MX2014012445A

MX2014012445A - Reactor for gasifying and/or cleaning, especially for depolymerizing, plastic material and associated method.

Info

Publication number: MX2014012445A
Application number: MX2014012445A
Authority: MX
Inventors: Adam Handerek
Original assignee: Hartwig SCHLÜTER
Priority date: 2012-04-24
Filing date: 2013-04-23
Publication date: 2015-05-07
Also published as: DE102012008457B4; US20150083572A1; BR112014026405A2; EP2841531A1; AU2013252106A1; WO2013159914A1; CN104471032A; DE102012008457A1; RU2014147054A; CA2870350A1; JP2015521213A

Abstract

The invention relates to a reactor for gasifying and/or cleaning, especially for depolymerizing, plastic material (12), which reactor comprises: a reactor vessel (14) for receiving a starting material (12), especially the plastic material (12); a metal bath (26) which is arranged in the reactor vessel (14) and includes a liquid metallic material having a metal bath melting temperature (TSchmelz); a plurality of filling elements (25) in the metal bath (26); a heater (18) for heating the plastic material (12) in the reactor vessel (14); and a residual material-removal device for at least partially removing residual material (38) which is produced during the gasification and/or cleaning of the starting material (12). According to the invention, the residual material-removal device comprises an overflow which is centrally arranged in the reactor vessel (14) so that residual material (38) floating on the metal bath (26) can be removed via the overflow.

Description

REACTOR FOR GASIFICATION AND / OR PURIFICATION, ESPECIALLY FOR DEPOLIMERIZATION OF PLASTIC MATERIAL, AND METHOD ASSOCIATED Field of the Invention The invention relates to a reactor for the gasification and / or purification of a starting material, in particular for depolymerizing plastic material, with (a) a reactor vessel for the reception of raw material, particularly plastic material, ( b) a metal bath disposed in the reactor vessel and comprising a liquid metal material having a melting temperature of the metal bath, (c) a heater for heating the plastic material in the reactor vessel, and (d) ) a device for extracting the waste for when removing the waste originating in the gasification and / or purification of the starting material.

Background of the Invention Such a reactor is known from WO 2010/130 404 and is used to gasify plastics, in particular polymers. For this, the plastic material is, for example, introduced by the extruder into the reactor reactor vessel where it comes into contact with a metal bath. The high temperatures and the optional catalytic effect of the metal bath lead to the depolymerization of the plastic.

Ref.251587 The starting material may include substances that are either completely or not completely inert to the gas, whereby the residues are left behind. These residues must be removed from the vessel or vessel of the reactor, so that it is continuously operated. It has been found that the elimination of waste is a limiting factor in terms of economic load carrying capacity of the reactor.

Brief Description of the Invention It is the object of the invention to improve the elimination of residual substances from the reactor vessel.

DE 19735 153 Al discloses a method and aatus for the gasification of waste materials. Here, in reactor filled with liquid slag, heated, in the gasification of raw material is preferably introduced in such a way that the slag is rotated by a moment transfer. The organic components of the raw material are gasified and the mineral components are melted and absorbed by the slag. This results in an increase in the volume of the slag. The slag volume exceeds a certain limit, a part of the slag passes through a side opening of a centrally mounted reactor tube in a water bath where it solidifies.

DE 196 29 544 C2 describes a process for the preparation of polyvinyl chloride.

Again, the PVC is placed in a rotating slag bath, in which a gaseous portion is cleaved, and the rest absorbed by the slag. Once again, the resulting slag is passed through a central outlet in a water bath.

It is the object of the invention to improve the removal of residual substances from the reactor vessel.

The invention solves the problem by a generic reactor, in which the waste disposal device comprises an overflow arranged centrally in the reactor, so that floating debris in the metal bath can be removed by overflow. A second aspect, the invention manages to solve the problem by means of a method to operate a reactor of this type, which comprises the steps of: (i) raising a level of the metal bath, so that the residual substances are conducted to the overflow, and (ii) remove the residual material through the overflow.

It has been found that a centrally arranged overflow is particularly suitable for effectively removing waste substances from the reactor vessel or vessel. It is an advantage that the overflow is always at the same temperature as the metal that surrounds it. Therefore, it is excluded that the residues could be cooled and therefore stick during the extraction.

It is an additional advantage that the evolution of gas during the operation of the reactor promotes the elimination of waste. It has surprisingly been found that the evolution of gas at the radially outer edge of the interior of the reactor vessel is especially large.

The rising gas bubbles slightly raise the level of the metal bath at half time, so that in the floating metal it wastes an experienced radially inward force. It emerges as a waste stream radially inward that can be effectively diverted by the centrally arranged overflow.

