CA1139705A - Method for treating a spent emulsion of oil in water used in an industrial process, and the apparatus for carrying out the method - Google Patents
Method for treating a spent emulsion of oil in water used in an industrial process, and the apparatus for carrying out the methodInfo
- Publication number
- CA1139705A CA1139705A CA000326787A CA326787A CA1139705A CA 1139705 A CA1139705 A CA 1139705A CA 000326787 A CA000326787 A CA 000326787A CA 326787 A CA326787 A CA 326787A CA 1139705 A CA1139705 A CA 1139705A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- emulsion
- heat exchanger
- oil
- evaporation
- water
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
- C10G—CRACKING HYDROCARBON OILS; PRODUCTION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBON MIXTURES, e.g. BY DESTRUCTIVE HYDROGENATION, OLIGOMERISATION, POLYMERISATION; RECOVERY OF HYDROCARBON OILS FROM OIL-SHALE, OIL-SAND, OR GASES; REFINING MIXTURES MAINLY CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS; REFORMING OF NAPHTHA; MINERAL WAXES
- C10G33/00—Dewatering or demulsification of hydrocarbon oils
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
- C10G—CRACKING HYDROCARBON OILS; PRODUCTION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBON MIXTURES, e.g. BY DESTRUCTIVE HYDROGENATION, OLIGOMERISATION, POLYMERISATION; RECOVERY OF HYDROCARBON OILS FROM OIL-SHALE, OIL-SAND, OR GASES; REFINING MIXTURES MAINLY CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS; REFORMING OF NAPHTHA; MINERAL WAXES
- C10G7/00—Distillation of hydrocarbon oils
- C10G7/04—Dewatering
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
- C10L—FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G, C10K; LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS; ADDING MATERIALS TO FUELS OR FIRES TO REDUCE SMOKE OR UNDESIRABLE DEPOSITS OR TO FACILITATE SOOT REMOVAL; FIRELIGHTERS
- C10L1/00—Liquid carbonaceous fuels
- C10L1/32—Liquid carbonaceous fuels consisting of coal-oil suspensions or aqueous emulsions or oil emulsions
- C10L1/328—Oil emulsions containing water or any other hydrophilic phase
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10S159/00—Concentrating evaporators
- Y10S159/39—Power plant
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10S159/00—Concentrating evaporators
- Y10S159/902—Concentrating evaporators using natural heat
- Y10S159/903—Solar
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10S203/00—Distillation: processes, separatory
- Y10S203/01—Solar still
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE INVENTION
A method for treating a spent emulsion of oil in water used in an industrial process, in particular an emulsion of cutting oil in water is described.
The method comprises at least one stage in which heat energy is supplied continuosly to said emulsion for evaporating a prede-termined quantity of the water contained therein and to raise the concentration of said oil in the emulsion to a value such as to enable this latter to be burnt in an industrial burner, said heat energy being at least partly provided by utilising solar energy, and further comprises at least one stage of bur ning the emulsion of said oil concentration in a burner in an industrial or heating plant.
A method for treating a spent emulsion of oil in water used in an industrial process, in particular an emulsion of cutting oil in water is described.
The method comprises at least one stage in which heat energy is supplied continuosly to said emulsion for evaporating a prede-termined quantity of the water contained therein and to raise the concentration of said oil in the emulsion to a value such as to enable this latter to be burnt in an industrial burner, said heat energy being at least partly provided by utilising solar energy, and further comprises at least one stage of bur ning the emulsion of said oil concentration in a burner in an industrial or heating plant.
Description
~ ~ ~ 3~
METHOD FOR TREATING A SPENT EMULSION OF OIL IN WATER USED IN
AN INDUSTRIAL PROCESS, AND THE APPARATUS FOR ~ARRYING OUT T~E
METHOD.
This invention relates to a method for treating a spent emulsion of oil in water used in an industrial process, in particular an emulsion of cutting or rolling oil in water.
With the method according to the invention it is possible to recover oil from the.emulsion for energy production purposes, and discharge of the~;emulsion or its components into the external environment is prevented.
In numerous industrial processes, emulsions of various oils in water are used both for cooling and lubricating the semi-finished products being machined, the tools or machine parts. In particular, emulsions of cutting oil in water are widely used in nearly all mechanical chip-forming machining to reduce the cutting force between the tool and the piece being machined, and to cool both of these during machining.
When the quantity of foreign substances such as swarf, dust and the like becomes particularly high in said emulsions, they are no longer suitable for industrial use. The disposal of such spent emulsions creates serious ecological and energy problems, because they are a source of serious pollution whether they are discharged into the external environment or are treated in various ways to separate some of their compon-ents.
