Distillation: apparatus – Apparatus – Systems
Patent
1998-03-03
1999-12-14
Manoharan, Virginia
Distillation: apparatus
Apparatus
Systems
159 161, 159DIG16, 202158, 202205, 261 75, 554175, 426488, B01D 310, C11B 314
Patent
active
06001220&
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a deodorisation plant for fatty oils comprising a vessel connected to a vacuum source.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
When producing consumer products from different vegetable or animal oils deodorisation is a part in the refining process. During the deodorisation the oil is heated to a high temperature 180-275.degree. C. in order to drive off volatile impurities and undesired substances from the oil. These substances have a lower boiling point than the different triglycerides which constitute the fatty oil. The deodorisation is carried through under vacuum conditions, 1-20 mbar absolute pressure, and the removal is facilitated by addition of deodorisation gas to the oil. The gas facilitates the removal of undesired substances.
On the market there are today a large number of different deodorisation plants, both for continuous flow through the plant and with a batchwise treatment of the oil. During continuous deodorisation the oil usually flows over a number of trays or containers which are stacked vertically in a circular shell manner. In the bottom of the trays or containers there are means for addition of gas. Alternatively the gas may be added by using a means with siphon effect. Oil and gas are forced upwards in an ejector tube towards a deflection plate and is finely divided against the same. The oil is added to the vessel in the upper part of the plant and flows from an upper container to the next container. In order to control the flow through the containers these are provided with screening plates, such that the oil flows from an inlet at a certain place in the container to an outlet in another place. The holding time in the vessel is set to a certain value depending on the geometry of the flow channels. The switch-over time between different products is long.
When the deodorisation is carried through in batches all operations (distillation and heat holding for bleaching) usually take place in the same vessel. This method of working makes rapid changes between different oil products possible, but the holding time is long since it depends both on distillation and heat transfer effect.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention offers a solution of the problem to rapidly change the holding time for different operations in the deodorisation plant but still make it possible to rapidly change between different oil products. A deodorisation plant according to the invention comprises a vessel connected to vacuum in which there is both a distillation column filled with the structured packing material, through which column the oil which shall be deodorised is brought to flow under influence of the gravity and meet deodorisation gas in counter-current, and a number of trays for collection of oil provided with drainage outlets in their lower parts, in which trays the oil is treated in batches with deodorisation gas. The vessel is in its upper part provided with an inlet for oil and a connection to a vacuum source and with an outlet for oil in its lower part.
The column is as mentioned filled with a structured packing material the purpose of which is to create an increased area of contact and an increased time for contact between the oil and the deodorisation gas. Such packing material is available on the market and is used for many different purposes. The time for passing the column is usually 5-15 min. Due to the efficiency of the column the desired deodorisation (removal of volatile impurities) may take place also at lower temperatures, which diminishes the formation of transfatty acids. The working pressure (vacuum) may be kept low, below 5 mbar and if desired also below 1 mbar. The efficient contact in the column also results in a lower demand on the amount of deodorisation gas.
Usually the column is arranged uppermost in the vessel, but if it is desirable one or several trays for a first bachwise treatment may of course be arranged above the column. If the distillation column is arranged at the top of the vessel the oil is suitably added to
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patent: 4297112 (1981-10-01), Naylor
patent: 4394221 (1983-07-01), Stage et al.
patent: 4406743 (1983-09-01), MacQueen et al.
patent: 4971660 (1990-11-01), Rivers, Jr.
Hillstrom Anders
Sjoberg Peter
Alfa Laval AB
Manoharan Virginia
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