Patent ID: 6881838

Claim:
A method of recovering a polysaccharide gum from an aqueous fluid, comprising: providing a first aqueous fluid comprising water, at least one impurity, and between about 1 wt % and 10 wt % of at least one polysaccharide gum, wherein the polysaccharide gum is substantially dissolved in the first aqueous fluid; mixing the first aqueous fluid and an organic non-solvent stream comprising water and an organic non-solvent, thereby producing a first mixture, wherein the first mixture comprises a sub-precipitant concentration of the organic non-solvent; concentrating the first mixture, thereby producing (1) a concentrated first mixture having a polysaccharide gum concentration that is greater than that of the first mixture and (2) a stream of removed components comprising water, and organic non-solvent, wherein the concentrated first mixture has an organic non-solvent concentration that is below the minimum concentration at which the polysaccharide gum begin to precipitate; and mixing an additional amount of organic non-solvent with the concentrated first mixture, thereby producing a second mixture, wherein the second mixture comprises (A) a liquid component comprising organic non-solvent and water, wherein the organic non-solvent concentration in the second mixture is sufficient to precipitate a majority of the polysaccharide gum present in the second mixture, and (B) precipitated polysaccharide gum.