EP4277718A1

EP4277718A1 - Method for producing a transfer mixture by the direct dissolution process, using a thin layer evaporator

Info

Publication number: EP4277718A1
Application number: EP22702872.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Manuel Steiner; Roland Kunkel; Daniel Witte; Judith Andrea Michelle Günther
Original assignee: List Technology AG
Current assignee: List Technology AG
Priority date: 2021-01-13
Filing date: 2022-01-12
Publication date: 2023-11-22
Also published as: DE102021100484A1; TW202239454A; KR20230132526A; CN116917014A; JP2024502637A; WO2022152713A1; CA3204945A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing a transfer mixture by the direct dissolution process in a thin layer evaporator with an infeed, a housing and an outlet, wherein the infeed introduces a product consisting substantially of cellulose, water and a functional liquid into the housing, wherein an evaporator shaft arranged in the housing sweeps, by rotation, the product over the heated inside of the housing, as a result of which the product is heated and a portion of the water evaporates, so that the transfer mixture is obtained and flows to the outlet in the form of a general composition (a) at which the product does not overheat when in contact with the housing surfaces which are at least 20K above the product temperature or (b) which, in the case of NMMO as the functional liquid, amounts to no more than x_H2O = -0.235 x_Cell + 0.235, at least x_H2O = -0.59 x_Cell + 0.2047.

Description

Process for producing a transfer mixture using the direct dissolution process and a thin-film evaporator

technical field

The invention relates to a method for producing a transfer mixture using the direct dissolving method according to the preamble of claims 1, 2, 11 or 12.

State of the art The process for producing a form solution from cellulose according to the direct dissolving process on an industrial scale by evaporating water from a cellulose-water-functional fluid mixture (hereinafter also referred to as product and cellulose, functional fluid and water as product components) is described, for example, in WO 1994/ 006530 A1, wherein N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (hereinafter referred to as NMMO or also amine oxide) is used as the functional liquid (commonly known as lyocell form solution process or amine oxide process). The cellulose-water-functional liquid mixture or product is to be understood as meaning all water contents or substance mixture states, i.e. from a large water content, in which a suspension is present, to such a low water content that a form solution is present, and thus includes the transfer mixture .

It describes the widespread use of thin-film evaporators for evaporating water from a cellulose-NMMO-water mixture for the lyocell mold solution process, which are now known and used in a variety of forms and designs, and which are all characterized by the fact that an evaporator shaft In the housing of the thin-film evaporator, the product is distributed on the inner housing surfaces that serve as heating surfaces, so that a thin layer is formed, which can also be turbulent with increasing rotational speed and decreasing viscosity, so that the product heats up quickly and some of the water evaporates. Both above and below, a heating surface is to be understood as meaning any heated surface which is intended to introduce energy into a product thermally via a temperature difference between the heating surface and the product. However, this method discloses the production of a moldable solution, with the solution being referred to below as the mold solution in the sense of the definition in DE 10 2012 103 296 A1.

While thin-film evaporators are mostly designed with a vertical orientation of the evaporator shaft, as for example in WO 1994/006530 A1, they can also be designed with a horizontal orientation of the evaporator shaft, as described for example in WO 2020/249705 A1.

The person skilled in the art is also aware of the method for producing a form solution from pulp by the direct dissolving method, in which an ionic liquid (hereinafter referred to as IL) is used instead of NMMO as the functional liquid, but otherwise a form solution is also produced by a direct dissolving method by using water is evaporated from a cellulose-IL-water mixture in a thin film evaporator.

IL or ionic liquids refers to a group of organic compounds which, despite their ionic structure, have a low melting point (<100°C) and are therefore also referred to as molten salts. The use of IL as a functional liquid therefore always means an embodiment within the group of ionic liquids that is suitable for the direct dissolution process.

Those skilled in the art know that some ILs tend to thermally decompose at elevated temperatures, so processes involving a heated IL must keep the temperature of the IL below its decomposition temperature. The decomposition of the IL [DBNH][OAc] above temperatures of approx. 100 °C can be cited here as an example. The person skilled in the art is also aware that when the water content of an NMMO-water mixture is reduced at elevated temperatures, decomposition of the NMMO begins. At temperatures typically above 140°C, there is an increasing risk of explosion as the water content decreases, for example due to explosive autocatalytic decomposition, which results in a further increase in temperature and thus an acute risk of explosion. Depending on the composition of the mixture, decomposition can already be observed at temperatures above 125°C, since the decomposition temperature is increased by the presence of reducing agents (such as cellulose) and heavy metal ions (such as e.g iron ions) can reduce. In the case of the described direct dissolving process, a reduction in the decomposition temperature is to be expected due to the presence of cellulose and the use of iron materials for the machine construction, despite the usually added stabilizers.

The person skilled in the art is also aware of the fact referred to as the problem of significant overheating within the scope of the invention, that great attention must be paid to controlling the temperature of the product (hereinafter also referred to as product temperature) in order to avoid decomposition of the functional liquid. He therefore chooses a process in which the desired temperature of the product and its equilibrium temperature are below the decomposition temperature.

