Acyclic directed graphs based on residue curves for feasability analysis

Residue curve maps (RCMs) provide a rapid and graphical way to visualize the feasibility of separation, taking into account the azeotropic constraints and boundaries. Unfortunately, due to its graphical nature, they are mainly used for azeotropic ternary systems. RCM represents the composition column profiles for distillation units operated at infinite reflux flow rate. When checking the feasibility, the present paper proposes to use acyclic directed graphs since the column profile of compositions are not so relevant compared to the singular points joined by them

Energy consumption in sharp and non-sharp splits of ideal ternary mixtures

Most of the distillation processes deal with multicomponent mixtures, existing a great quantity of distillation sequences for this process. The sharp splits available for an ideal ternary mixture are the direct and the inverse distillation sequence scheme in which the compounds are separated in two different columns. There are nonsharp splits in which all the compounds are separated in a single distillation column that can incorporate a side column. Unfortunately, to choose non-sharp splits schemes, there is no heuristic that can provide information about the recommended cases, e.g. a single distillation column in which the intermediate boiling compound is collected by a side stream at the required purity or by other possibilities, such as the use of a side stripper or a side rectifier. The literature about this subject is very scarce, and many times when the non-sharp splits are used, no comparison with the sharp split alternatives is provided. Therefore, the cases for which the literature suggests the use of side columns are further studied, e.g. BTX (Benzene, Toluene, Xylene) mixtures separation. For many case studies, the results obtained show that the energy savings achieved, due to the use of side columns, are not significantly higher than the best sharp split process schemes. However, these results do not discard that for some other situations; the side column could be the most advantageous case. Usually, it is considered that when the desired purity of the main product in a stream is reached, the impurities proportion do not affect significantly the energy consumption, and for most of the systems, this is true. However, for a mixture with a molar composition of 10 % isopentane, 10 % pentane and 80 % hexane (mol), when split in the respective compounds at a purity of 95 % (mol), very different energy requirements are depicted depending on the proportion of isopentane and hexane, present in the pentane stream obtained in a direct sequence process . The rigorous simulation results illustrate that almost 60% of the energy required to separate the abovementioned mixture is saved when the pentane stream carries a mixture of isopentane and hexane. In addition, the environmental impact has been analyzed for each case studied, being reduced in the same way as the energy consumption doe

A Heuristic for extractive agent flow rate in extractive distillation

Distillation is the most widely used separation process for liquids separation in the industry. Even when the volatilities of the mixture are not favorable, then enhanced distillation is used. Extractive distillation is the enhanced distillation most widely used that consists in introducing a large flow rate of a third compound called extractive agent with a high boiling point that it is collected at the column bottoms and recovered in another column and reused again. Some heuristics are available for distillation column design, e.g. the optimum reflux is around 1.2 to 1.35 times the minimum reflux (or 1.1-1.2 times for refrigerated systems). Unfortunately, there is not a similar heuristic to determine the optimum extractive agent flow rate. Based on a literature review of rigorous simulations of extractive distillation processes, a heuristic is proposed that indicates that the optimum extractive distillation flow rate is which provides a Distillation Sequence Efficiency at 78 % of its maximum value. The maximum value is calculated assuming infinite flow rate of extractive agent. The Distillation Sequence Efficiency is a shortcut method available for distillation columns sequencing

Surrogate model for carbon dioxide equilibrium absorption using aqueous monoethanolamine

A novel surrogate model useful for designing CO2 absorption columns is provided to describe the vapour-liquid equilibrium of CO2 in a flue gas or biogas and aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA). The surrogate model is adjusted with experimental data and compared with dedicated software for electrolyte mixtures, i.e. OLI®. The assessment of CO2 partial pressure is conducted at different MEA concentrations, temperatures and loading of CO2/ MEA in the liquid phase. The OLI® model is in good agreement with the experimental data when MEA concentration is between 15 to 30 % wt, as well as for high MEA concentrations (between 45 and 60 % wt) at 60 °C. However, for temperatures above 80 °C, the model is in agreement with experimental data only when the load of CO2 in the liquid phase exceeds the range from 0.25 to 0.30 (usual industrial operating range is from 0.2 to 0.4). A point not addressed in experimental data in literature is the presence of MEA in the vapour phase, which overcomes the recommended values from health safety point of view at 100 °C. The presence of MEA in biogas could produce NOx. The influence of inert gas (CH4) on the equilibrium is considered to check the model suitability for biogas enrichment. The novel surrogate model provides a good regression of all the experimental data in the operating region and it is validated using Pareto diagrams

Immission assessment inside an industrial ventilated room using CFD

Nowadays the ventilation design of enclosed spaces is still based on the number of air renewals per hour. This coarse approach was developed in the past but nowadays is a fast and simple computational exercise to determine where and when the Threshold Limit Value (TLV) is surpassed. A rather superficial Computer Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis is able to provide insights that are useful to propose measures to keep the pollutants concentrations at safe levels. As illustrative example, the contaminants' level inside a factory is simulated, both in steady and unsteady state, for risk and health assessment to determine the contaminant levels reached as consequence of the normal operation or in case of a sudden release. The case study is based on an example related to the ventilation of a printing factory for which there are field measurements available in literature. Two pollutants are emitted separately; one continuously during operation and the other only sporadically during cleaning. A good agreement is obtained between the simulations and previous field measurements. This case is an example that a design fulfilling the legislation according to the air renewals tabulated can surpass the threshold limit value in practice. The main conclusion is that the legislation should be based on CFD results instead of general tabulated values, as in some cases the ventilation could be too oversized and in others may result insufficient

