Iranian Scientists Design Molecular Distillation System
“Molecular distillation is a system for separating and extracting various compounds, including pharmaceutical, food, petrochemical, and chemical materials,” said Mehran Habibi Rezayee, a professor at the faculty of biology of the University of Tehran.
He explained that vitamins (A, B, C, E, D, K), fatty acids (omega 3, omega 6, and omega 9), minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, etc.), some purified compounds from medicinal plants, some botanical compounds like caffeine and curcumin, some marine origin compounds like beta-carotene and hydroxyapatite, and different amino acids are considered as complementary drugs, among which, things like omega 3 and vitamin E are highly consumed.
“The main axis of the production technology of these supplements is the concentration section. Countries that have this technology use the molecular distillation system on an industrial scale, which has different types with different functions. One of the most modern and complex types of molecular distillation systems is the Short Path Distillation type. This system operates based on evaporation under extreme vacuum and can separate and purify compounds at molecular scales and selectively remove impurities,” Habibi Rezayee said.
In a relevant development in December, a vacuum distillation device manufactured by an Iranian knowledge-based company for qualitative assessment of energy products was unveiled in the presence of the country’s economy minister and other officials.
“This product is made for qualitative measurement of heavy oil products like crude oil, fuel oil, base oil and some industrial oils,” said Moslem Mashayekhi, the managing director of the knowledge-based company.
“This knowledge-based product is used to determine the boiling range of products, according to the ESTM D1160 standard and is equivalent to the Iranian standard 8908. It is completely indigenous and is used in the oil and energy industry,” he added.
Noting that at present the device has been commercialized and several devices have been sold, Mashayekhi said, “There is a good market for this product in the region and the Persian Gulf countries, and we hope to receive support for exporting this device to countries that are active in the oil, gas and energy sectors.”
He explained that vacuum distillation is one of the best laboratory and industrial methods used to separate substances in liquid solutions, saying, “In this method, the desired solution is placed under vacuum, which lowers the temperature of the solution. As a result, the dissolved substances can be separated from each other with less energy.”
“Using the vacuum distillation method is suitable for solutions in which the substances in them have a high evaporation temperature and also a high boiling point in the atmosphere,” Mashayekhi added.
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