In the case of a multi-component mixture, as is the case with the cellulose-functional liquid-water mixture, each composition of the mixture is assigned an equilibrium temperature under the prevailing process conditions (pressure) at which the mixture begins to boil. If energy is supplied to the system, some of the volatile components (here water) evaporate. At the same time, the composition of the mixture changes, which means that the equilibrium temperature also changes as a result. The mixture heats up when energy is supplied, while its composition changes along its equilibrium curve due to the evaporation of volatile components. As the water content decreases, the viscosity increases due to the increasing cellulose concentration and the increasing dissolving power of the functional liquid or the functional liquid-water mixture. With increasing viscosity, the evaporating water in the product is increasingly at risk of transport limitations, so that evaporative cooling can no longer take place to a sufficient extent and the temperature of the water-functional liquid mixture and the product consequently rises to values above the equilibrium temperature. The equilibrium temperature of the mixture changes with it composition as well as with the process pressure. Thus, the temperature of the mixture increases over the course of the process even without transport-limiting effects, so that decomposition can also occur at the equilibrium temperature if the process parameters are selected appropriately. The person skilled in the art therefore selects process parameters at which the equilibrium temperatures that occur are always below the decomposition temperatures. Equilibrium temperatures in the range from 50° C. to 110° C. usually result over the course of the process for NMMO as a functional liquid.

With NMMO as a functional fluid, exothermic decomposition processes with existing transport limitations also lead to local material overheating (hotspots) from which the heat of reaction cannot be dissipated to a sufficient extent. This subsequently triggers further exothermic decomposition processes.

Significant overheating causes the functional liquid, the cellulose or the cellulose-functional liquid-water mixture to heat up to such high temperatures that decomposition takes place. Overheating that leads to temperatures of the product or a product component above the product-specific or product-component-specific decomposition temperatures is referred to below as significant overheating. It is irrelevant whether the overheating results from a lack of evaporative cooling due to transport limitations or is caused by overdrying of the product at equilibrium.

The decomposition of the functional liquid is described above. On the one hand, it makes it necessary to replace the lost - usually very expensive - functional fluid and, on the other hand, acutely increases the risk of explosion when NMMO is used as a functional fluid.

Significant overheating can, however, also affect the decomposition of the cellulose or the cellulose-functional liquid-water mixture (or, by definition, the product), in that at too high Temperatures, optionally in conjunction with - typically prevailing at increased viscosities - increased shear, leads to a reduction in the degree of polymerization (known to those skilled in the art as DP) of the cellulose. Significant overheating of the product can therefore have a product-damaging or safety-endangering effect due to the decomposition of parts of the product or the product itself.

Of course, a process at temperatures below the decomposition temperature can also have a product-damaging or safety-endangering effect due to non-thermally induced decomposition processes (e.g. radical reactions). In practice, however, this is counteracted with standard stabilizers.

Furthermore, a temperature control which strives for equilibrium temperatures above the decomposition temperatures would also lead to damage to the product and a safety hazard. The person skilled in the art does not strive for a corresponding driving style in practice.

Nevertheless, when using a thin-film evaporator to carry out the direct dissolving process, special attention should be paid to the temperature control due to its device-specific properties. A characteristically high heat input with a small amount of product present in the apparatus leads on the one hand to efficient evaporation of volatile components. On the other hand, process fluctuations that occur (e.g. supplied mixture flow rate, energy input or product viscosity) can only be compensated to a limited extent due to the small amount of product in the apparatus. A slight reduction in the quantity of mixture supplied can already lead to a significant increase in the product temperature. This harbors the risk of the temperature increasing in areas above the decomposition temperature.

WO 2008/154668 A1 also discloses a thin-film evaporator for producing a lyocell molding solution, with the conveying elements on the evaporator shaft of the thin-film evaporator are steeply angled for rapid vertical product transport. Although this makes it possible to reduce the risk of decomposition due to significant overheating even at high heating temperatures and vacuum, as are necessary for high production capacities and process efficiency, this is necessary due to the higher heating temperatures, which are necessary to compensate for the shorter residence time, which is higher heat flux density are, is compensated again.

At the end, the thin film evaporator merges into an end screw which feeds a pump which pumps the shaping solution through pipelines to a shaping device such as spinnerets. On the one hand, this has the advantage that the form solution can be backed up in front of the pump, which is necessary for the operation of many pressure-building discharge elements in order to enable the thin-film evaporator to be operated in a vacuum.

It is clear to the person skilled in the art that, on the other hand, the accumulation of the product is also imperative in order to ensure the dissolving time required for the dissolving process, since dissolving processes do not take place instantaneously but within a period of time at a dissolving speed. Those skilled in the art know that dissolution rates are influenced by various factors such as temperature. In the case of the described direct dissolving process, the person skilled in the art also knows that, in addition to the temperature, the concentration of the functional liquid and the mechanical load on the mixture also have an influence on the dissolving rate. With the same composition and the same temperature, different states of dissolution can occur as a result of different mechanical treatment of the material for the same treatment time.

Another reason for the above-described accumulation of the product in the thin-film evaporator before discharge is the mechanical action on the product that is necessary in addition to the water evaporation for the production of a form solution, which is achieved by the specifically selected geometry of the evaporator shaft of the thin-film evaporator must take place for a certain period of time, which is guaranteed by the stowage of the product.

