Material mixing device for desulfurization of crude ester in biodiesel production
The vertically arranged nitrogen aeration disc mixer solves the problem of low desulfurization efficiency of crude ester in biodiesel production, achieving uniform and stable desulfurization effect and cost reduction, while improving equipment processing capacity and safety.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202521761041.2
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-19
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-14
- Estimated Expiration
- 2035-08-19
AI Technical Summary
In current biodiesel production, crude ester desulfurization efficiency is low, making it difficult to meet strict sulfur content standards. Furthermore, traditional methods are costly and may damage the chemical structure of biodiesel.
The crude ester desulfurization material mixer is arranged vertically and uses nitrogen aeration discs to achieve uniform mixing of materials. Through nitrogen bubble disturbance and convection, the material interface resistance is broken, the contact area between the desulfurizing agent and crude ester is increased, mechanical stirring is avoided, and equipment wear is reduced.
It achieves uniform and stable desulfurization, reduces production costs, shortens reaction time, increases equipment throughput, ensures that the sulfur content of the product meets the standards, reduces equipment failures and safety hazards, and improves production safety.
Smart Images
Figure CN224485724U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the technical field of biodiesel production equipment, and in particular to a material mixing device for crude ester desulfurization in biodiesel production. Background Technology
[0002] Biodiesel production typically uses waste animal and vegetable oils as raw materials, undergoing esterification and transesterification reactions with methanol to obtain fatty acid methyl esters, i.e., biodiesel. The raw oils may contain natural sulfides because, on the one hand, soybeans and rapeseed absorb sulfides from the soil during their growth, and on the other hand, sulfur-containing byproducts, such as methanethiol, may be generated during the esterification process. As a renewable energy source, biodiesel suffers from incomplete combustion due to sulfides, increasing emissions and pollution. Furthermore, sulfides are corrosive, damaging engine components such as the combustion chamber and exhaust valves, shortening engine lifespan. With increasing global emphasis on environmental protection, countries worldwide are imposing increasingly stringent standards on the sulfur content of biodiesel. For example, the China V diesel standard requires a sulfur content below 10 ppm. If the sulfur content of biodiesel exceeds this standard, it will fail to meet relevant regulations, impacting its market application and promotion. Traditional hydrogenation and non-hydrogenation desulfurization methods are not only costly for biodiesel produced from waste oils and other raw materials, but may also damage the chemical structure of biodiesel. Some patented technologies, such as two-stage vacuum distillation, also fail to meet the National V diesel standard in terms of sulfur content. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a mixing device for crude ester desulfurization materials in the biodiesel production process to improve the efficiency of crude ester desulfurization reaction, ensure uniform and stable desulfurization effect, and reduce desulfurization costs. Summary of the Invention
[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a material mixing device for crude ester desulfurization in biodiesel production that has good mixing effect of various materials, uniform and stable desulfurization effect, low desulfurization cost, and convenient and efficient operation.