TAME -a Quantum Mechanics Study of the Reaction Mechanism for Methoxylation of Isoamylenes

The present paper describes the quantum mechanics study regarding a tertiary-alkyl methyl ether synthesis mechanism. As octane number boosters, ethers such as TAME (2-methoxy-2-methylbutane) represent a solution for increasing the amount of oxygen in gasolines and for decreasing their isoamylenes content, for more environmentally-friendly fuels. The quantum mechanics modeling targeted the elucidation of the isoamylenes methoxylation mechanism, defining the transition states involved in the reaction of 2-methyl-2-butene (2M2B) with methanol, using benzenesulfonic acid to simulate cation-exchange resins catalytic involvement

Minimum number of transfer units and reboiler duty for multicomponent distillation columns

Some guidelines to evaluate distillation columns, considering only basic thermodynamic data and principles, are provided in this paper. The method allows a first insight to the problem by simple calculations, without requiring column variables to ensure rational use of energy and low environmental impact. The separation system is approached by two complementary ways: minimum and infinite reflux flow rate. The minimum reflux provides the minimum energy requirements, and the infinite reflux provides the feasibility conditions. The difficulty of separation can be expressed in terms of number of transfer units (NTU). The applicability of the method is not mathematically limited by the number of components in the mixture. Several mixtures are rigorously simulated as illustrative examples, to verify the applicability of the approach. The separation of the mixtures, performed by distillation columns, is feasible if a minimum NTU can be calculated between the distillate and bottom compositions. Once verified the feasibility of the separation, the maximum thermal efficiency depends only on boiling point of bottom and distillate streams. The minimum energy requirements corresponding to the reboiler can be calculated from the maximum thermal efficiency, and the variation of entropy and enthalpy of mixing the distillate and bottom streams

Carotenoids Recovery Enhancement by Supercritical CO2 Extraction from Tomato Using Seed Oils as Modifiers

The food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries have strong demands for lycopene, the carotenoid with the highest antioxidant activity. Usually, this carotenoid is extracted from tomatoes using various extraction methods. This work aims to improve the quantity and quality of extracts from tomato slices by enhancing the recovery of the carotenoids from the solid matrix to the solvent using 20 w/w% seeds as modifiers and supercritical CO2 extraction with optimal parameters as the method. Tomato (TSM), camelina (CSM) and hemp (HSM) seeds were used as modifiers due to their quality (polyunsaturated fatty acids content of 53–72%). A solubility of ~10 mg carotenoids/100 g of oil was obtained for CSM and HSM, while, for TSM, the solubility was 28% higher (due to different compositions of long carbon chains). An increase in the extraction yield from 66.00 to 108.65 g extract/kg dried sample was obtained in the following order: TSM < HSM < CSM. Two products, an oil rich in carotenoids (203.59 mg/100 g extract) and ω3-linolenic acid and a solid oleoresin rich in lycopene (1172.32 mg/100 g extract), were obtained using SFE under optimal conditions (450 bar, 70 °C, 13 kg/h and CSM modifier), as assessed by response surface methodology. A recommendation is proposed for the use of these products in the food industry based on their quality

Highly Efficient Deacidification Process for <i>Camelina sativa</i> Crude Oil by Molecular Distillation

Recovery and reuse of high-acidity vegetable oil waste (higher content of free fatty acids) is a major concern for reducing their effect on the environment. Moreover, the conventional deacidification processes are known to show drawbacks, such as oil losses or higher costs of wastewater treatment, for which it requires great attention, especially at the industrial scale. This work presents the design of a highly efficient and sustainable process for Camelina sativa oil deacidification by using an ecofriendly method, namely molecular distillation. Experimental studies were performed to identify operating conditions for removing of free fatty acids (FFA) by molecular distillation which involves the oil evaporation in high vacuum conditions. The experimental studies were supported by statistical analysis and technical-economic analysis. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to formulate and validate second-order models to predict deacidification efficiency, FFA concentration, and triacylglyceride (TAG) concentration in deodorized oil based on three parameters effects, validated by statistical p-value Camelina sativa oil is a sustainable process: no wastewater generation, no solvents and water consumption, and lower production costs, obtaining a valuable by-product (FFA)

Valuable Natural Antioxidant Products Recovered from Tomatoes by Green Extraction

Lycopene, β-carotene and ω-fatty acids are major compounds in tomatoes with known antioxidant activity, capable of preventing health disorders. The identification of potential natural sources of antioxidants, extraction efficiencies and antioxidant activity assessments are essential to promote such products to be used in the food, pharmaceutical or cosmetic industries. This work presents four added-value products recovered from tomatoes: pigmented solid oleoresin, pigmented oil and two raw extracts from supercritical and Soxhlet extraction. Different parameters including the matrices of tomatoes, extraction methods, green solvents and operating parameters were varied to obtain extracts with different qualities. Extract analysis was performed using UV–VIS, FT–IR, GC–MS, Folin–Ciocalteu and DPPH methods. The highest-quality extract was the solid oleoresin obtained from pomace using supercritical CO2 extraction at 450 bar, 70 °C and 11 kg/h: 1016.94 ± 23.95 mg lycopene/100 g extract, 154.87 ± 16.12 mg β-carotene/100 g extract, 35.25 ± 0.14 mg GAE/g extract and 67.02 ± 5.11% inhibition DPPH. The economic feasibility of the three extraction processes (1:10:100 kg dried pomace/batch as scalability criterion) was evaluated. The most profitable was the supercritical extraction process at the highest capacity, which produces pigmented solid oleoresin and oil with high content of lycopene valorized with a high market price, using natural food waste (pomace)