Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01D—SEPARATION
  • B01D17/00—Separation of liquids, not provided for elsewhere, e.g. by thermal diffusion
  • B01D17/02—Separation of non-miscible liquids
  • B01D17/04—Breaking emulsions
  • B01D17/045—Breaking emulsions with coalescers

Definitions

• the invention relates to a method for separating at least one liquid organic component dispersed in a liquid containing mainly organic constituents, by separating the organic component by sedimentation, this organic component and the residual liquid having a density difference.
• liquid mean the entire liquid before separation
• organic component only the constituent dispersed in droplet form
• a coalescence aid is used before sedimentation.
• Such coalescence methods are also known from DE 31 11 554 AI and DE 27 55837 AI.
• This coalescence aid can have a different shape, for example in the form of wire nets, threads or fibers. It is important that the surface of the coalescence aid has a different wettability with regard to the two liquids. This wettability is determined by the interfacial tension of the liquid compared to the coalescence aid.
• coalescence aids are used for separating an organic liquid from another organic liquid under the usual working conditions specified, as are known for separating water from organic substance or organic substance from water, it is found that the coalescence aid is particularly useful in No use for the separation of immiscible oleochemical substances Has an influence on the coalescence of the dispersed organic component.
• the invention has for its object to provide a method of the type mentioned by which the dwell time previously required is considerably reduced.
• This method is achieved according to the invention in that the liquid flows through a fiber bed before sedimentation, that the organic component and the residual liquid have different interfacial tensions with respect to the material of the fiber bed, that the liquid has such a temperature and such a concentration of the organic component to be separated has, so that at least two liquid phases form in equilibrium.
• the speed of the mixture through the fiber bed is determined by the wettability on the fiber and by the surface tension of the two liquids. It must be determined through experiments.
• the organic components of the liquid have oleochemical substances such as e.g. Glycerides, esters and fatty acids are.
• the organic component to be separated off is glycerol.
• the process according to the invention has proven particularly useful in separating the glycerol from fatty acid alkyl ester-glycerol mixtures, in particular from a fatty acid methyl ester-glycerol mixture.
• the dispersed droplets of the organic component adhere to the individual fibers.
• the further droplets dispersed therein grow by coalescence on the fibers.
• the larger drops offer greater resistance to the flowing liquid and therefore migrate along the fibers to the last layer of fibers. If the drops reach a certain minimum size, they will be displaced by this last fiber layer by subsequent drops and carried away by the main phase flow. Because of their larger diameter, these large drops sediment in the downstream separator considerably faster than without using the fiber filter.
• the two liquids, the organic component and the residual liquid can be drawn off continuously behind the separator.
• the speed of the flow through the fiber bed is between 0.1 and 3.0 mm / s, preferably between 0.2 and 1.0 mm / s.
• Such flow velocities diche are unusual for the separation of water and oil, as the DE-OS 23 03 990 (Table 1 on page 6 and page 15, 1st paragraph) shows.
• the flow velocities are around 10 mm / s.
• speeds around 0.5 nm / s mean that the coalescing aid has practically no influence on the liquid.
• the present invention works precisely in this speed range.
• the temperature of the liquid within its fluidity range is selected so that the solubility of the component to be separated is minimal. In general, these are the lowest possible temperatures. It must be ensured that the liquid is still flowable over the entire area of the fiber filter.
• a pressed fiber bed containing metal or glass fibers has proven itself. Untreated glass fibers in the fiber bed are also advantageous.
• the diameter of the fibers of the fiber bed be between 1 and 50 micrometers, preferably between 1 and 5 micrometers. Particularly good coalescence of the dispersed liquid organic component was achieved in this area.
• the method is carried out particularly economically if it is only carried out after a static separation in a conventional separating unit (decanter) for the rough separation of the component.
• a quick and cheap pre-separation can e.g. Reduce the glycerol content in fatty acid methyl ester from about 10-15 percent to about 1 percent without the need for much effort.
• the remaining portion of about 1 percent to close to the solubility limit (about 0.1 percent) can then be separated using the fiber filter and the sedimentation separator.
• the sedimentation following the coalescence can be achieved in this invention in a conventional separator unit and also in all other separators.
• a conventional separator unit for example, standing or lying separators can be used.
• this working temperature is limited by the solidification temperature of the liquid components and by the temperature dependence of the solubility behavior.
• the temperature is chosen so that the solubility of the residual component in the liquid is particularly low.
• Figure 1 shows the schematic structure of a separator with upstream fiber filter.
• the heavier glycerin is finely dispersed in the residual liquid methyl ester in the form of small droplets.
• the liquid contains 1.5 percent glycerol, the liquid organic component to be separated.
• the glycerine would only collect in a lower, heavy phase after days in the static separator.
• the liquid first flows through a fiber bed (1) which consists of a glass fiber layer arranged in a cartridge. These fibers have a diameter of 1 micrometer, in another example 5 micrometers.
• the fiber bed has a cross-sectional area of 0.5 m 2 .
• the liquid flows through the cartridge with the fiber bed at a working temperature of 20 to 40 ° C at a speed of 0.3 rpm / s ( 1).
• the glycerine drops emerging from the fiber bed (1) sediment downward in region (5).
• the phase of the fatty acid methyl ester (4), the residual liquid has a flow rate of 1-3 mm / s behind the fiber bed (1) in the sedimentation area.
• the glycerol could be separated off from the fatty acid methyl ester to a proportion of 0.1 percent.

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Thermal Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Treatment Of Liquids With Adsorbents In General (AREA)
• Paper (AREA)
• Fats And Perfumes (AREA)
• Extraction Or Liquid Replacement (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=6378231

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Families Citing this family (8)

Citations (4)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 1989
  • 1989-04-08 DE DE3911538A patent/DE3911538A1/de active Granted
• 1990
  • 1990-03-21 MY MYPI90000445A patent/MY107366A/en unknown
  • 1990-03-31 BR BR909007273A patent/BR9007273A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1990-03-31 JP JP2505321A patent/JPH04504376A/ja active Pending
  • 1990-03-31 WO PCT/EP1990/000514 patent/WO1990011810A1/de not_active Ceased
  • 1990-03-31 EP EP90905460A patent/EP0466744B2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1990-03-31 US US07/761,959 patent/US5225084A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1990-03-31 DE DE9090905460T patent/DE59001975D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime

Patent Citations (4)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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