Some -treatmentmethods for spent emulsions are known for separating the oil contained in them from the other components, , ~
~L~3~
or for allowing them to be used for energy production purposes.
Such treatment is substantially of two types. The first type of treatment, using suitable chemical agents and applying heat, tend firstly to separate water from the components of greater density and then the oils from these latter. Treatment of this type comprises firstly the addition of an acid or poly-mer to the emulsion, then suitable quantities of aluminium to flocculate the higher density components and form sludge. The oil is then separated from the sludge by heating and by the addition of suitable additives.
The second type of treatment involves using the emulsion directly in suitable liquid fuel burners by adding a sufficient quantity of fuel to it to give a mixture which can burn in the burner.
The first type of treatment has the drawback of requiring the use of additives of rather high cost to flocculate the higher density components of the emulsion (acids and aluminium), and the use of high quantities of energy for heating the emul-sion and the sludge. In addition, such treatment comprises numerous rather complicated processing stages.
The second type of treatment requires the use of very high quantities of liquid fuel to be added to the emulsions to make them burnable. Moreover, the heat energy produced in this manner is difficult to use for industrial purposes, and fumes are generated during combustion which are a source of environ-mental pollution.
The ohject of the present invention is to provide a method for treating a spent emulsion of the described type, by means of which it is possible to obviate the drawbacks connected with discharging the emulsion into the external environment and with ''~f.~
:~39~ $
its treatment Eor separating certain of its components.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for treating a spent emulsion of the ini tially described type by means of which at least part of the components forming the emulsion can be further used for energy production purposes.
A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus suitable for carrying out the method according to the invention.
The present invention provides a method for trea-ting an emulsion of oil in water spent by use in an indus-trial process, comprising at least a first step, in wh:ich heat energy is supplied continuously to the emulsion at a low thermal level at least partly by utilizing solar energy, in order to increase the temperature of the emulsion, over the room temperature, a second step in which the heated emul-sion is fed, in a form of a spray, through an air stream so that a predetermined ~uantity of the water contained into the heated emulsion evaporates in order to concentrate the emulsion to a value such as to enable it to be burnt in an industrial burner, and a third step of burning the concen-trated emulsion in a burner in an industrial or heating plant.
The present invention also provides an apparatus for treating an emulsion of oil in water spent by use in an industrial process, comprising heating means for the emulsion for supplying it with heat energy which is generated at least partly from solar energy, and evaporation means for evapora-ting at least such a part of the water contained in the emul-sion which is heated by said heating means as to increase the concentration of oil in the emulsion to a value such as to make it burnable in an industrial burner.
The method of the present invention will be more apparent ~L~3~
- 4 ~
from the detailed description given hereinafter of its main stages and of one embodiment of the apparatus for carrying out the method, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the basic elements making up the apparatus for carrying out the method of the invention;
Figures 2 and 3 are diagrams showing experimental results obtained using the apparatus of the previous figure.
Before describing the various stages in the method of the present invention, the apparatus of Figure 1 with which the method of the invention can be carried out will firstly be examined.
This apparatus is suitable for treating a spent emulsion of oil in water or of any mixture of such oil in water, of the type used in industrial processes. In particular, it is suitable for treating an emulsion of cutting or rolling oil in water as used in mechanical chip-forming machining on machine tools, or in ` rolling or drawing processes.
The apparatus of Figure 1 substantially comprises emulsion heating means for supplying the emulsion with a predetermined quantity of heat generated by at least partly utilising solar energy. The said heating means, indicated by 1, substantially comprise at least one solar energy collector 2 and a heat ex-changer 3 for receiving a certain quantity of heat from the collector 1. A circuit can be conveniently provided for this - purpose, indicated by 4 in Figure 1, to connect the collector 2 to the heat exchanger 3 and comprising pipe portions 4', 4" and 4"' through which a suitable fluid such as water flows, and which hydraulically connect the collector outlet to the heat exchanger inlet and the heat exchanger outlet to the collector inlet, so forming a closed circuit through which water can con-tinuously circulate to transfer to the heat exchanger the heat energy produced in the collector by solar radiation.
The apparatus of the invention also comprises evaporation means indicated overall by 5, for evaporating at least part of ~337~
the water contained in the emulsion. Said means are connected to the heat exchanger 3 by way of a closed circuit indicated by 6, so as to provide continuous circulation between the heat exchanger and evaporation means so as to feed the evaporation means with the emulsion after it has been heated in the heat exchanger 3~ For this purpose, the circuit 6 can conveniently comprise pipe portions 6' and 6", the first of which connects the outlet of the evaporation means 5 to the heat exchanger 3 and the second connects the outlet of the heat exchanger 3 to the inlet of the evaporation means 5.