The surprising finding that the waste has a preferred flow direction, i.e., radially inward, also means that all waste enters after a relatively short time in the overflow. If the overflow is arranged radially on the outside, it can occur on the surface of the metal bath, where the residence time of the waste is so high that the residues form lumps and it is extremely difficult to remove them from the reactor vessel.

Although the central location of the overflow has the disadvantage that a direct action from the outside, for example, joins the waste to remove heavy is possible, but this disadvantage is more than compensated by the advantages described.

Under the term reactor vessel, it is understood a device that is intended in particular to receive the molten metal, the filler elements and the starting material during the operation.

Under the term "metal bath" is meant an accumulation of liquid metal, in particular a molten metal, which is liquid at an operating temperature of the reactor.

In particular, the metal bath consists of Wood metal, Lipowitz alloy, Newton alloy, Lichtenberg alloy and / or an alloy including gallium and indium. The metal bath generally has a density of at least more than 9 grams per cubic centimeter, so that the starting material is subjected to a strong impulse. A melting temperature of the metallic material is more preferably at least 300 ° C. Lower melting temperatures are also possible. The melting temperature is preferably at most 600 ° C. In operation of the reactor, the metal bath has a temperature of 300 ° C up to 600 ° C.

According to a preferred embodiment, the overflow formed by an extraction tube that is in thermal contact with the metal bath. In this way the extraction tube always has the same temperature as the metal bath, so that by cooling a conditional agglomeration of the residual materials is avoided. Preferably, the extraction tube is a metal tube, in particular, a ferromagnetic metal tube.

Under the term heater is meant in particular a device, by means of which the plastics material is directly or indirectly heated. In particular, the heater is an induction heater, it is heated by means of a reactor component. For example, the filler elements are ferromagnetic, so that they can be heated by induction. But it is also conceivable that the overflow and / or the reactor vessel are ferromagnetic, additionally or alternatively, to the filling elements.

The starting material is, in particular, heated, such that the filling elements are heated, which in turn heats the metal bath. The metal bath then transfers the heat to the starting material.

The waste disposal device is a device by means of which solid, viscous and / or pasty residues originating during gasification and / or purification can be removed.

In a preferred embodiment, a waste transport device is provided in the extraction tube, which is designed for the transport of waste material through mechanical impact. For example, it is a screw conveyor, which can scrape along the inside of the extraction tube to prevent or eliminate the obstruction.

Preferably, the extraction tube has an inner diameter of the tube, which has at least one-tenth of an internal diameter of the reactor vessel, of the reactor vessel. In this way, the waste material can be removed efficiently.

It is advantageous if the waste disposal device comprises a storage container and a gas-tight lock, so that the gas-tight storage container is removable with respect to the reactor vessel. In other words, it is possible to separate the storage container from the reactor vessel, without the gas being able to enter the reactor vessel, and without the gas escaping from the storage vessel. In this way, the risk of fire is reduced, otherwise combustible gases can escape.

Brief Description of the Figure The invention is explained in detail with reference to the attached figures.

Figure 1 is a reactor according to the invention for carrying out a method of the invention.

Detailed description of the invention Figure 1 shows a reactor 10 of the invention for the gasification of the raw material in the form of plastic material 12, in particular polymers of polyolefin. The reactor includes, for example, a vessel or container of the reactor 14 of substantially cylindrical shape for heating the plastic material 12, which is introduced through an extruder 16 into the vessel 14 of the reactor.

The reactor 10 includes a heater such as an induction heater 18, having a plurality of coils 20.1, 20.2, ..., 20.4 by means of which an alternating magnetic field is generated in the interior 22 of the reactor vessel 14. The coils 20 (reference numbers without suffix refer to the object as such) are connected to a power supply that is not shown, for the application of an alternating current to the coils. The frequency f of the alternating current is, for example, in the range of 4 to 50 kHz. Higher frequencies are possible, however, leading to an increase in the so-called Skin effect, which is undesirable.

In the interior space 22 of the reactor vessel 14, a brake device 24 is arranged, by means of which the liquefied plastic material 12 can be braked in the reactor vessel 14. The braking device 24 comprises a plurality of filling elements 25.1, 25.2, ... of ferromagnetic material disposed movably in the inner space 22, which in the present case are formed by balls or spheres having a radius of the sphere R. The spherical radius R can be by example between 0.5 and 50 millimeters.

Due to their ferromagnetic properties, the filling elements 25 are heated by means of induction heating 18 and used to heat a metal bath 26, of fluid metal, disposed in the container of the existing reactor 14. The specification that, an object such as the filling elements are formed of a ferromagnetic material, means that the object is ferromagnetic at room temperature of 23 ° C.

