Wiped Film Evaporation and Molecular Distillation at InChem Corporation

1. Wiped Film Evaporation and Molecular Distillation at InChem Corporation InChem Corp. specializes in toll and contract manufacturing of specialty or performance chemicals for chemical companies and other manufacturers. Its capabilities include multiple wiped film evaporation units. Thin/wiped film evaporation units and advanced molecular distillation techniques can function fully automated, guaranteeing accuracy and precision. The resources and equipment at the InChem Corp. site in Rock Hill, S.C., are suitable for a wide range of applications and customer needs. Short path distillation is also known as thin-film vacuum distillation and is similarly powered by vacuum. It is used for separating the components of liquid raw material, to obtain the desired output product, such as one of higher purity. InChem offers multiple fully functional units in keeping with the functionalities and size of the output. InChem currently has a 0.15m2 unit and another 2m2 unit. Incorporating Advanced Technology and Providing High-Value Service Thin/wiped film distillation provides extremely short residence time and very low pressures, allowing for continuous distillation and separation of difficult substances. In other words, high boiling products and substances that are unstable in higher temperatures can be distilled successfully at InChem. The 0.15m2 unit is equipped with two thin-film evaporators. The condensers for the two, however, vary—one external and the other internal. By placing both a conventional wiped film evaporator and short path distillation equipment in the same unit, it adds to the comparative knowledge when it comes to developing parameters for scale-up or modification that are recorded by a data historian unit and shared with the customer.

2. While conventional wiped film distillation can function in pressure levels of 1 mbar, the short path distillation equipment can perform in pressures of 0.001 mbar. Thus, the external condenser can withstand pressure levels as low as 5 mbar, while the short path distillation equipment with internal condensers incorporates a powerful vacuum that can reach pressure levels as low as 0.5 mbar. While the first unit works primarily at a pilot scale and can produce up to 15 gallons of the finished product, the 2m2 second unit can produce up to a full tanker truck, that is, a few thousand gallons of output material ready for shipping. Lastly, while the viscosities of products remain a challenge for short path distillationequipment, as well as wiped film evaporators, InChem provides facilities for jacketed transfer and feed systems, which are heated with hot oil, reaching temperatures as high as 300°C, and thereby reducing the viscosity of the substance. Advantages of Working with InChem While setting up wiped film evaporators and molecular distillation equipment would involve extremely high capital expenditure for the customer owing to the multiple units involved, InChem provides pre-approved cleaning, setup, and operation systems. They bring cost- effective means for lab and pilot-scale testing up to commercial volumes of production. Wiped film and short path distillation are applied in several industries ranging from oil and petrochemicals to the food industry. This wide application of the distillation processes results in high levels of purity of the final product. Molecular distillation functions in optimum low pressures guaranteeing the purest output products that adapt to the raw material’s volatility, stability, and sensitivity to temperatures. To further ensure customer satisfaction, disagreeable outcomes like discoloration, fouling, and degradation of the final product are avoided due to InChem’s high-quality equipment and process controls. Learn more at InChemCorp.com or call 1-800-331-7721 for more information.