Said evaporation means can conveniently consist of a normal evaporation tower of any known type, for example of the type in which an emulsion is circulated through an air environment and is possibly made to fall, in the form of a spray, through an air stream.
Pumps, 7 and 8, can be provided in the circuits 4 and 6 respectively for circulating the heating fluid between the collector 2 and heat exchanger 3, and the emulsion between this latter and the evaporation means 5.
The method of the invention as carried out using the apparatus described takes place in the following manner.
The evaporation tower 5 is filled with a predetermined quantity of spent emulsion which is no longer suitable for utilisation in the industrial process in which it has been used.
This then circulates continuously around the circuit 6 and tower 5 under the action of the pump 8. At the same time, solar energy striking the collector 2 heats the heating fluid in the circuit 4, which is circulated through this circuit by the pump 7, so as to provide the exchanger 3 with a certain quantity of heat. This is transferred to the emulsion circulating in the circuit 6, by the heat exchange which takes place inside the heat exchanger 3.
In this manner, the heated emulsion reaches the evaporation tower 5 at a certain temperature. The water contained in the emulsion evaporates in this, the heat of evaporation being de-rived from the quantity of heat present in the emulsion. The ~ ~3g~ 5 emulsion leaving the evaporation tower has a smaller water con-centration and a lower temperature than that entering the tower.
The emulsion is then again fed to the heat exchanger 3 to be again heated.
It is apparent that as the emulsion circula-tes through -the circuit 6 and the evaporation tower 5, its oil concentration increases. This oil enrichment takes place substantially with-out supplying it with any energy other than the solar energy received through the collector 2.
By continuing with the treatment, the concentration of the oil in the emulsion can be raised to a very high level, even of the order of 90%. The concentration considered most suitable for the objects of the method is at least that which makes it able to be burni in a normal industrial burner. It has been found that a concentration of 70 to 80% of oil in the emulsion makes it suitable Eor this application. Consequently, when such a concentration is reached, and which as will be seen hereinafter can be reached in a suitably dimensioned plant by operating the equipment for about 100 hours (in terms of the duration of effective exposure of the collectors to the solar energy), the treated emulsion can be discharged from the equipment.
The method of the invention comprises the further stage of burning the treated emulsion in a normal burner of an in-dustrial or heating plant. In this manner the emulsion canbe used as a normal liquid fuel for the production of heat energy as a replacement for a fuel oil, so as to substantially utilise its entire heat of combustion for energy production purposes. Alternatively it can be added to a fuel oil to be hurnt together therewith.
It is therefore apparent that two objects are fundamen-tally attained by the treatment to which the emulsion is sub-jected based on the method of the present invention, namely the disposal of the emulsion without polluting the external environment, and completely recovering the heat of combustion of the most valuable components of the emulsion by making it burnable in a normal burner. These objects are attained without energy consumption other than the use of solar energy ` ~.3L~35~7~
alone.
Figures 2 and 3 show experimental results obtained from the operation of an apparatus of the type shown in Figure 1.
Figure 2 shows three graphs illus-trating the variation of oil content in the emulsion circulating through the evaporation tower 5 and circuit 6 ~cu~ve A), the variation in the quantity of water evaporated from the emulsion (curve B) and the variation in the total volume of the emulsion (curve C), all as a function of the number of hours of operation.
The data for these diagrams are obtained from tests carried out on an initial volume of emulsion of 900 litres having an oil concentration of 15.7%. As can be seen from curve A, after an operating time of about 130 hours, a final oil concentration in the emulsion of 90% is obtained, and its final volume is reduced to ahout 150 litres. This curve also shows that the rate of oil enrichment in the emulsion tends to increase as the oper-ating time of the plant increases, the rate of enrichment being fairly low at the beginning and tending to increase substantially towards the end of the treatment, as shown by the greater slope of the final portion of curve A.
As shown by curve B, the rate of evaporation of the water tends to decrease substantially uniformly as the time of treat-ment increases, as can be seen by the reduction in the slope of curve B, this reduction being substantially uniform along the entire curve.
The diagram of Figure 3 shows the variation in the rate of evaporation of the water (in litres/hour) as a function of the oil concentration. As this curve shows, whereas there is a high evaporation rate at low oil concentrations (up to a con-centration of about 30~), the evaporation rate tends to decreaseat higher concen-trations. When an oil concentration of about 70~ is reached, a sharper reduction in the evaporation rate begins, and this tends to increase over the entire final portion of the curve of Figure 2 beyond the inflection g on the curve. From an examination of this behaviour, it can therefore be concluded that is is convenient to proceed with the oil con-..,. ~.`~
~9~s centration in the emulsion only up to a value of about 70%, be-cause beyond this value any further increase in -the oil concen-tra-tion of the emulsion can be obtained only by a relatively long treatment time due to the sharp and considerable reduction in the rate of evaporation of ~ater from the emulsion. However, an oil concentration of 70% means that the emulsion is com-pletely suitable for the next stage of the process (combus-tion in a burner), and the method according to the invention can therefore be stopped on attaining said oil concentration. It has been found tha-t an emulsion with an oil concentration of 70% has a heat of combustion of about 6000 kcal/kg, and can therefore constitute a true liquid fuel.
