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EP-4737487-A2 - SOLVENT REMOVING APPARATUS

EP4737487A2EP 4737487 A2EP4737487 A2EP 4737487A2EP-4737487-A2

Abstract

An apparatus for removing a solvent is provided comprising: a tank body configured to accommodate an emulsion including a first raw material of a continuous phase and a second raw material of a dispersed phase, wherein the tank body has a bottom portion formed on a plane formed by a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and a lateral wall portion extended in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction; a liquid supply part configured to supply a liquid into the tank body; a liquid discharge part configured to discharge a part of the continuous phase of the emulsion inside the tank body to the outside of the tank body to maintain a water level surface of the emulsion with a predetermined appropriate water level surface; a fluid supply part configured to supply a fluid into the tank body to cause the emulsion to circulate and form a flow in the emulsion; and an exhaust part configured to discharge gas inside the tank body to the outside of the tank body. The fluid supply part includes a first fluid supply part and a second fluid supply part, and the first fluid supply part and the second fluid supply part are disposed while being spaced apart from each other inside the tank body, so that a rotational flow is formed in the emulsion by the fluid supplied through the first fluid supply part and the second fluid supply part. The first fluid supply part and the second fluid supply part supply the fluids in different directions. The first fluid supply part and the second fluid supply part are spaced apart from each other in the first direction, are spaced apart from each other in the second direction, and are spaced apart from each other in the third direction and the first fluid supply part supplies the fluid in the second direction, and the second fluid supply part supplies the fluid in a direction different from the second direction.

Inventors

  • KIM, JU HEE
  • CHON, CHAN HEE

Assignees

  • Inventage Lab Inc.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20211203

Claims (12)

  1. An apparatus for removing a solvent, the apparatus comprising: a tank body (100) configured to accommodate an emulsion (EM) including a first raw material of a continuous phase and a second raw material of a dispersed phase, wherein the tank body (100) has a bottom portion formed on a plane formed by a first direction (D1) and a second direction (D2) perpendicular to the first direction (D1), and a lateral wall portion extended in a third direction (D3) perpendicular to the first direction (D1) and the second direction (D2); a liquid supply part (200) configured to supply a liquid into the tank body (100); a liquid discharge part (300) configured to discharge a part of the continuous phase of the emulsion inside the tank body (100) to the outside of the tank body (100) to maintain a water level surface of the emulsion (EM) with a predetermined appropriate water level surface; a fluid supply part (400) configured to supply a fluid into the tank body (100) to cause the emulsion to circulate and form a flow in the emulsion; an exhaust part (500) configured to discharge gas inside the tank body (100) to the outside of the tank body (100); wherein the fluid supply part (400) includes a first fluid supply part (Ain1) and a second fluid supply part (Ain2), and the first fluid supply part (Ain1) and the second fluid supply part (Ain2) are disposed while being spaced apart from each other inside the tank body (100), so that a rotational flow is formed in the emulsion by the fluid supplied through the first fluid supply part (Ain1) and the second fluid supply part (Ain2); wherein the first fluid supply part (Ain1) and the second fluid supply part (Ain2) supply the fluids in different directions; wherein the first fluid supply part (Ain1) and the second fluid supply part (Ain2) are spaced apart from each other in the first direction (D1), are spaced apart from each other in the second direction (D2), and are spaced apart from each other in the third direction (D3); and wherein the first fluid supply part (Ain1) supplies the fluid in the second direction (D2), and the second fluid supply part (Ain2) supplies the fluid in a direction different from the second direction (D2).
  2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rotational flow is a three-dimensional rotational flow formed within the tank body (100).
  3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a planar cross-section of the tank body (100) has a quadrangular shape or a circular shape.
  4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the liquid supply part (200) supplies the liquid into the tank body (100) through a liquid supply pipe (210) passing through a wall body (110) of the tank body (100); and wherein the liquid supply pipe (210) is extended toward a space in which the emulsion is accommodated from an upper portion of the tank body (100).
  5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the exhaust part (500) sucks in the gas inside the tank body (100) through an exhaust pipe (510) penetrating and inserted into an upper portion of the tank body (100).
  6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first fluid supply part (Ain1) and the second fluid supply part (Ain2) are connected to the fluid supply part (400) through a first fluid supply pipe (420a) and a second fluid supply pipe (420b), respectively.
  7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fluid supply part (400) supplies gas bubbles to the emulsion accommodated inside the tank body (100).
  8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the liquid includes a main ingredient of the continuous phase.
  9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the liquid discharge part (300) has a pipe portion (322) extended into the tank body (100) and an expanded pipe portion (324) connected to a distal end of the pipe portion (322); and the expanded pipe portion (324) is located at a first height (h1) from a bottom portion of the tank body (100), and is in contact with a water level surface of the emulsion to maintain an appropriate volume of the emulsion inside the tank body (100); and wherein a filter (340) is formed in the expanded pipe portion (324), so that only the continuous phase of the emulsion passes through the filter (340) and the dispersed phase of the emulsion or microspheres solidified from the dispersed phase do not pass through the filter (340).
  10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the exhaust part (500) sucks in the gas inside the tank body (100) and depressurizes the inside of the tank body (100).
  11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a heating part (600) configured to heat the emulsion inside the tank body (100).
  12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first raw material includes purified water and surfactant, and the second raw material includes an organic solvent, a biodegradable polymer, and a drug.

