DE29600692U1 - Device for separating substances present as a heterogeneous mixture of substances - Google Patents

Description

Device for separating substances present as a heterogeneous mixture

Description

The present invention relates to a device for separating substances present as a heterogeneous substance mixture, wherein the heterogeneous substance mixture comprises a carrier substance and at least one further substance, where at least the carrier substance is in liquid phase, comprising a substance separation channel section through which the substance mixture flows in a flow direction and with an inlet opening area for the substance mixture, a first outlet opening area for the substance mixture with a reduced proportion of the at least one further substance and a second outlet opening area for the proportion of the at least one further substance separated from the substance mixture.

Devices for separating heterogeneous mixtures of substances are known, which consist of several essentially sinusoidal lamella plates, which form essentially sinusoidal flow channels for the heterogeneous mixture of substances between them. Outlet openings are arranged in the area of the apex of the sinusoidal lamella plates. When flowing through the channels thus formed, for example through a heterogeneous mixture of substances consisting of water with oil components, oil droplets collect in the area of the apex, which have separated from the water as they flowed through the channel or have moved upwards due to their lower specific weight. The separated amount of oil can escape from the channel through openings in the area of the apex.

Furthermore, devices are known which are formed from so-called pitched roof panels, which have a long, essentially sloping roof panel section and a

• a

have a short roof panel section that connects to the long roof panel section at a peak. Several such pointed roof panels arranged one above the other form channels through which the heterogeneous mixture of materials flows. The mixture of materials moves upwards along the long roof panels, whereby during this upward flow, oil droplets, for example, rise vertically in relation to the flowing water and collect on a lower surface of the long roof panels, or

&iacgr;&ogr; coalesce there. An oil film then forms on the lower surface of the long roof plate, which rises to the top of the roof due to its lower specific weight. In the area of the roof top, an outlet opening is formed, from which the oil in this

A lighter substance, e.g. oil, which has separated from a heavier substance, e.g. water, that has accumulated in the area can escape.

The problem with these known devices is that when flowing towards the apex, the heterogeneous mixture of substances flows upwards and separation between the substances is supposed to occur. However, since the lighter substance experiences an acceleration directed vertically upwards against the effect of gravity in relation to the heavier substance and thus receives an additional speed component which, when vectorially added to the original flow speed, reduces its residence time in the area of the substance separation channel section, the lighter substance to be separated has less time in the substance separation channel section to combine with other parts of this substance, i.e. to coalesce. Furthermore, an excess of the lighter substance forms in the area of the apex, of which a certain amount per unit of time can then exit through the opening. This means that in the area where the lighter substance exits, the phase boundary between the heavier and the lighter substance does not break open. Therefore, no impurities can be transported away from the area of the phase boundary. In addition,

near the apex, the flow direction of the mixture of substances is diverted by almost 90°, so that turbulence can occur there, which can further complicate the removal of the lighter substance.

In contrast, the object of the present invention is to provide a device for separating substances present as a heterogeneous mixture of substances, with which it is possible to improve the separation effect and achieve a higher fluid throughput. According to the invention, this object is achieved by a device for separating substances present as a heterogeneous mixture of substances, wherein the heterogeneous mixture of substances comprises a carrier substance and at least one further substance, wherein at least the carrier substance is in liquid

is phase, comprising a material separation channel section through which the substance mixture flows in a flow direction, with an inlet opening area for the substance mixture, a first outlet opening area for the substance mixture with a reduced proportion of the at least one further substance, a second outlet opening area for the proportion of the at least one further substance separated from the substance mixture. The material separation channel section runs from the inlet opening area to the first outlet opening area, inclined essentially from top to bottom with respect to a gravitational field.

In contrast to the prior art, in the device according to the invention the heterogeneous mixture of substances flows in the substance separation channel section essentially at an angle from top to bottom. This means that, for example, when separating water and oil, the lighter oil droplets contained in the water are accelerated vertically upwards due to the effect of gravity. When this additional speed component of the oil droplets is vectorially added to the diagonally downward flow speed of the mixture of substances, the overall flow speed of the lighter substance is reduced by

through the material separation channel section. This reduced flow rate results in the coalescence capacity of the lighter material being significantly increased. The individual finely distributed material particles of the lighter material, e.g. the oil droplets, can therefore combine better to form larger material units or a material film and can therefore be separated better from the heavier material. Due to this better coalescence capacity in the device according to the invention, a significantly improved separation capacity can be created with the same material throughput, or a significantly increased throughput can be achieved with essentially the same coalescence conditions.