The filling elements 25 have a temperature Te, 25 Curie above which the magnetic susceptibility c drops abruptly. The coupling in the electromagnetic field of induction heating is then made abruptly smaller and the heat dissipation of the filling elements 25 decreases. The heat input through the induction heating is thus in the hot filling elements lower than in cold fill elements.

The metal bath 26 has a melting point of at most Tfusion = 300 ° C and is filled to a level of the metal bath nights Hirein in the reactor vessel 14. The metal bath 26 fills together with the plastic material 12 at least a portion of the interstices of the filling elements 25. For example, the metal melt 26 consists of Wood'chem metal, the Lipowitz alloy, the Newton alloy, the Lichtenberg alloy and / or an alloy comprising gallium and indium.

The metal bath 26 generally has a density of more than 9 grams per cubic centimeter, so that the plastic material 12 is subjected to strong overall buoyancy. By this elevation the plastic material 12 is accelerated. The filling elements 25 counteract this acceleration.

In the reactor vessel 14 there is a temperature T of the metal bath, which is above the reaction temperature TR, in which the plastic material 12 decomposes gradually. That is why gas bubbles 28 are formed that rise to the top. The metal bath 26 can have a catalytic effect on the decomposition process, whereby the reactor 10 can be a thermo-catalytic depolymerization reactor. Supplied through the extruder 16, the plastic material 12 passes through an inlet opening 30, which is preferably arranged in the lower part of the reactor vessel 14, in the interior space 22.

The braking device 24 may include the retaining systems or devices, such as the mesh networks stretched with frames, which have meshes so small that the filler elements 25 can not pass through them. But this is not necessary. For example, a filling of Spheres such as the one shown here is generally adequate. The distribution of the filling elements 25, in this case the spheres or balls, is indicated purely schematically in Figure 1.

Due to its buoyancy, one part of the filling elements 25 of the metal bath 26, and another part is pressed by other filling elements 25 which are located upstream in the metal bath 25. The filling elements 25 are also shown in FIG. Figure 1 at a constant radius R. It is possible that the filler elements have variable radii, where the radius R, for example, decreases towards the top.

Figure 1 also shows an extraction tube 36 disposed centrally in the reactor vessel 14, through which the residual material 38 floating from the metal bath can be removed. The extraction tube 36 extends in this case coaxially with a longitudinal axis L of the reactor vessel 14. The residual material 38, for example, are the impurities of the plastic material 12 and / or optionally the added catalyst 32, which can be supplied by means of the extruder 16 or possibly in a second extruder.

The extraction tube 36 can be made of a tube of ferromagnetic material with a temperature Tc, Curie 36 of the tube material. Characterized in that the tube extraction 36 is heated to Te, 36 when the induction heater 18 is operated at sufficiently high power. The temperature Tc, 36 Curie of the tube material, for example, may correspond to the temperature Tc, 25, i Curie of the filling element, but may also be smaller or larger. But it is also possible that the extraction tube 36 is constructed of a non-ferromagnetic material, for example, of titanium, or non-ferromagnetic steel.

The reactor vessel 14 is established or constructed, at least on its side facing the interior space 22, of a wall material. The material of the wall can be ferromagnetic, such as iron or magnetic steel. Alternatively, also the material of the wall is non-magnetic.

The material of the wall is ferromagnetic, so it has a Te temperature, 14 Curie TC of wall material. This may be less than the temperature Te, 25 Curie of the filling element. In this case, the wall of the reactor vessel 14 during operation is colder than the filling elements 25.

The extraction tube 36 is part of a discharge of contaminants 40. For the residual material 38 typical of the plastic material 12, such as sand, is lighter than the metal bath 26, which floats and can be removed at the top. The discharge of contaminants 40 also comprises a settling tank 48 in which the residual material 38 accumulates. The residual material 38 may contain organic material not completely depolymerized in addition to the inorganic material. The organic material is floating in the inorganic material and can be recieled through a recycling line 50 in the lower part in the reactor vessel 14.

The reactor 10 also includes a gas outlet 42 that opens in a condenser 44 and removes the gas that emerges. From the condenser 44 leaks of liquid material enter a collector 46.

The described reactor can also work, for example as a starting material instead of plastic material with the oil and then serve for treatment.

A method of the invention is carried out, in which the Hireinium level is raised, for example, by the fact that the metal bath 26 is fed to the reactor vessel 14.