[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the material mixing device for crude ester desulfurization in biodiesel production of this utility model includes a nitrogen inlet ball valve 1, a desulfurizing agent inlet ball valve 2, a desulfurizing agent feed pump 3, a crude ester inlet ball valve 4, a crude ester inlet feed pump 5, a mixer bottom ball valve 6, a crude ester desulfurization material mixer 7, a crude ester outlet feed pump 8, a crude ester settling tank inlet ball valve 9, a crude ester settling tank 10, an upper outlet ball valve 11, and a bottom outlet ball valve 12; the crude ester desulfurization material... The mixer 7 is vertically arranged and includes a barrel 7-2. An upper flange 7-1 is connected to the upper end of the barrel, and a lower flange 7-7 is connected to the lower end. A conical collecting hopper 7-8 is connected to the other side of the lower flange 7-7. Inside the barrel 7-2, three sets of nitrogen aeration discs 7-4 with multiple evenly distributed small holes are evenly arranged. Each set of nitrogen aeration discs 7-4 is formed by two pairs of connecting flanges 7-6 connecting half of the nitrogen aeration disc, facilitating maintenance, disassembly, and nitrogen supply. The internal cleaning operation of the aeration discs 7-4 is performed. These three sets of nitrogen aeration discs 7-4 are fixedly connected by the aeration disc bracket 7-3. A nitrogen inlet pipe 7-5, which supplies nitrogen to the nitrogen aeration discs 7-4, is fixed to the nitrogen aeration discs 7-4. The top of the aeration disc bracket 7-3 is welded and fixed to the upper flange 7-1. The upper flange 7-1 connects to three material pipelines: a nitrogen inlet pipeline with a nitrogen inlet valve 1, a desulfurizing agent feeding pump 3, and a desulfurizing agent feeding pump 4. The desulfurizing agent pipeline of sulfur feed ball valve 2, the crude ester pipeline with crude ester feed pump 5 and crude ester feed ball valve 4; the outlet pipeline of the conical liquid collecting hopper 7-8 is connected to the top of the crude ester settling tank 10 after being connected in sequence to the bottom ball valve 6 of the mixer, the crude ester discharge pump 8, and the crude ester settling tank feed ball valve 9. The lower side of the crude ester settling tank 10 is connected to the upper discharge pipe with the upper discharge ball valve 11, and the bottom is connected to the bottom discharge pipe with the bottom discharge ball valve 12.
[0005] The inner wall of the barrel 7-2 is provided with a reinforcing ring near the top and bottom ends to ensure the overall mechanical strength of the barrel.
[0006] The nitrogen aeration disc 7-4 mentioned above is made of 316L stainless steel; the large flange 7-1 at the top of the barrel, the barrel body 7-2 of the crude ester desulfurization mixer, the aeration disc support 7-3, the nitrogen inlet pipe 7-5, the small connecting flange 7-6, the large connecting flange at the bottom 7-7, and the conical liquid collecting hopper 7-8 mentioned above are all made of 304 stainless steel.
[0007] The material mixing device for crude ester desulfurization in biodiesel production of this utility model has the following technical features and beneficial effects:
[0008] 1. On the one hand, it can break the interfacial resistance between materials during the crude ester desulfurization process in biodiesel production, allowing the desulfurizing agent to be evenly dispersed in the crude ester, increasing the contact area between the two, making the desulfurization reaction more complete, reducing the situation of "incomplete local reaction", ensuring that all sulfur impurities in the crude ester can effectively act with the desulfurizing agent, and ultimately making the overall sulfur content of the product meet the standard, avoiding local over-standard; on the other hand, because the reaction is more complete due to thorough mixing, it can shorten the desulfurization reaction time, increase the processing capacity of the equipment per unit time, and indirectly reduce production energy consumption and costs.
[0009] 2. The vertical arrangement of the reaction material mixer has the following advantages: First, it has a compact structure, occupies relatively little space, and is easy to install and lay out; second, it has high mixing efficiency, with three sets of nitrogen aeration discs achieving good mixing in a short time; third, it uses nitrogen bubbles introduced into the material system, utilizing the disturbance and carrying effect of the rising bubbles to promote material convection, eliminating the need for contact parts such as mechanical stirring paddles, reducing physical friction between the material and the equipment, and also eliminating the need for mechanical stirring, which helps to save energy and reduce consumption; fourth, it has strong adaptability and can be used for mixing materials of various crude ester desulfurizing agents; fifth, it facilitates daily cleaning and maintenance of the equipment, making it easy to clean and maintain, reducing pollution and malfunctions during the production process.
[0010] 3. Inert environment protection: Nitrogen has stable chemical properties and does not easily react with materials. During aeration, it can isolate air (avoiding interference from oxygen, carbon dioxide, etc.), which is especially suitable for materials that are easily oxidized, easily deteriorated, or sensitive to oxygen. The inert nitrogen environment can effectively prevent materials from oxidizing, discoloring, deteriorating, or producing harmful substances, ensuring the stability of product quality.
