William H Robins

US Patent:

56372094, Jun 10, 1997

Filed:

Jan 18, 1996

Appl. No.:

8/588585

Inventors:

Bob W. Wright - Richland WA
Thomas S. Zemanian - Richland WA
William H. Robins - Richland WA
Leslie J. Woodcock - Benton City WA

Assignee:

Battelle Memorial Institute - Richland WI

International Classification:

B01D 1100

US Classification:

210137

Abstract:

The present invention is an apparatus for extracting organic compounds from solid materials. A generator vessel has a removable closure for receiving a solid or liquid solvent which is heated with a resistive heating element to a gaseous or supercritical phase. The removable closure is unencumbered because the side wall is penetrated with an outlet for the gaseous or supercritical solvent. The generator vessel further has a pressure transducer that provides an electronic signal related to pressure of the gaseous or supercritical solvent. The apparatus of the present invention further includes at least one extraction cell having a top and a bottom and a wall extending therebetween, wherein the bottom is sealably penetrated by an inlet for gaseous or supercritical solvent received through a manifold connected to the outlet, the top having an easy-open removable closure cap, and the wall having an outlet port. Finally, a permeable sample cartridge is included for holding the solid materials and to provide radial-flow of the extraction fluid, which is placed within the extraction cell.