In the event of an unscheduled stop of the pump, whether as a result of an interruption in the entire production plant, including the process, due to a technical fault in one of the numerous process organs following the process, or as a result of a fault in the components used in the process themselves, the upstream pump Due to its high viscosity, accumulating mold solution can quickly overheat due to mechanical energy input from the evaporator shaft, which poses an acute risk of damage to the product and, in the case of NMMO, a risk of explosion in particular. If the rotation of the evaporator shaft is stopped, the product distributed as a thin layer in close contact with the heated inner housing surfaces can quickly overheat, which also poses an acute risk of product damage and especially explosion. Within the scope of the invention, the heated housing surfaces are referred to as heating surfaces.

The person skilled in the art is also aware of the disadvantage of the limited structural size of large-scale industrial thin-film evaporators, the maximum heating area of which is typically approximately 50 m ² .

The person skilled in the art also has the disadvantage that, in order to avoid significant overheating of the product or the functional liquid, the temperature of the heating surface (also called heating temperature or heating surface temperature) is greatly reduced in the thin-film evaporator on the discharge side. Due to the higher product viscosities there, there is also a higher energy input through dissipation compared to the upper area of the thin-film evaporator. In addition, the transport speed of the product is reduced by the accumulation effect before discharge, which increases the time available for product heating, which not only increases the energy input through dissipation but also the thermal energy input. In order to avoid significant overheating of the product, it is therefore necessary to lower the heating temperature compared to the upper range. The temperature of the heating surface is typically lowered to the point where it roughly corresponds to the temperature of the form solution (also referred to below as the form solution temperature) when it exits the thin-film evaporator, i.e. typically 100 to 105 °C with NMMO as the functional liquid, in order to merely temper the product. Depending on the water content in the starting material, the discharge-side zone with a reduced heating temperature typically affects 20% to 50% of the heating surface of the thin-film evaporator. Conversely, avoiding this reduction in the heating temperature would mean an increase in the areas of the thin-film evaporator used for thermal energy input by 25% to 100%, ie the latter would mean a doubling.

The purpose of reducing the heating surface temperature is, in particular, to compensate for this mechanical energy input in order to avoid significant overheating of the product or the product components and the associated risks of product damage and decomposition.

Reducing the temperature of the heating surface to avoid significant overheating has the disadvantage for all functional liquids, NMMO or an IL, that not all of the available heating surface can be used for thermal energy input, which means that, in view of the limited sizes of thin-film evaporators This heating temperature reduction reduces the maximum production capacity of a production line, which is of crucial competitive importance in a cost-sensitive industry that is in competition, among other things, due to economies of scale.

A further disadvantage is rising energy costs due to the above-mentioned throttling of the thermal energy input in favor of the mechanical energy input, since instead of a typically cost-effective thermal energy input via the heating surface, it is typically more expensive electromechanical energy input via energy dissipation of the rotating evaporator shaft of the thin film evaporator.

Reducing the heating temperature can even result in heat being removed from the product in the discharge-side area of the thin-film evaporator, which means heat loss and further increases energy costs.

In the case of NMMO as the functional fluid, all the above-mentioned processes for producing a mold solution by evaporating water from a cellulose-NMMO-water mixture have in common the risk of explosion.

WO 96/33302 A now discloses a system for producing cellulosic films, fibers and other shaped bodies using the amine oxide process (ie with NMMO as the functional liquid). Two mixing devices with two different pulpers are preferably used here. With the aid of these mixing devices, the pulp is intended to be first defibrated or ground, with a pump pumping a first suspension of pulp in an aqueous amine oxide solution with a dry substance density of not more than 10% by weight of dry pulp into a device (hereinafter referred to as device 1), wherein the Device reduces the amount of water present until the suspension is converted into a concentrated pulp suspension, with the device 1 transferring the concentrated pulp suspension to a further device (hereinafter referred to as device 2), the concentrated pulp suspension formed being converted into a moldable solution of cellulose is transferred.

Both devices can be designed as thin-film evaporators. The reason for this two-stage evaporation is the high water content in the pulp-water-NMMO mixture, which is caused by the process control upstream of the device 1 . The aim of this invention is therefore the pre-concentration of the pulp suspension in order to reduce the amount of water to be evaporated by device 2. A concentrated pulp suspension is disclosed as the state of the product according to device 1, which means that the dissolving process has not yet started and therefore does not contain any dissolved cellulosic components.

However, a discharge pump is provided between device 1 and device 2, in front of which a damming up of the concentrated pulp suspension in the form of an accumulation of liquid is revealed at this point, which again increases the risk of explosion due to the risk of material accumulation.

WO 2013/156489 A1 also discloses two successive devices for evaporating water, the first being a thin-film evaporator and the second a thick-film evaporator, preferably a kneading reactor as described in DE 199 40 521 A1, the kneading reactor being referred to below as a mixing kneader. Thanks to good high-viscosity mixing properties and effective mechanical energy input via its shaft (hereinafter referred to as kneader shaft), the speed of which can be quickly set and also quickly reduced, the mixing kneader can regulate the temperature with great accuracy and safely and, as a rule, cool the product or heat dissipation avoid. Thin-film evaporator and mixing kneader are directly connected to one another by a connection, but WO 2013/156489 A1 is silent about the explicit embodiment of the connection.