Description

[Technical Field] The present invention relates to a solvent removing apparatus, and more particularly, to a solvent removing apparatus for extracting and removing a solvent of an emulsion used for producing a microsphere. [Background Art] One of the drug delivery systems that are currently being actively researched, developed, and utilized is the so-called Polymeric Drug-Delivery System (PDDS), which controllably releases the fixed amount of a therapeutic agent to both hydrophilic or hydrophobic therapeutic agents in circulating doses over an extended period of time by using biodegradable, biocompatible and non-toxic polymers, for example, polylactic acid (PLA) / polyglycolic (PGA) polymers. The biodegradable polymer may be prepared in the form of microspheres by various known techniques. In the preparation of these biodegradable polymer microspheres, the most frequently used method is dissolving the biodegradable polymer or the material to be encapsulated with the biodegradable polymer (pharmaceutical or other active agent) in a solvent by using a known method, and dispersing or emulsifying the dissolved polymer in an aqueous solution containing a surfactant. Subsequently, the solvent is removed from the microsphere and dried to obtain a microsphere product. In the microsphere producing process according to the known technology, a toxic solvent, such as dichloromethane or chloroform, is mainly used to dissolve the biodegradable polymer and the active agent, and sufficient time and effort need be devoted to the removal of the solvent so that these solvents do not remain in the microsphere product that is the final product, thereby increasing the time to obtain the microsphere product, and acting as a hindrance to mass production. Accordingly, efforts have been made to mass-produce high-quality microspheres at low cost. In particular, technologies related to various solvent removing apparatuses for removing a solvent have been developed, most of the apparatuses are the apparatuses for extracting and removing a solvent by stirring an emulsion by using a physical rotational motion by using an impeller or a stirrer coupled to a shaft rotating by using a motor. (Patent Document 1) Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10 2019-0084276 [Disclosure] [Technical Problem] The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the problems in the related art, and provides a solvent removing apparatus which efficiently extracts and removing a solvent from a dispersed phase of an emulsion used for producing a microsphere and has a simple configuration. The present invention has also been made in an effort to solve the problems in the related art, and provides a method of producing a microsphere by using the solvent removing apparatus. [Technical Solution] The present invention is directed to subject-matter as defined in the claims. According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept, an apparatus for removing a solven includes a tank body configured to accommodate an emulsion including a first raw material of a continuous phase and a second raw material of a dispersed phase, a fluid supply part configured to supply a fluid into the tank body and form a flow in the emulsion, and an exhaust part configured to discharge gas inside the tank body to the outside of the tank body. The fluid supply part includes a first fluid supply part and a second fluid supply part. The first fluid supply part and the second fluid supply part are disposed while being spaced apart from each other inside the tank body, so that a rotational flow is formed in the emulsion by the fluid supplied through the first fluid supply part and the second fluid supply part. In an exemplary embodiment, the fluid supply part may supply gas bubbles to the emulsion accommodated inside the tank body. In an exemplary embodiment, the first fluid supply part and the second fluid supply part may supply the fluids in different directions. The tank body may have a bottom portion formed on a plane formed by a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and a lateral wall portion extended in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction. The first fluid supply part and the second fluid supply part may be spaced apart from each other in the first direction, be spaced apart from each other in the second direction, and be spaced apart from each other in the third direction. In an exemplary embodiment, the exhaust part may suck in the gas inside the tank body and depressurizes the inside of the tank body. In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus may further include a liquid supply part configured to supply a liquid into the tank body. The liquid may include a main ingredient of the continuous phase. In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus may further include a liquid discharge part configured to discharge a part of the continuous phase of the emulsion inside the tank body to the outside o