It is preferably provided that the carrier substance and the at least one further substance have essentially the same flow velocity in the flow direction when entering the substance separation channel section and that in the substance separation channel section the flow velocity of the at least one further substance is reduced with respect to the flow velocity of the carrier substance.

Since the lighter substance moves upwards due to the effect of gravity when the mixture flows downwards, it is advantageous if the second outlet opening area is formed in the area of the inlet opening area.

The device according to the invention can be constructed in a particularly simple manner if the material separation channel section is limited by at least one, preferably two channel plates arranged essentially vertically one above the other, parallel and inclined with respect to the field of gravity. The lighter material parts moving upwards can then collect on a lower surface of the upper channel plate, a so-called coalescence surface, and form an essentially continuous material film there. This material film can then, due to its lower specific

weight along the lower surface of the upper plate and then exits the material separation channel section in an upper region of the inlet opening.

Advantageously, the at least one channel plate consists of oliophilic plastic, in particular polyethylene or polypropylene, stainless steel or glass, in particular borosilicate glass.

A length of the material separation channel section can be in the range of 70 mm to 90 mm, preferably 80 mm.

The flow velocity of the mixture is preferably in the range of 1 mm/s to 30 mm/s.

The height of the material separation channel section is preferably in the range of 3 mm to 35 mm.

In order to be able to provide suitable material separation conditions or coalescence conditions, it is proposed that an angle enclosed between the flow direction in the material separation channel section and a gravity field direction is in the range of 30° to 50°, preferably 40°.

In order to be able to separate large quantities of the heterogeneous mixture of substances, it is proposed that a plurality of channel plates arranged one above the other be provided, which are each firmly connected to a connecting plate at lateral edge sections to form a separation channel unit with a plurality of substance separation channel sections arranged essentially one above the other.

To further increase the throughput, it is proposed that the separation channel units be stackable on top of each other to form separation channel stages.

-G-

The separation effect of the device according to the invention can be further increased if a plurality of separation channel units arranged one after the other in the flow direction are provided.

In order to ensure that the at least one further substance emerging in the area of the second outlet opening area and separated from the carrier substance can be separated without hindrance, it is proposed that a distance be provided between the channel plates of immediately successive separation channel units to form flotation channels running essentially in the direction of gravity.

is The connecting plates are preferably made of plastic, preferably polyethylene or polypropylene, of metal or of glass, preferably borosilicate glass.

The present device can be operated particularly effectively if the at least one further substance is in liquid or gaseous phase and has a lower specific weight than the carrier substance.

The present invention further relates to a method for separating substances present as a heterogeneous mixture of substances.

The invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings using preferred embodiments. It shows:

Figure 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a device according to the invention, in particular a material separation channel section;

■ - 7 -

Figure 2 is a schematic sectional view through a separation system, which is constructed from a plurality of separation channel units.

Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section through a device 10 according to the invention. The device 10 comprises two channel plates 12, 14, which form a material separation channel section 16 between them. The material separation channel section 16 formed between the channel plates 12, 14 has an inlet opening area 18 for a heterogeneous material mixture, as well as a first outlet opening area 20 for the heterogeneous material mixture.

The present invention is described below as follows:

is ben that it is used to separate a heterogeneous mixture of substances, which consists for example of water (shown in Figure 1 as serpentine lines 22) as a carrier substance and oil particles 24 as a second substance. The heterogeneous mixture of substances 22, 24 enters the inlet opening area 18 in a flow direction S1. After a short, essentially horizontal section, the substance separation channel section 16 inclines downwards at an angle so that the heterogeneous mixture of substances 22, 24 flows in the substance separation channel section 16 in a flow direction S2.