The water content in the NMMO of the concentrated pulp suspension is divided into three sections during the dissolving process. After the first section, the pulp suspension from the thin-film evaporator is fed out and into the mixing kneader. The first section shows no increase in viscosity and ends with the start of the dissolution window, which corresponds to a 2.5 hydrate, which corresponds to an NMMO-water concentration (NMMO based on NMMO and water by mass) of approx. 72.2 wt% and where - as with the WO 06/33302 A - due to the high water content present, a low tendency to explode is to be expected. The second section consists of the main dissolving process, so that the viscosity there begins to rise sharply and the associated necessary evaporation of water to about a 1.5 hydrate occurs, which corresponds to an NMMO water concentration of about 81.3 wt%. is equivalent to. In the third section, the homogenization takes place and water evaporates until a 0.8 to 1.0 hydrate (monohydrate) is formed, which corresponds to an NMMO water concentration of approx. 89.1 wt% to 86.7 wt%.

The disadvantage of this process is the still high proportion of water, which is not evaporated by a thin-film evaporator, which corresponds to an unused potential of the thin-film evaporator to increase process efficiency. In addition, in the case of a cellulose-water-NMMO mixture in which the NMMO-water proportion is still present as a 2.5 hydrate proportion, a subsequent mixing kneader—as described in WO 2013/156489 A1—still has to evaporate a large amount of water in the entry zone.

In order to achieve economical construction sizes of the mixing kneader, this means that, in addition to the mechanical energy input through kneading, a non-negligible proportion of the energy to be introduced must take place through contact heat. Consequently, it is necessary to maximize the heating surface at least in the entry zone, which means that the disks attached to the kneader shaft, as described in more detail below, to which the mixing bars are attached, must also be designed in such a way that they can be heated. On the one hand, this heating increases the costs in construction and production as well as the production time of the mixing kneader and, on the other hand, leads to heavier structural weights of the kneader shaft. The integrated heating system also reduces the mechanical stability of the construction and consequently causes a reduction in the maximum size of the mixing kneader. The need for this design is further increased by the low viscosity of the concentrated pulp suspension when entering the mixing kneader with an NMMO-water concentration of approx are not sufficient to ensure sufficient water evaporation through the resulting friction and the resulting heating of the pulp suspension. In summary, the high water content means on the one hand a high evaporation load for the mixing kneader and, on the other hand, a low proportion of mechanical energy input due to low viscosity.

Mixing kneaders are known to those skilled in the art. They preferably have exactly one or exactly two kneader shafts, which are used to carry out highly viscous and crust-forming processes, which can be operated under vacuum, atmospheric or at overpressure and can be heated or cooled via thermal exchange surfaces. In addition, the kneader shaft and its shaft structures can very effectively heat the product through rotation and friction, given the product viscosities that are typically present.

If there is exactly one kneader shaft, then there is a single-shaft mixing kneader, which is described, for example, in CH 674 472 A5. In this case, shaft structures of the kneader shaft mesh preferably during operation with static structures of the housing, for example so-called counter hooks. If there are exactly two kneader shafts, then there is a two-shaft mixing kneader, which is described, for example, in DE 41 18 884 A1. The shaft structures of the kneader shafts preferably mesh with one another during operation.

The at least one kneader shaft comprises shaft structures in the form of discs and bars attached thereto, the shaft structures of the at least one kneader shaft being set up to mesh with the shaft structures of a second kneader shaft or with stationary counter-elements present in the mixing kneader during operation. Mixing kneaders with such intermeshing elements are known and are referred to as “self-cleaning” because the combing described detaches any buildup from the intermeshing elements.

The kneader shafts with discs and bars described above are known from the prior art, for example from DE 41 18 884 A1. For the present invention, it is irrelevant how the bars are attached to the discs and these in turn are attached to the kneader shafts. Ingots and discs (also called “supports”) can also be made in one piece, for example be manufactured, the term "fixed" is therefore to be interpreted broadly. While the aforementioned DE 41 18 884 A1 shows a twin-shaft mixing kneader, CH 674 472 A5 shows a single-shaft mixing kneader with hook-like static kneading counter-elements (so-called "kneading counter-hook") on the inner wall of the housing. The housing, kneader shaft(s), shaft structures and static counter kneading elements can be designed as described in the aforementioned publications.

The inner sides of the mixer-kneader housing, the kneader shaft(s) and the disks cannot be exclusively configured as thermal exchange surfaces. In the mixer-kneader housing, thermal exchange surfaces are typically designed as welded-on half-tubes or preferably as double walls. In the case of the kneader shafts, thermal exchange surfaces mean that the kneader shaft is designed as a hollow shaft and preferably has an inflow and a return flow of the heat transfer medium or cooling medium, for example with an inner tube.

