Glass Mixer Settler

About Glass Mixer Settler

A Glass Solvent Extraction Pilot Plant is a highly versatile, modular system designed to simulate and optimize industrial-scale separation processes within a controlled laboratory or R&D environment. Built primarily from Borosilicate Glass 3.3, these plants allow for total visual transparency, which is critical for monitoring complex fluid dynamics such as droplet formation, coalescence, and the stability of the interphase (the boundary between immiscible liquids). A typical setup is mounted on a mobile stainless steel frame and integrates several stages: the extraction of solutes from a feed into a solvent, scrubbing to remove impurities, and stripping to recover the final product. Depending on the process requirements, the plant may utilize vertical agitated columns (like rotating disc contactors) or horizontal mixer-settler batteries, both of which are precision-engineered to provide high mass-transfer efficiency. Beyond the primary extraction units, these pilot plants often feature integrated solvent recovery systems typically glass distillation or rectification columns to recycle expensive or hazardous solvents, thereby proving the economic and environmental viability of the process before it is scaled to full-size metal or glass-lined production facilities. While the "SX Pilot Plants" used in mining are often opaque and rugged, glass versions are the standard for pharmaceutical R&D, fine chemicals, and specialty biotech because they offer universal chemical resistance and 100% visibility of the phase separation.