Fuel and related compositions – Liquid fuels – Emulsion fuel
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-01
2002-04-02
Medley, Margaret (Department: 1714)
Fuel and related compositions
Liquid fuels
Emulsion fuel
C044S308000, C554S133000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06364917
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a method for refining virgin plant oil and/or waste vegetable oil into fuel, an oil obtainable by said method and an apparatus for refining virgin plant oil and/or waste vegetable oil into fuel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In Japan, environmental pollution due to waste vegetable oil such as oil used in cooking tempura has been a problem of society for years now. Disposal of waste vegetable oil from restaurants and from the general household involves processing that most consumers regard burdensome.
In an official announcement, waste vegetable oil discarded by the restaurants and food manufacturing industries amounts to approximately 200,000 tons, while another 200,000 tons come from the general household totalling 400,000 tons a year. However, comparing this to the 1.2-1.4 million tons of vegetable oil produced by manufacturers every year, the amount of waste vegetable oil is actually very large.
In the last two to three years, the recycling of waste vegetable oil into diesel engine fuel has been the focus of attention of research and development. Foremost of this is the “methylesteric fuel production method”.
FIG. 11
shows the general principle of this method. According to this method, waste vegetable oil is mixed with methanol or ethanol and a catalyst (sodium hydroxide), heated, and agitated. As shown in the figure, an esteric exchange reaction occurs, separating into methylester and glycerin.
Further elaborating this,
FIG. 10
shows the processes in the methylesteric fuel production. For the waste vegetable oil (
101
) in the pre-treatment process (
112
), its impurities (admixtures, moisture, free fatty acids) are removed (
102
,
103
,
104
) through a distiller ensuring a good fuel yield. Upon completing the pre-treatment process, the waste vegetable oil is transferred (
105
) to the esteric exchange reaction equipment, mixed with methanol or ethanol at 30k by volume (to be expressed in “%” from hereon) and sodium hydroxide as catalyst at 0.10-0.15% of methanol volume, and agitated. Through the eterification process (
113
) including the process (
107
) involving water and kaolin, the raw material is finally separated into the fuel (
108
) and glycerin waste (
109
). The glycerin waste is further neutralized and decomposed (
110
), and handed over to the industrial waste processors.
However, this methylesterification technology has the following problems:
(1) Since the process requires mixing the waste vegetable oil with 30-50% methanol or ethanol, the cost of raw material increases.
(2) The cost of constructing the processing plant is made more expensive by the high combustibility of methanol or ethanol.
(3) There are problems in the safety of the operation.
(4) Fuel yield upon refining is low at 70% or less.
(5) Diesel oil produced from this method emits more formaldehyde, acrolein, benzene and the like when used as fuel due to the addition of methanol or ethanol. These emissions are even more than commercially-available diesel oil from petroleum. It would be, thus, difficult, to consider it a “clean” fuel.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention aims to provide a method and equipment for refining and recycling virgin plant oil and/or waste vegetable oils which can be used as diesel engine fuel, which allow to overcome the problems of the methylesterification technology. More particularly, a method was to be provided which allowed for the production of fuel from virgin plant oil and/or waste vegetable oil not making use of esterification.
According to the invention, the problem is solved by a method for refining virgin plant oil and/or waste vegetable oil into fuel, preferably diesel engine fuel, whereby said method comprises the steps of
heating the oil
supplying water and/or ozone
mixing the oil with water and/or ozone and
agitating the mixture of oil and water and/or dissipating the ozone.
In an embodiment of the inventive method, said method is characterized in that said steps form a pre-treatment step.
In a further embodiment, the pre-treatment step further comprises a step of separating the oil from the water.
In another embodiment, the oil is heated to a temperature of about 40° C. to about 80° C.
According to the invention, the water which is preferably ozonated, is supplied in an amount of about 3 to about 8% by volume of the oil, preferably about 5% by volume of the volume of the oil in the inventive method.
In a preferred embodiment, the ozone is supplied from the bottom of a vessel containing at least the oil and the water, preferably with a concentration of about 4,000 to about 30,000 ppm, most preferably about 7,000 ppm.
In another preferred embodiment, the mixing and/or agitating and/or dissipating is done by a screw-type propeller with sawtooth-edged blades, preferably rotating at about 300 rpm.
According to the invention, the pre-treatment takes about 20 to about 30 minutes.
In another embodiment of the inventive method, said method comprises a further step of supplying ozone to the oil.
In a more preferred embodiment, the oil is heated to a temperature of about 40° C. to about 80°C.
In another embodiment of the inventive method, the ozone is supplied with about 4,000 to about 30,000 ppm, preferably from the bottom of a vessel which contains the oil.
According to the invention, the ozone is supplied to the oil for about 50 to about 90 minutes.
Also according to the invention, the method may comprise a further step of adding activated kaolin to the oil received from the pre-treatment.
In a more preferred embodiment, the amount of activated kaolin added is about 5% by volume to about 8% by volume.
In an even more preferred embodiment, the kaolin is removed from the oil before further supplying ozone to the oil obtained from the pre-treatment.
The problem underlying the present invention is also solved by an oil obtainable by practicing the inventive method.
Furthermore, the problem is solved by an apparatus for refining virgin plant oil and/or vegetable oil into fuel, whereby the fuel is preferably diesel engine fuel, and the apparatus is preferably intended for use in the inventive method whereby said apparatus comprises at least
a first processing tank which is an agitation tank which comprises a propeller-like agitator which has sawtooth-edged blades.
In a preferred embodiment of the inventive apparatus the propeller-like agitator is attached to an agitation shaft below a conventional impeller.
In a further preferred embodiment of the inventive apparatus said apparatus comprises a second processing tank, wherein said tank comprises at least one of the means selected from the group comprising an agitation propeller, an ozone gas spin distributor device, an activated charcoal tube, a heater and an intake valve.
The inventors have surprisingly found that the disadvantages of the conventional methylesterification technology as stated above can be overcome by the inventive method and by the inventive apparatus. Particularly, said inventive method produces “clean” exhaust gas and has a low plant construction cost and refining production cost. Besides these technical advantages, economical advantages may arise which render the method and apparatus according to the invention market-competitive.
Furthermore, the new kind of oil which can be produced according to the inventive method may be used as fuel, particularly as diesel engine fuel, and this new fuel exhibits a better quality then gasoline.
Briefly, and for purpose of illustration only and not for limitation the invention's process is characterized by heating the virgin plant oil and/or waste vegetable oil to 40-80° C. and agitating it by mixing it with ozone-filled water heated to 40-80° C. while supplying ozone gas from the lower part of the tank. This agitation process separates and removes, along with the water, impurities contained in the waste vegetable oil such as glycerin and animal fatty acids.
Furthermore, inside the agitation tank, a propeller-like agitator which has sawtooth-edged blades
Matsumura Masatoshi
Murakami Seishiro
Medley Margaret
Pendorf & Cutliff
Toomer Cephia D.
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