent ethanolic extraction, wherein the smaller portion of the oil of the oilseed and the alcohol-soluble constituents present therein are dissolved in the ethanol in accordance with the dissolution capacity of the ethanol for the oil and the alcohol-soluble constituents, a greater portion of the oil is displaced from the seed cells by the ethanol, forming a free oil phase in the ethanol. The free oil phase is removed and, according to the invention, has semi-raffinate quality, reducing the complexity of refining as an advantage of the method of the invention.

The present invention provides a method for extracting heat-sensitive Antarctic krill oil comprising the following steps. Firstly, frozen Antarctic krill is thawed and minced; a surfactant is added to the minced Antarctic krill to form a supercritical micelle system; extract the Antarctic krill multiple times after pressurizing and liquefying mixed gases; at the same time, a low-carbon alcohol solvent is added to strip the material in the critical micelle; after the extraction is completed, the extractant is removed; the extraction product and the residue after the extraction are subsequently collected; the heat-sensitive Antarctic krill oil can be obtained by high-speed centrifugal separation of the oil-water mixed extraction product. The present method has the advantages of simple operation, low extraction pressure and high safety. The extraction method of gas pressure liquefaction is completed under low temperature sealing conditions.