It is apparent that modifications can be made to the various stages of the process as described and to the various components of the apparatus ~or carrying out the process, without leaving the scope of the invention.
,'C`
.L . .
METHOD FOR TREATING A SPENT EMULSION OF OIL IN WATER USED IN
AN INDUSTRIAL PROCESS, AND THE APPARATUS FOR ~ARRYING OUT T~E
METHOD.
This invention relates to a method for treating a spent emulsion of oil in water used in an industrial process, in particular an emulsion of cutting or rolling oil in water.
With the method according to the invention it is possible to recover oil from the.emulsion for energy production purposes, and discharge of the~;emulsion or its components into the external environment is prevented.
In numerous industrial processes, emulsions of various oils in water are used both for cooling and lubricating the semi-finished products being machined, the tools or machine parts. In particular, emulsions of cutting oil in water are widely used in nearly all mechanical chip-forming machining to reduce the cutting force between the tool and the piece being machined, and to cool both of these during machining.
When the quantity of foreign substances such as swarf, dust and the like becomes particularly high in said emulsions, they are no longer suitable for industrial use. The disposal of such spent emulsions creates serious ecological and energy problems, because they are a source of serious pollution whether they are discharged into the external environment or are treated in various ways to separate some of their compon-ents.
Some -treatmentmethods for spent emulsions are known for separating the oil contained in them from the other components, , ~
~L~3~
or for allowing them to be used for energy production purposes.
Such treatment is substantially of two types. The first type of treatment, using suitable chemical agents and applying heat, tend firstly to separate water from the components of greater density and then the oils from these latter. Treatment of this type comprises firstly the addition of an acid or poly-mer to the emulsion, then suitable quantities of aluminium to flocculate the higher density components and form sludge. The oil is then separated from the sludge by heating and by the addition of suitable additives.
The second type of treatment involves using the emulsion directly in suitable liquid fuel burners by adding a sufficient quantity of fuel to it to give a mixture which can burn in the burner.
The first type of treatment has the drawback of requiring the use of additives of rather high cost to flocculate the higher density components of the emulsion (acids and aluminium), and the use of high quantities of energy for heating the emul-sion and the sludge. In addition, such treatment comprises numerous rather complicated processing stages.
The second type of treatment requires the use of very high quantities of liquid fuel to be added to the emulsions to make them burnable. Moreover, the heat energy produced in this manner is difficult to use for industrial purposes, and fumes are generated during combustion which are a source of environ-mental pollution.
The ohject of the present invention is to provide a method for treating a spent emulsion of the described type, by means of which it is possible to obviate the drawbacks connected with discharging the emulsion into the external environment and with ''~f.~
:~39~ $
its treatment Eor separating certain of its components.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for treating a spent emulsion of the ini tially described type by means of which at least part of the components forming the emulsion can be further used for energy production purposes.
A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus suitable for carrying out the method according to the invention.
The present invention provides a method for trea-ting an emulsion of oil in water spent by use in an indus-trial process, comprising at least a first step, in wh:ich heat energy is supplied continuously to the emulsion at a low thermal level at least partly by utilizing solar energy, in order to increase the temperature of the emulsion, over the room temperature, a second step in which the heated emul-sion is fed, in a form of a spray, through an air stream so that a predetermined ~uantity of the water contained into the heated emulsion evaporates in order to concentrate the emulsion to a value such as to enable it to be burnt in an industrial burner, and a third step of burning the concen-trated emulsion in a burner in an industrial or heating plant.
The present invention also provides an apparatus for treating an emulsion of oil in water spent by use in an industrial process, comprising heating means for the emulsion for supplying it with heat energy which is generated at least partly from solar energy, and evaporation means for evapora-ting at least such a part of the water contained in the emul-sion which is heated by said heating means as to increase the concentration of oil in the emulsion to a value such as to make it burnable in an industrial burner.
The method of the present invention will be more apparent ~L~3~
- 4 ~
from the detailed description given hereinafter of its main stages and of one embodiment of the apparatus for carrying out the method, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the basic elements making up the apparatus for carrying out the method of the invention;
Figures 2 and 3 are diagrams showing experimental results obtained using the apparatus of the previous figure.