When flowing through the material separation channel section 16, the oil droplets 24 are subjected to a force K directed upwards, essentially vertically, opposite to a gravitational force K ₃ , due to their lower specific weight in relation to the water 22. This means that in addition to the flow velocity component Vl directed in the flow direction S2, the particles receive a further gravitational velocity component V2, which is directed essentially vertically upwards. When these two velocity components Vl and V2 are vectorially added, a velocity component V3 is therefore obtained for the oil particles 24 in the material separation channel section 16. If this velocity V3 is projected onto the flow direction

If the flow vector S2 is smaller than the flow vector S2, the oil droplets 24 in the material separation channel section 16 therefore have a reduced flow velocity V4 in the flow direction S2. This means that the oil droplets 24 flow through the material separation channel section 16 at a flow velocity that is lower than that of the water and therefore have an increased residence time in the material separation channel section 16. When the oil droplets 24 rise in the direction of the upper channel plate 12, they form an essentially continuous oil film 28 on a lower surface 26 of the upper channel plate 12. The reduced flow velocity means that the coalescence capacity of the oil droplets 24 on the lower surface 26 of the channel plate 12 in the region of a phase boundary 34 is significantly increased.

Due to its lower specific weight, this oil film 28 moves in an upward direction A opposite to the flow direction S2 in the direction of the inlet opening area 18 of the material separation channel section 16. In the area of the inlet opening area 18, the oil that has risen in this way then exits the material separation channel section 16 in a second outlet opening area 30. A larger oil drop 32 is formed, which in turn, due to the effect of gravity and its low specific weight,

25- fish weight rises essentially vertically upwards and is thus separated from the water 22. When the oil 28 escapes in the area of the second outlet opening area 3 0, the phase boundary 34 is torn open, so that impurities or material particles in the area of the phase boundary 34 are also contained in the drop 32 and are thus separated from the water.

Due to the oil 28 flowing upwards in the direction A, this phase boundary 34 is constantly replenished, so that the location at which the phase boundary 34 is torn open remains essentially unchanged in the area of the second outlet opening area 32. It can thus be prevented that

a tearing of the phase boundary occurs in an area of the surface 26 of the upper channel plate 12 located in the material separation channel section 16, whereby the operation of the device according to the invention would be significantly impaired.

In the device 10 according to the invention, use is made of the fact that when the heterogeneous mixture of substances flows diagonally downwards, the additional substance has a reduced

γ flow rate and thus a longer residence time in the material separation channel section 16. This results in significantly improved coalescence conditions, so that a significantly better cleaning effect can be achieved with the same material throughput. On the other hand, it is possible to

It is possible to achieve a significantly increased throughput while maintaining the cleaning capacity essentially constant.

Furthermore, in the device according to the invention, the separated material exits from a second outlet opening area 30 from the material separation channel section 16, which is located essentially in the area of the inlet opening area. It is therefore not necessary, as in the prior art, to provide additional outlet openings in the material separation channel section 16. Furthermore, with such an arrangement

2s prevents that when several such material separation channel sections are arranged one above the other, as described below with reference to Figure 2, the separated material when exiting a material separation channel section directly enters a material separation channel section above it, as is the case, for example, with the prior art devices made of pitched roof panels.

An angle of inclination a formed between a direction of gravity K _s and the flow direction S2, or the channel plates 12, 14, is preferably in the range of 30° to 50°. An angle in this range ensures on the one hand that

- 10 -

a suitable flow velocity Vl is provided and that, on the other hand, a sufficiently high velocity difference (Vl - V4) between the water 22 and the oil droplets 24 can be achieved.

Figure 2 shows a separation system 50 constructed from a plurality of channel plates 12'. The channel plates 12' are arranged one above the other and combined in separation channel units 52. Each of the separation channel units 52 has two connecting plates 54, which are arranged on both sides of the channel plates 12' and are firmly connected to the channel plates 12'. A plurality of material separation channel sections 16 are thus formed in each of the separation channel units 52.

As can be seen in Figure 2, two such separation channel units 52 are stacked one above the other to form individual separation channel stages 56, and several separation channel stages 56 are connected in series.

By providing several separation channel units 52 one above the other, the throughput of the system 50 can be increased. By providing several separation channel stages 56 one after the other, it can be ensured that the proportion of a contaminant material in the mixture of substances emerging from the system 50 is greatly reduced in relation to the mixture of substances entering the system 50.

