extractor

An extractor is a device or process designed to remove a component from a mixture or system. The term is used across many disciplines to describe machinery, tools, or software that pull out liquids, solids, data, or features for further use or analysis.

In mechanical work, extractors include tools such as screw extractors and bolt extractors, which grip and twist broken fasteners from materials. Other equipment referred to as extractors removes unwanted material or substances, such as dust extractors that capture airborne particulates in workshops or liquid extractors used in processing lines.

In food and beverage contexts, juice extractors or juicers separate juice from fruits and vegetables. In coffee brewing, extraction describes the process of dissolving flavors from ground coffee into water, with the quality of the resulting beverage closely linked to how effectively the extraction is managed.

In computing and data handling, an extractor is software that retrieves data from sources or converts unstructured information into structured form. In natural language processing, information extractors identify entities and relationships in text, while feature extractors transform raw data into representations suitable for machine learning models.

In chemical and metallurgical industries, solvent extractors use immiscible liquids to separate and transfer compounds, a process central to hydrometallurgy, fragrance production, and related manufacturing workflows. Overall, extractors serve to isolate, recover, or reinterpret components from complex systems.