Before describing the various stages in the method of the present invention, the apparatus of Figure 1 with which the method of the invention can be carried out will firstly be examined.
This apparatus is suitable for treating a spent emulsion of oil in water or of any mixture of such oil in water, of the type used in industrial processes. In particular, it is suitable for treating an emulsion of cutting or rolling oil in water as used in mechanical chip-forming machining on machine tools, or in ` rolling or drawing processes.
The apparatus of Figure 1 substantially comprises emulsion heating means for supplying the emulsion with a predetermined quantity of heat generated by at least partly utilising solar energy. The said heating means, indicated by 1, substantially comprise at least one solar energy collector 2 and a heat ex-changer 3 for receiving a certain quantity of heat from the collector 1. A circuit can be conveniently provided for this - purpose, indicated by 4 in Figure 1, to connect the collector 2 to the heat exchanger 3 and comprising pipe portions 4', 4" and 4"' through which a suitable fluid such as water flows, and which hydraulically connect the collector outlet to the heat exchanger inlet and the heat exchanger outlet to the collector inlet, so forming a closed circuit through which water can con-tinuously circulate to transfer to the heat exchanger the heat energy produced in the collector by solar radiation.
The apparatus of the invention also comprises evaporation means indicated overall by 5, for evaporating at least part of ~337~
the water contained in the emulsion. Said means are connected to the heat exchanger 3 by way of a closed circuit indicated by 6, so as to provide continuous circulation between the heat exchanger and evaporation means so as to feed the evaporation means with the emulsion after it has been heated in the heat exchanger 3~ For this purpose, the circuit 6 can conveniently comprise pipe portions 6' and 6", the first of which connects the outlet of the evaporation means 5 to the heat exchanger 3 and the second connects the outlet of the heat exchanger 3 to the inlet of the evaporation means 5.
Said evaporation means can conveniently consist of a normal evaporation tower of any known type, for example of the type in which an emulsion is circulated through an air environment and is possibly made to fall, in the form of a spray, through an air stream.
Pumps, 7 and 8, can be provided in the circuits 4 and 6 respectively for circulating the heating fluid between the collector 2 and heat exchanger 3, and the emulsion between this latter and the evaporation means 5.
The method of the invention as carried out using the apparatus described takes place in the following manner.
The evaporation tower 5 is filled with a predetermined quantity of spent emulsion which is no longer suitable for utilisation in the industrial process in which it has been used.
This then circulates continuously around the circuit 6 and tower 5 under the action of the pump 8. At the same time, solar energy striking the collector 2 heats the heating fluid in the circuit 4, which is circulated through this circuit by the pump 7, so as to provide the exchanger 3 with a certain quantity of heat. This is transferred to the emulsion circulating in the circuit 6, by the heat exchange which takes place inside the heat exchanger 3.
In this manner, the heated emulsion reaches the evaporation tower 5 at a certain temperature. The water contained in the emulsion evaporates in this, the heat of evaporation being de-rived from the quantity of heat present in the emulsion. The ~ ~3g~ 5 emulsion leaving the evaporation tower has a smaller water con-centration and a lower temperature than that entering the tower.
The emulsion is then again fed to the heat exchanger 3 to be again heated.
It is apparent that as the emulsion circula-tes through -the circuit 6 and the evaporation tower 5, its oil concentration increases. This oil enrichment takes place substantially with-out supplying it with any energy other than the solar energy received through the collector 2.
By continuing with the treatment, the concentration of the oil in the emulsion can be raised to a very high level, even of the order of 90%. The concentration considered most suitable for the objects of the method is at least that which makes it able to be burni in a normal industrial burner. It has been found that a concentration of 70 to 80% of oil in the emulsion makes it suitable Eor this application. Consequently, when such a concentration is reached, and which as will be seen hereinafter can be reached in a suitably dimensioned plant by operating the equipment for about 100 hours (in terms of the duration of effective exposure of the collectors to the solar energy), the treated emulsion can be discharged from the equipment.
The method of the invention comprises the further stage of burning the treated emulsion in a normal burner of an in-dustrial or heating plant. In this manner the emulsion canbe used as a normal liquid fuel for the production of heat energy as a replacement for a fuel oil, so as to substantially utilise its entire heat of combustion for energy production purposes. Alternatively it can be added to a fuel oil to be hurnt together therewith.
It is therefore apparent that two objects are fundamen-tally attained by the treatment to which the emulsion is sub-jected based on the method of the present invention, namely the disposal of the emulsion without polluting the external environment, and completely recovering the heat of combustion of the most valuable components of the emulsion by making it burnable in a normal burner. These objects are attained without energy consumption other than the use of solar energy ` ~.3L~35~7~
alone.