In order to enable the material separated from the mixture to escape, it is provided that between the individual material separation channels 16 of different separation channel stages 56, an intermediate space 62 is created, through which essentially vertically extending flotation channels are formed for the separated material.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to a heterogeneous mixture of substances consisting of water and oil, it is self-evident that

- Ii -

various other mixtures of substances can be separated from one another. For example, the mixture of substances can also consist of a liquid carrier with gas inclusions. Furthermore, the device according to the invention can also separate heterogeneous mixtures of substances that consist of a liquid carrier with contaminant particles made of solid material. In this case, the contaminant material separating in the substance separation channel section 16 is collected on an upper surface of the lower channel plate 14,

Î slides due to the direction of gravity in the direction of the first outlet opening area 20 and exits from there from the material separation channel section 16. Here too, the flow direction S2 in the material separation channel section 16 from top to bottom is advantageous, since the

The solid particles precipitating from the mixture of substances are not swirled by an upwardly flowing fluid and thus the escape of these particles in the region of the first outlet opening area 20 is not hindered.

Claims (15)

• * 12 - Protection claims 1. Device for separating substances present as a heterogeneous substance mixture (22, 24), wherein the heterogeneous substance mixture (22, 24) comprises a carrier substance (22) and at least one further substance (24), wherein at least the carrier substance (22) is in the liquid phase, comprising a substance separation channel section (16) through which the substance mixture (22, 24) flows in a flow direction (S1, S2) with - an inlet opening area (18) for the mixture of substances {22, 24) , - a first outlet opening area (20) for the Mixture of substances (22, 24) with a reduced proportion of at least one further substance (24), - a second outlet opening region (3 0) for the portion (28, 32) of the at least one further substance (24) separated from the substance mixture (22, 24), characterized in that that the material separation channel section (16) extends from the inlet opening region (18) to the first outlet opening region (20) substantially inclined from top to bottom with respect to a gravitational field (K ₃ ). 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the carrier material (22) and the at least one further material (22) have essentially the same flow velocity (Vl) in the flow direction (Sl) when entering the material separation channel section (16) and that in the material separation channel section (16) the flow velocity (V4) of the at least one further material (24) is reduced with respect to the flow velocity (Vl) of the carrier material (22). 3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the second outlet opening region (3 0) is formed in the region of the inlet opening region (18). 4. Device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the material separation channel section (16) is delimited by at least one, preferably two channel plates (12, 14) arranged essentially vertically one above the other, parallel and inclined with respect to the gravitational field (K _s ). 5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the at least one channel plate (12, 14) is made of oliophilic plastic, in particular polyethylene or polypropylene, is made of stainless steel or glass, especially borosilicate glass. 6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a length of the material separation channel section (16) is in the range from 20 mm to 90 mm, preferably 80 mm. 7. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the flow velocity (Vl) of the substance mixture is in the range from 1 mm/s to 50 mm/s. 8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a height of the material separation channel section (16) is in the range from 3 mm to 38 mm. 9. Device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that an angle (a) enclosed between the flow direction (S2) in the material separation channel section (16) and a gravity field direction (K _s ) is in the range of 30° to 50°, preferably 40°. - 14 - 10. Device according to claim 4 and if desired one of claims 5 to 9, characterized by a plurality of channel plates (12') arranged one above the other, which are each firmly connected to a connecting plate (54) at lateral edge sections to form a separation channel unit (52) with a plurality of material separation channel sections (16) arranged essentially one above the other. 11. Device according to claim 10, characterized in that the separation channel units (52) can be stacked on top of one another to form separation channel stages (56). 12. Device according to claim 10 or 11, comprising a plurality of separation channel units (52) arranged successively in the flow direction. 13. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that a distance (62) is provided between the channel plates (12') of immediately successive separation channel units (52) for forming flotation channels (62) running essentially in the direction of gravity (K ₃ ). 14. Device according to one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that the connecting plates (54) consist of plastic, preferably polyethylene or polypropylene, metal or glass, preferably borosilicate glass. 15. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one further substance (24) is in liquid or gaseous phase and has a lower specific gravity than the carrier substance (22).