Discs with thermal exchange surfaces have cavities or bores for electrical heating elements or a heat transfer medium or cooling medium, the latter having an inflow that is fed from the inflow in the kneader shaft and an outflow that flows back to the return flow in the kneader shaft. The cavities can typically be designed as double walls or bores and require greater wall thicknesses and larger dimensions of the shaft structures and kneader shaft with thicker walls and cause a significantly greater manufacturing effort compared to cavity-free (hereinafter also referred to as heating cavity-free) discs, which typically due to the omission of thermal Exchange areas can be built smaller.

object of the invention

The object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, a method for producing the transfer mixture by evaporating water from a cellulose-water-functional liquid mixture is to be described, which primarily enables the evaporation performance achieved by thermal energy input of a device suitable for evaporation, preferably a thin-film evaporator, without overheating or significantly increase the risk of explosion.

solution of the task

The features according to claim 1, 2, 11 or 12 lead to the solution of the task.

Advantageous configurations are described in the dependent claims.

The subject matter of the present invention is the production of a transfer mixture as the first process stage of an at least two-stage process according to the direct dissolving process in a thin-film evaporator, which takes into account all the facts mentioned in the context of the task.

The method according to the invention for producing the transfer mixture within the direct dissolving process takes place in a device, preferably a thin-film evaporator, with a feed, a housing and an outlet, with the feed feeding a product in the form of a starting material consisting essentially of cellulose, water and a functional liquid into the housing is introduced, with the starting material being heated and some of the water evaporating, so that the transfer mixture is formed, with the transfer mixture flowing onto the outlet with a feed stream, and then being transferred without delay to a downstream process element. In this case, a transfer mixture and not a mold solution is to be produced in the process. The transfer mixture is characterized by a proportion of water at which the temperature of the heating surface of the thin-film evaporator—in particular towards the discharge—is not significantly lower than that at the entry, without the product being significantly overheated. The transfer mixture differs from the form solution in that it corresponds to the product in a state before it is converted into a formable, in particular formable or spinnable solution. A formable or spinnable solution is present when all the essential cellulosic components of the starting material have dissolved. In this context, essential means such a low proportion of undissolved components that the so-called filter service life reaches an economically acceptable level. Filter life refers to filters that are typically used after the forming solution preparation process stage and before the forming/spinning process stage. The filter service life corresponds to the length of time or the period of use until a filter has to be replaced because the pressure drop across the filter becomes too high, which increases due to the accumulation of components undesirable for further processing. These components can represent, for example, undissolved cellulosic fibers as well as non-cellulosic impurities. The concrete choice of a filter service life is therefore subject to overall economic costs and quality-optimizing aspects.

The transfer mixture also differs from the starting material in that part of the cellulose present in the starting material is already in solution in the transfer mixture as a result of thermo-mechanical treatment in the thin-film evaporator.

The method according to the invention for producing the transfer mixture has the advantage that the product in the thin-film evaporator always has a sufficiently high proportion of water and thus significant overheating and, in the case of NMMO as the functional liquid, a consequent result potential risk of explosion is prevented and so the heating temperature towards the discharge side of the thin-film evaporator does not have to be lowered or not significantly, but that there is always a temperature difference necessary for thermal energy input, i.e. the difference between heating temperature and product temperature, of at least 20K, preferably 50K and ideally 70K exists while avoiding significant overheating. A further advantage is that the lower viscosity and the avoidance of accumulation of the product on the outlet side of the thin-film evaporator in front of the outlet result in less mechanical stress on the evaporator shaft of the thin-film evaporator, so that the thin-film evaporator can be implemented more cost-effectively. This increases the maximum amount of water evaporation per heating surface of thin-film evaporators with lower energy costs and more economical construction. The cheaper construction results, for example, from the fact that conventional thin-film evaporators can be made larger and therefore more material can be processed than was previously possible. This increases both the higher amount of water evaporation per heating surface and the larger design, i.e. the production capacity per production line.

Another advantage here is the increased energy efficiency and process reliability not only for the process step of producing a concentrated pulp suspension in a thin-film evaporator but also in combination with a suitable downstream process element such as preferably a mixing kneader for the entire conversion of a starting material into a form solution.

According to the invention, an IL or NMMO is added as a functional liquid for the starting material. The functional liquid serves to dissolve the cellulose under the right conditions.

In the method, for example, the transfer mixture can be passed on to a subsequent processing element. The subsequent process organ can be the process organs already described such as act the mixing kneader or the further thin film evaporator. The subsequent processing element is intended to further process the transfer mixture into a form solution. A preferred embodiment of the transfer mixture is selected and practice has shown that the viscosity of the transfer mixture is not only low enough to avoid significant overheating in the thin-film evaporator, but also high enough that the mechanical energy input caused by friction in the mixing kneader is so high is that the need for thermal energy input into the mixing kneader - supplementing the mechanical energy input - is so low that the structures of the kneader shaft do not have to be used for thermal heat exchange, but can be designed without heating cavities. This enables a significantly simpler, cheaper and faster construction of the kneader shaft.

The transfer mixture is therefore selected in such a way that it has a water concentration such that at least one of the following conditions is met or at least one of the following embodiment variants according to the invention is given:

(1) In the case of a thin film evaporator to reduce the

Water concentration by evaporation for the production of a transfer mixture, the temperature of the heating surface is not significantly reduced compared to the entry, in particular towards the discharge, and the transfer mixture does not experience any significant overheating.