Figures 2 and 3 show experimental results obtained from the operation of an apparatus of the type shown in Figure 1.
Figure 2 shows three graphs illus-trating the variation of oil content in the emulsion circulating through the evaporation tower 5 and circuit 6 ~cu~ve A), the variation in the quantity of water evaporated from the emulsion (curve B) and the variation in the total volume of the emulsion (curve C), all as a function of the number of hours of operation.
The data for these diagrams are obtained from tests carried out on an initial volume of emulsion of 900 litres having an oil concentration of 15.7%. As can be seen from curve A, after an operating time of about 130 hours, a final oil concentration in the emulsion of 90% is obtained, and its final volume is reduced to ahout 150 litres. This curve also shows that the rate of oil enrichment in the emulsion tends to increase as the oper-ating time of the plant increases, the rate of enrichment being fairly low at the beginning and tending to increase substantially towards the end of the treatment, as shown by the greater slope of the final portion of curve A.
As shown by curve B, the rate of evaporation of the water tends to decrease substantially uniformly as the time of treat-ment increases, as can be seen by the reduction in the slope of curve B, this reduction being substantially uniform along the entire curve.
The diagram of Figure 3 shows the variation in the rate of evaporation of the water (in litres/hour) as a function of the oil concentration. As this curve shows, whereas there is a high evaporation rate at low oil concentrations (up to a con-centration of about 30~), the evaporation rate tends to decreaseat higher concen-trations. When an oil concentration of about 70~ is reached, a sharper reduction in the evaporation rate begins, and this tends to increase over the entire final portion of the curve of Figure 2 beyond the inflection g on the curve. From an examination of this behaviour, it can therefore be concluded that is is convenient to proceed with the oil con-..,. ~.`~
~9~s centration in the emulsion only up to a value of about 70%, be-cause beyond this value any further increase in -the oil concen-tra-tion of the emulsion can be obtained only by a relatively long treatment time due to the sharp and considerable reduction in the rate of evaporation of ~ater from the emulsion. However, an oil concentration of 70% means that the emulsion is com-pletely suitable for the next stage of the process (combus-tion in a burner), and the method according to the invention can therefore be stopped on attaining said oil concentration. It has been found tha-t an emulsion with an oil concentration of 70% has a heat of combustion of about 6000 kcal/kg, and can therefore constitute a true liquid fuel.
It is apparent that modifications can be made to the various stages of the process as described and to the various components of the apparatus ~or carrying out the process, without leaving the scope of the invention.
,'C`
.L . .
Claims (11)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A method for treating an emulsion of oil in water spent by use in an industrial process, comprising at least a first step, in which heat energy is supplied conti-nuously to the emulsion at a low thermal level at least partly by utilizing solar energy in order to increase the temperature of the emulsion, over the room temperature, a second step in which the heated emulsion is fed, in a form of a spray, through an air stream so that a predetermined quantity of the water contained into the heated emulsion evaporates in order to concentrate the emulsion to a value such as to enable it to be burnt in an industrial burner, and a third step of burning the concentrated emulsion in a burner in an industrial or heating plant.
2. A method as claimed in Claim 1, wherein heat energy is supplied to the emulsion by a heat exchanger arranged to receive this heat energy from one or more solar energy collectors and to transfer it to the emulsion.
3. A method as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the evaporation of said quantity of water is carried out in an evaporation tower arranged to evaporate water from the heated emulsion, the evaporation tower being connected to the heat exchanger by means of a first hydraulic circuit in such a manner as to provide continuous circulation of emulsion between the evaporation tower and the heat exchanger.
4. A method as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the heat energy is transferred from the solar collector to the heat exchanger by using a liquid circulating through a second hydraulic circuit which connects the collector to the heat exchanger.
5. A method as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the second step is carried out at least until the oil concen-tration in the emulsion is 70%.
6. An apparatus for treating an emulsion of oil in water spent by use in an industrial process, comprising heating means for the emulsion for supplying it with heat energy which is generated at least partly from solar energy, and evaporation means for evaporating at least such a part of the water contained in the emulsion which is heated by said heating means as to increase the concentration of oil in the emulsion to a value such as to make it burnable in an industrial burner.
7. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the heating means comprises at least one solar energy collector.
8. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the heating means comprises a heat exchanger arranged to receive heat energy from the collector and to transfer it to the evaporation means.
9. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the evaporation means is connected to the heat exchanger by a first hydraulic circuit arranged to provide continuous circulation of the emulsion between said evaporation means and the heat exchanger so as to withdraw heat energy from said heat exchanger.
10. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the solar energy collector is connected to the heat exchan-ger by a second hydraulic circuit arranged to provide conti-nuous water circulation between the collector and the heat exchanger in order to supply heat energy to the heat exchanger.
11. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the evaporation means couprises an evaporation tower in which the emulsion is made to fall, in the form of a spray, through an air stream.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| IT67196/79A IT1119551B (en) | 1979-01-30 | 1979-01-30 | PROCEDURE FOR THE TREATMENT OF AN EXHAUSTED EMULSION OF OILS IN WATER USED IN AN INDUSTRIAL PROCESSING AND EQUIPMENT SUITABLE TO CARRY OUT SUCH PROCEDURE |
| IT67196-A/79 | 1979-01-30 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1139705A true CA1139705A (en) | 1983-01-18 |
Family
ID=11300391
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000326787A Expired CA1139705A (en) | 1979-01-30 | 1979-05-02 | Method for treating a spent emulsion of oil in water used in an industrial process, and the apparatus for carrying out the method |
Country Status (23)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US4273611A (en) |
| JP (1) | JPS55102687A (en) |
| AR (1) | AR220203A1 (en) |
| AT (1) | AT369029B (en) |
| AU (1) | AU530492B2 (en) |
| BE (1) | BE876665A (en) |
| BR (1) | BR7903617A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1139705A (en) |
| CH (1) | CH635806A5 (en) |
| DE (1) | DE2919256A1 (en) |
| EG (1) | EG14115A (en) |
| ES (1) | ES480958A1 (en) |
| FI (1) | FI74405C (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2447742A1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2040992B (en) |
| GR (1) | GR64832B (en) |
| IL (1) | IL57362A (en) |
| IT (1) | IT1119551B (en) |
| NL (1) | NL7903605A (en) |
| NO (1) | NO152250C (en) |
| SE (1) | SE443994B (en) |
| TR (1) | TR20319A (en) |
| YU (1) | YU40218B (en) |
Families Citing this family (14)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4666587A (en) * | 1983-09-29 | 1987-05-19 | Aaron Seligson | Waste oil purifying process |
| US4684372A (en) * | 1983-11-02 | 1987-08-04 | Petroleum Fermentations N.V. | Combustion of viscous hydrocarbons |
| US4793826A (en) * | 1984-09-24 | 1988-12-27 | Petroleum Fermentations N.V. | Bioemulsifier-stabilized hydrocarbosols |
| US4821757A (en) * | 1983-11-02 | 1989-04-18 | Petroleum Fermentations N. V. | Bioemulsifier stabilized hydrocarbosols |
| US4618348A (en) * | 1983-11-02 | 1986-10-21 | Petroleum Fermentations N.V. | Combustion of viscous hydrocarbons |
| USRE36983E (en) * | 1983-11-02 | 2000-12-12 | Petroferm Inc. | Pre-atomized fuels and process for producing same |
| USRE33999E (en) * | 1983-11-22 | 1992-07-21 | Colt Engineering Corporation | Method of removing water from crude oil containing same |
| US4789461A (en) * | 1983-11-22 | 1988-12-06 | Colt Engineering Corporation | Method for removing water from crude oil containing same |
| US4666457A (en) * | 1984-09-24 | 1987-05-19 | Petroleum Fermentations N.V. | Method for reducing emissions utilizing pre-atomized fuels |
| US4994169A (en) * | 1988-11-23 | 1991-02-19 | Foster Wheeler Usa Corporation | Oil recovery process and apparatus for oil refinery waste |
| DE8914167U1 (en) * | 1989-12-07 | 1990-02-15 | Hopf, Karl-Heinz, 8580 Bayreuth, De | |
| DE19929212C2 (en) * | 1999-06-25 | 2002-01-17 | Alexander Von Poswik | Method and device for distilling a liquid substance from a solution |
| US6372123B1 (en) | 2000-06-26 | 2002-04-16 | Colt Engineering Corporation | Method of removing water and contaminants from crude oil containing same |
| US20060037853A1 (en) * | 2004-08-20 | 2006-02-23 | Tony Roan | Solar distilling apparatus for alcohol |
Family Cites Families (12)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US1933254A (en) * | 1932-03-28 | 1933-10-31 | Edward G Goodell | Black liquor recovery process and apparatus |
| GB584269A (en) * | 1944-05-08 | 1947-01-10 | Eric Sheldon Rowlandson | Improved apparatus for breaking emulsions |
| US3352693A (en) * | 1963-10-31 | 1967-11-14 | Technion Res & Dev Foundation | Concentration of thixotropic compositions |