This can be done, because the solid metal balls are inserted into the metallic material in the reactor vessel 14 in such a way that they melt. It is also possible to increase the flow of plastic material 12, in particular, because the extruder is operated at a higher power. Therefore, the volume of the reactor vessel 14 14 increases both in the material gasified, as well as in the non-gasified plastic materials, so that the Hieiieno level increases, for example in the form of discharge tube 36. The waste material 38 is removed, which means that either they flow automatically through the sampling tube or that are transported by an appropriate device through the sampling or extraction device, in this case through the discharge tube 36.

It may be advantageous to reduce the supply of the plastic material before the raising of the metal level in order to reduce the formation of gas bubbles. This has the advantage that fewer gas bubbles originate and therefore the aerosol losses are reduced.

Preferably, the level is reduced again by increasing the level of the metal bath and the removal of the waste through the overflow, for example, by the fact that the metal is drained.

It is advantageous if a level of the metal bath is adjusted so that a layer of thickness H38 of the waste layer of at least 10 cm is established, where this layer thickness H3s can be exceeded, when the level of metal rises for the elimination of waste through the overflow.

In other words, the characteristic that the Hss thickness of the waste layer is at least 10 cm, it should be understood that at least 75% of the time, this thickness H38 of the layer is reached and exceeded. The layer thickness H38 is measured from the interface between the metal bath and the waste material on one side and the upper edge of the waste layer on the other. Preferably, the thickness of the layer is controlled. This means that the reactor 10 has an unindicated device for detecting the thickness of the film, by means of which the thickness H38 is conceivable. If a maximum thickness H38max is exceeded, then the process described above is carried out for the elimination of the residues.

List of reference numbers 10 reactor 12 plastic material 14 reactor vessel 16 extruder 18 induction heater 20 coil 22 interior space 24 braking device 25 stuffing elements 26 metal bath 28 bubble or gas bag 30 entry opening 32 catalyst 34 outside wall 36 extraction / overflow pipe 38 residual material 40 discharge of pollutants 42 gas outlet 44 condenser 46 accumulator 48 sedimentation tank 50 Recycling line 52 Metal bath intermediate storage device 54 Metal bath container 56 extraction line 58 valve 60 unit of pressure increase 62 gas container 63 gas valve 64 transport device 66 discharge valve 68 gas valve c magnetic susceptibility f frequency P gas pressure L longitudinal axis R radius of the sphere Hieiieno filling height Melting temperature of the metal bath It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known by the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS Having described the invention as above, the content of the following claims is claimed as property:

1. Reactor for gasifying and / or purifying a starting material, in particular for the depolymerization of the plastic material, with (a) a reactor vessel for receiving the feed material, in particular the plastic material, (b) a metal bath, which - is arranged in the reactor vessel, and - comprises a liquid metal material having a melting temperature (Tfusion) of the metal bath, (c) a plurality of filler elements that are arranged in the metal bath, (d) a heater for heating the plastic material in the reactor vessel, and (e) a waste disposal device for the at least partial disposal of the waste material that is generated with the gasification and / or purification of the starting material, characterized because (f) the waste disposal device comprises an overflow or overflow arranged in the reactor vessel, so that floating debris is removable from the metal bath by the overflow.

2. Reactor according to claim 1, characterized in that the overflow is formed by an extraction tube that is in thermal contact with the metal bath.

3. Reactor according to claim 2, characterized in that a device for transporting waste material is arranged in the extraction tube, which is designed for the transport of waste material through mechanical action.

4. Reactor according to any one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the extraction tube has an inner diameter (d36) of the tube, of at least one-tenth of the internal diameter di4 of the reactor vessel, of the reactor vessel.

5. Reactor according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the waste disposal device comprises a storage container and a gas-tight seal, in such a way that the storage container is removable gas-tight.

6. A method for operating a reactor for gasifying and / or purifying a starting material, in particular for the depolymerization of plastic material, characterized in that understands (a) a reactor vessel for receiving the feed material, in particular the plastic material, (b) a metal bath, which - is arranged in the reactor vessel, and - comprises a liquid metal material having a melting temperature (Tfusion) of the metal bath, (c) a heater for heating the starting material in the reactor vessel, and (d) a waste disposal device for the at least partial removal of the waste material that is generated with the gasification and / or purification of the starting material, comprising an overflow or overflow disposed centrally to the reactor vessel, so that the Floating residual material in the metal bath can be extracted through the overflow. with the stages: (i) increase a level of the metal bath, so that the floating debris is brought to an overflow, and (ii) the elimination of residual materials through the overflow.

7. A method according to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: the feeding of plastic material to the reactor vessel, - in which the feeding of the plastic material to the reactor vessel and / or a level adjustment of the metal bath is carried out such that a residue layer of the residual materials is formed in the metal bath. - in which a thickness (Hs) of the layer, of the waste layer is at least 10 centimeters