(2) In the case of NMMO as the functional liquid, the water content of the transfer mixture generally satisfies the following conditions: maximum XH20 = -0.235 x ceii + 0.235 minimum XH20 = -0.59 x ceii + 0.2047

Even more preferred is the application of the transfer mixture at the preferred composition of maximum XH20 = 0.2864 x ² ceii - 0.6786 XCell + 0.2288 minimum XH20 = 0.2864 x ² ceii - 0.6786 xceii + 0.2188.

Preferably, the transfer mixture is chosen so that - in addition to (1) and (2) above - it has a water concentration that also applies:

(3) In the case of a mixing kneader as the process element directly or indirectly downstream of the thin-film evaporator, the mixing kneader is equipped with at least one kneader shaft, the superstructure of which does not have to be heatable, and the transfer mixture has sufficient viscosity to use mechanical energy input, in addition to thermal energy input via a heatable kneader shaft of the mixing kneader and a heatable housing of the mixing kneader to achieve the evaporation capacity required in the mixing kneader for the production of a mold solution.

The starting material is a mixture of cellulose, water and functional fluid, the composition of which can vary greatly.

The feedstock thereby becomes a transfer mixture from the feed to the outlet.

In the transfer mixture according to the invention, the cellulose is partially dissolved and in the case of NMMO as the functional liquid, the water content in the NMMO can be taken from the mathematical formula.

The formulas for describing the transfer mixture relate to the production of a transfer mixture under thermo-mechanical conditions that allow low-risk operation of the thin-film evaporator and have proven themselves in practice. Due to the explained influences on the rate of dissolution of the cellulose, however, it is possible that the formula predicts a spinnable solution, while in practice, despite low water content, a transfer mixture according to the invention with undissolved cellulose components is still present, since a special thermal mechanical treatment has been chosen, such as very short times of the product between feed and discharge. Due to the associated lower water content in the transfer mixture, such thermo-mechanical treatments are associated with an increased process risk due to significant overheating and explosive decomposition.

According to the invention, this can also mean that the starting material, even with compositions within the concentration range, is fed to the thin-film evaporator, which describes the general transfer mixture. A transfer mixture, which is characterized by a partial dissolution of the cellulose, is usually created only through the process-specific thermo-mechanical treatment of the starting material in the thin-film evaporator (increased temperature and shearing effect).

The outlet opens into a subsequent processing element, which is preferably more suitable than the thin-film evaporator for reliably converting the transfer mixture into a form solution. As described above, such a subsequent processing element can be a mixing kneader. The kneading mixer is particularly well suited as a subsequent process unit thanks to good high-viscosity mixing properties and effective mechanical energy input via the kneader shaft, the speed of which can be quickly set and quickly reduced again - to zero if necessary. It is also advantageous here that the mixing kneader can regulate the temperature with great accuracy and safely, and thereby, as a rule, avoids cooling or heat dissipation.

In another embodiment, the transfer mixture first passes through a subsequent transfer element. The transfer mixture is then passed on to the subsequent processing element.

Thus, the increased energy efficiency and process reliability not only applies to the process step of producing the transfer mixture, but also in Combination with a suitable downstream processing organ for the total conversion of a starting material into a forming solution.

A further thin-film evaporator can also be considered as the subsequent processing element - accepting the above-mentioned disadvantages, whereby the thin-film evaporator can be designed in its overall construction for reaching the transfer mixture and the further thin-film evaporator through its further overall construction, such as overall length, angling of its wiper blades or the like can be adapted to the processing of the transfer mixture. The subsequent processing element is defined in such a way that the processing element that processes the transfer mixture further processes it into a form solution. The mold solution can then be used for spinning, for example.

The material properties using the formulas listed above to describe the general transfer range result from the following investigations. The maximum water content x _H20 describes the composition that corresponds to the dihydrate when considering water and NMMO. NMMO molecules have the ability to form two hydrogen bonds. The hydrogen bonds lead on the one hand to the formation of structures with water molecules bound over them and on the other hand to the detachment of cellulose molecules. From a ratio of less than two water molecules per NMMO molecule, there is theoretically a dissolving capacity of the NMMO for cellulose molecules. This separates the transfer mixture from the pure suspension as the upper water content limit. For example, it is also described in the literature that with appropriate thermomechanical treatment, part of the cellulose is already in solution at NMMO-water concentrations of approx. 75%. The minimum proportion of water x _H2O describes for the person skilled in the art, based on US Pat. It thus separates the transfer mixture from the complete mold solution. The statements made in US Pat. No. 4,196,282 A in relation to NMMO as a functional liquid are confirmed by results and observations from industrial applications and experiments by the inventors on a pilot plant scale. The two formulas presented consequently enclose the range of the general transfer mixture.

For a description of the material properties of the preferred transfer region, reference should be made to US Pat. No. 4,196,282 A with regard to the minimum water content. Based on this, the curve describes the 95% confidence interval of the minimum water content of the general transfer area and thus further distinguishes itself from the safe state of a complete mold solution. The formula for describing the maximum water content x _H20 of the preferred transfer range is based on results from industrial applications of the direct dissolution process and data collection from the inventors' test series on a pilot plant scale. It marks the upper limit of the transfer range, within which optimal utilization of the specific, process-relevant thin-film evaporator characteristics is guaranteed.