| LU45940A1 (en) * | 1964-01-14 | 1964-06-24 | ||
| US3394054A (en) * | 1965-07-21 | 1968-07-23 | John C. Hoham | Solar distillation with heat transfer fluid |
| DE1810630B1 (en) * | 1968-11-23 | 1970-08-06 | Chemisch Tech Buero Adolf Plin | Process and system for separating the constituents of >> oil-in-water << old emulsions |
| BE811326A (en) * | 1973-02-20 | 1974-06-17 | TREATMENT PROCESS | |
| US4104112A (en) * | 1973-10-17 | 1978-08-01 | Niagara Blower Company | Method and apparatus for concentrating aqueous solutions |
| US4038129A (en) * | 1975-07-09 | 1977-07-26 | Wreszinski Rolf W | Method and apparatus for concentrating liquids |
| JPS52108404A (en) * | 1976-03-10 | 1977-09-10 | Nissan Motor Co Ltd | Apparatus for supplying heat energy |
| FR2388038A2 (en) * | 1977-04-21 | 1978-11-17 | Skf Cie Applic Mecanique | Oil-water emulsion treatment - in hot air evaporator tower evaporating water and using oil for hot air generation |
| JPS537072A (en) * | 1976-07-09 | 1978-01-23 | Hitachi Ltd | Touching sensor |
-
1979
- 1979-01-30 IT IT67196/79A patent/IT1119551B/en active
- 1979-05-02 NO NO791469A patent/NO152250C/en unknown
- 1979-05-02 CA CA000326787A patent/CA1139705A/en not_active Expired
- 1979-05-03 CH CH416379A patent/CH635806A5/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1979-05-03 SE SE7903866A patent/SE443994B/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1979-05-04 GB GB7915703A patent/GB2040992B/en not_active Expired
- 1979-05-08 YU YU1073/79A patent/YU40218B/en unknown
- 1979-05-08 FI FI791467A patent/FI74405C/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1979-05-08 GR GR59053A patent/GR64832B/en unknown
- 1979-05-08 NL NL7903605A patent/NL7903605A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1979-05-09 AU AU46837/79A patent/AU530492B2/en not_active Ceased
- 1979-05-12 DE DE19792919256 patent/DE2919256A1/en active Granted
- 1979-05-14 JP JP5817279A patent/JPS55102687A/en active Granted
- 1979-05-14 FR FR7912232A patent/FR2447742A1/en active Granted
- 1979-05-22 IL IL57362A patent/IL57362A/en unknown
- 1979-05-25 ES ES480958A patent/ES480958A1/en not_active Expired
- 1979-05-29 AT AT0391079A patent/AT369029B/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1979-05-30 BE BE0/195489A patent/BE876665A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1979-06-07 BR BR7903617A patent/BR7903617A/en unknown
- 1979-06-21 AR AR276990A patent/AR220203A1/en active
- 1979-06-28 TR TR20319A patent/TR20319A/en unknown
- 1979-07-27 US US06/061,256 patent/US4273611A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1979-11-24 EG EG700/79A patent/EG14115A/en active
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| FI791467A (en) | 1980-07-31 |
| DE2919256A1 (en) | 1980-07-31 |
| IT1119551B (en) | 1986-03-10 |
| GB2040992B (en) | 1983-05-05 |
| ATA391079A (en) | 1982-04-15 |
| DE2919256C2 (en) | 1987-07-16 |
| NO152250C (en) | 1985-08-28 |
| BR7903617A (en) | 1980-10-07 |
| FR2447742A1 (en) | 1980-08-29 |
| NL7903605A (en) | 1980-08-01 |
| FI74405B (en) | 1987-10-30 |
| NO791469L (en) | 1980-07-31 |
| AU4683779A (en) | 1980-08-07 |
| JPS55102687A (en) | 1980-08-06 |
| BE876665A (en) | 1979-09-17 |
| AR220203A1 (en) | 1980-10-15 |
| IL57362A (en) | 1982-11-30 |
| AU530492B2 (en) | 1983-07-21 |
| CH635806A5 (en) | 1983-04-29 |
| FR2447742B1 (en) | 1984-04-13 |
| YU40218B (en) | 1985-08-31 |
| SE7903866L (en) | 1980-07-31 |
| TR20319A (en) | 1981-12-11 |
| IL57362A0 (en) | 1979-09-30 |
| GR64832B (en) | 1980-06-03 |
| NO152250B (en) | 1985-05-20 |
| JPS6226360B2 (en) | 1987-06-08 |
| GB2040992A (en) | 1980-09-03 |
| SE443994B (en) | 1986-03-17 |
| US4273611A (en) | 1981-06-16 |
| YU107379A (en) | 1984-02-29 |
| FI74405C (en) | 1988-02-08 |
| ES480958A1 (en) | 1980-08-16 |
| EG14115A (en) | 1983-12-31 |
| AT369029B (en) | 1982-11-25 |
| IT7967196A0 (en) | 1979-01-30 |
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| MKEX | Expiry |