In the general composition, and also in the preferred composition, the transfer mixture is in a pre-dissolution state. This also means that the process for producing lyocell has been carried out under optimal operating parameters of the thin-film evaporator and the comparatively difficult material conditions of the lyocell are avoided, for example if encrustations occur in the thin-film evaporator or over-drying or decomposition takes place. These problematic material states can be summarized in the following Process element relatively easy to prevent, because the subsequent process element is usually designed, for example, for higher torques and the avoidance of crust formation.

With the general composition, it is already advantageous to discharge the transfer mixture because sufficient water has evaporated so that a transfer mixture is formed and further processing to the solution in the subsequent processing unit can take place in a relatively short process time.

In the case of the preferred composition of the transfer mixture, the maximum proportion of water is already closer to complete solution compared to the definition of the general transfer mixture. On the other hand, the minimal proportion of water is at a greater distance from this complete solution.

In this way, further processing can be carried out in a short process time and at the same time the risk of the material overdrying in the thin-film evaporator is further reduced. In both cases, however, the transfer mixture is removed from a moldable or spinnable solution after a processing time lasting several minutes, during which the product is homogenized by mixing and any remaining water is evaporated, so that the thin-film evaporator can be operated with the preferred operating properties described above.

The product and thus also the starting material essentially consists of cellulose, water and a functional liquid. In addition, the product contains other chemicals such as stabilizers, etc., which need not be listed in detail within the scope of the invention, since they are known to the person skilled in the art and can be adapted for each individual case of use. In addition, a thin-film evaporator for processing a starting material to form a transfer mixture using the direct dissolving process is claimed. The thin-film evaporator has a feed, a housing and an outlet, with the feed introducing the starting material or the product consisting essentially of cellulose, water and a functional liquid into the housing, with an evaporator shaft arranged in the housing rotating the product over the heated interior of the housing, whereby the product heats up and some of the water evaporates, so that the transfer mixture is formed, whereby according to the invention all heating surfaces of the thin-film evaporator that come into contact with the product are subjected to a heating temperature that is at least 20K above the temperature of the product.

In another thin film evaporator according to the present invention for processing a feedstock into a transfer mixture by the direct dissolution process having a feed, a housing and an outlet, the feed feeding the product of essentially cellulose, water and N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) into the housing brings in, with an evaporator shaft arranged in the housing rotating wiping the product over the heated interior of the housing, with the product heating up and part of the water evaporating, so that the transfer mixture is formed, with the maximum composition of the transfer mixture being XH20 = -0.235 xceii + 0.235 and minimal XH20 = -0.59 xceii + 0.2047 the transfer mixture can be passed through the outlet. This means that the thin-film evaporator is set in such a way that when the parameters of the transfer mixture are reached, the outlet is passed automatically or guided and further processing or transport is operatively connected to at least one subsequent transfer element or the transfer mixture is operatively linked to a subsequent process element. A more preferred composition of the transfer mixture is when the transfer mixture has maximum XH20 = 0.2864 x ² ceii - 0.6786 xceii + 0.2288 minimum XH20 = 0.2864 x ² ceii - 0.6786 xceii + 0.2188.

The remaining statements on the method according to the invention also apply to the thin-film evaporator, especially if the identical features are identified in the same way.

character description

Further advantages, features and details of the invention result from the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments and from the drawings; these show in:

FIG. 1 shows a diagram of the preferred material properties of a transfer mixture.

FIG. 2 shows a diagram of the general material properties of a transfer mixture.

example

example 1

The subject of this example is the production of a molding solution with a cellulose content of 12% by weight using the direct solution process. In this example, NMMO is used as the functional liquid. All of the following proportions relate to the total mass of the cellulose-NMMO-water mixture. A starting material with a cellulose content of approx. 7.2 wt% is produced from cellulose and aqueous NMMO solution, resulting in an NMMO content of approx. 46.1 wt%. This starting material is introduced into a thin-film evaporator and concentrated there to form a transfer mixture. In the example, the thin-film evaporator is operated at a process pressure of 70 mbara, so that the equilibrium temperature of the starting material is around 43 °C. The heating temperature of the thin-film evaporator is 130°C. In the present example, the mixture is transferred within the preferred transfer range with a cellulose content of approx. 11.5 wt% and an NMMO Proportion of approx. 73.9 wt%. With the present process conditions, this corresponds to an equilibrium temperature of the transfer mixture of approx. 100 °C. The ratio of water and NMMO at this point is approximately that of a 1.3 hydrate. The transfer mixture provided by the thin-film evaporator is then placed in a mixing kneader. There, the mixture is finally concentrated by evaporation and homogenization, resulting in a complete mold solution. The molding solution leaves the mixing kneader with a cellulose content of 12.0 wt%, an NMMO content of approx. 77.0 wt% and a temperature of approx. 107 °C.

example 2

The subject of this example is the production of a molding solution with a cellulose content of 12% by weight using the direct solution process. In this example, an ionic liquid is used as the functional liquid. All of the following proportions relate to the total mass of the mixture. A starting mixture with a cellulose content of approx. 8.2 wt% is made from cellulose and aqueous IL solution, resulting in an IL content of approx. 58.6 wt%. This starting mixture is introduced into a thin-film evaporator and concentrated there to form a transfer mixture. In the present example, the mixture is transferred with a cellulose content of approx. 11.5 wt% and an IL content of approx. 79.6 wt%. The transfer mixture provided by the thin-film evaporator is then placed in a mixing kneader. There, the mixture is finally concentrated by evaporation and homogenization, resulting in a complete mold solution. The molding solution leaves the mixing kneader with a cellulose content of 12.0 wt% and an IL content of approx. 83.0 wt%. Shown in Figure 1 is a graph showing the general and preferred material composition of the transfer mix. The general composition a has the following parameters of maximum XH20 = -0.235 xceii + 0.235 minimum XH20 = -0.59 xceii + 0.2047 and thus shows a greater scope than the preferred composition b, which has the following parameters of maximum XH20 = 0 .2864 x ² ceii - 0.6786 x ceii + 0.2288 minimal XH20 = 0.2864 x ² ceii - 0.6786 x ceii + 0.2188.

With a decreasing water content, the range of the solution L is first reached and with a further decrease in the water content, the crystallization K of the NMMO takes place.

Reference List

Claims

patent claims

1. A process for producing a transfer mixture by the direct dissolution process in a thin film evaporator (D) having a feed, a housing and an outlet, the feed introducing a product of essentially cellulose, water and a functional liquid into the housing, with a in the housing (4) arranged evaporator shaft (5) rotating wipes the product over the heated interior of the housing (4), wherein the product heats up and some of the water evaporates so that the transfer mixture is formed, characterized in that

(a) the transfer mixture is discharged before the product substantially overheats and

(b) all heating surfaces of the thin-film evaporator that come into contact with the product are subjected to a heating temperature that is at least 20K above the temperature of the product.

2. Process for preparing a direct dissolution transfer mixture in a thin film evaporator (D) having a feed, a housing and an outlet, the feed introducing a product of essentially cellulose, water and N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) into the housing, with an evaporator shaft (5) arranged in the housing (4) rotatingly wiping the product over the heated interior of the housing (4), the product being heated and part of the water evaporating so that the transfer mixture is formed, characterized in that that the composition of the transfer mixture maximum XH20 = -0.235 xceii + 0.235 and minimum XH20 = -0.59 xceii + 0.2047.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the transfer mixture has a preferred composition of maximum XH20 = 0.2864 x ² ceii - 0.6786 xceii + 0.2288 minimum XH20 = 0.2864 x ² ceii - 0.6786 xceii + is 0.2188.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transfer mixture passes through at least one subsequent transfer element.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transfer mixture is passed on to a subsequent processing element.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the subsequent processing element further processes the transfer mixture into a form solution.

7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a machine control monitors the proportion of water, cellulose and functional liquid in the composition of the transfer solution from the feed to the outlet.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the machine control monitors the composition of the product in all states up to the transfer mixture via sensors.

9. The method according to claim 5 to 8, characterized in that the subsequent processing element is a mixing kneader.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the mixing kneader further processes the transfer mixture by evaporating water and stirring to form a form solution according to the direct dissolving process, the shaft structures of the kneader shaft being designed without heating cavities.

11. Thin film evaporator (D) for processing a starting material into a transfer mixture according to the direct dissolving process with a feed, a housing and an outlet, the feed introducing the product of essentially cellulose, water and a functional liquid into the housing (4), with a The evaporator shaft (5) arranged in the housing (4) rotates and wipes the product over the heated interior of the housing (4), the product heating up and part of the water evaporating, so that the transfer mixture is produced, characterized in that all heating surfaces of the Thin-film evaporator are subjected to a heating temperature that is at least 20K above the temperature of the product.

12. Thin film evaporator (D) for processing a starting material into a transfer mixture according to the direct dissolution process with a feed, a housing and an outlet, the feed being the product from im introduces essentially cellulose, water and N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) into the housing (4), with an evaporator shaft (5) arranged in the housing (4) rotating wiping the product over the heated interior of the housing (4), whereby the product heats up and part of the water evaporates, so that the transfer mixture is formed, characterized in that when the composition of the transfer mixture is reached, maximum XH20 = -0.235 xceii + 0.235 and minimum XH20 = -0.59 xceii + 0.2047 das Transfer mixture can be passed on through the outlet.

13. Thin-film evaporator according to claim 12, characterized in that the transfer mixture has a preferred composition of maximum XH20 = 0.2864 x ² ceii - 0.6786 XCell + 0.2288 minimum XH20 = 0.2864 x ² ceii - 0.6786 xceii + 0.2188.

14. Thin-film evaporator (D) according to one of the preceding claims 11 to 13, characterized in that the transfer mixture is operatively connected to at least one subsequent transfer element.

15. Thin-film evaporator (D) according to one of the preceding claims 11 to 14, characterized in that the transfer mixture is operatively connected to a downstream process element.