[0011] 4. Controllable mixing uniformity: The intensity of material disturbance can be precisely controlled by adjusting the nitrogen flow rate, bubble size (controlled by the aperture of the aeration disc), and aeration position. This can achieve overall mixing while avoiding material stratification and damage caused by excessive local stirring (such as avoiding liquid splashing).
[0012] 5. Auxiliary functions: In addition to mixing, nitrogen aeration can simultaneously achieve "degassing" (such as removing dissolved oxygen and volatile impurities from materials) or "pressure maintenance" (maintaining a slight positive pressure in the system to further isolate air), which further improves the safety of the production process and eliminates the risk of combustion and explosion; and since there are no mechanical moving parts, the hidden danger of equipment friction fire is reduced, which is of great significance to safe production.
[0013] 6. The non-contact design without mechanical agitators reduces equipment wear and material adhesion (avoiding difficulties in cleaning the blades), extends equipment life, and reduces downtime maintenance costs due to mechanical failures. The entire device is made of 304 and 316L stainless steel, which has high corrosion resistance and a long service life, and has significant environmental benefits for green and clean production.
[0014] 7. The entire device has a simple and compact structure, making it easy to operate during daily inspection and maintenance. The upper and lower ends are connected by flanges, ensuring safe and reliable use. During inspection and maintenance, the tank can be directly removed, and the internal nitrogen aeration disc is connected by a small flange, facilitating cleaning of the aeration disc. Overall, the operation is convenient, safe, and reliable. Attached Figure Description
[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the installation structure of the material mixing device during crude ester desulfurization in biodiesel production according to this utility model.
[0016] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Enlarged structural diagram of the medium and crude ester desulfurization material mixer.
[0017] Figure reference numerals: 1. Nitrogen inlet ball valve; 2. Desulfurizing agent inlet ball valve; 3. Desulfurizing agent feed pump; 4. Crude ester inlet ball valve; 5. Crude ester inlet feed pump; 6. Bottom ball valve of mixer; 7. Crude ester desulfurization material mixer; 7-1. Upper flange; 7-2. Tank body; 7-3. Aeration disc support; 7-4. Nitrogen aeration disc; 7-5. Nitrogen inlet pipe; 7-6. Connecting small flange; 7-7. Lower flange; 7-8. Conical liquid collection hopper; 8. Crude ester discharge feed pump; 9. Crude ester settling tank inlet ball valve; 10. Crude ester settling tank; 11. Upper discharge ball valve; and 12. Bottom discharge ball valve. Detailed Implementation
[0018] The following detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, further illustrates the specific implementation of the material mixing device for crude ester desulfurization in biodiesel production according to this invention.
[0019] Figure 1 , Figure 2As shown, the material mixing device for crude ester desulfurization in biodiesel production of this utility model includes a nitrogen inlet ball valve 1, a desulfurizing agent inlet ball valve 2, a desulfurizing agent feed pump 3, a crude ester inlet ball valve 4, a crude ester inlet feed pump 5, a mixer bottom ball valve 6, a crude ester desulfurization material mixer 7, a crude ester discharge feed pump 8, a crude ester settling tank inlet ball valve 9, a crude ester settling tank 10, an upper discharge ball valve 11, and a bottom discharge ball valve 12; the crude ester desulfurization material mixer 7 is arranged vertically and includes... The barrel body 7-2 has a reinforcing ring near both the top and bottom ends on its inner wall to ensure the overall mechanical strength of the barrel body. The upper end of the barrel body is connected to an upper flange 7-1, and the lower end is connected to a lower flange 7-7. The other side of the lower flange 7-7 is connected to a conical liquid collecting hopper 7-8. Inside the barrel body 7-2, three sets of nitrogen aeration discs 7-4 with multiple evenly distributed small holes are evenly arranged. Each set of nitrogen aeration discs 7-4 is connected by two pairs of small flanges 7-6, which cover half of the nitrogen aeration area. The three nitrogen aeration discs 7-4 are connected by air plates for easy maintenance, disassembly, and internal cleaning. They are fixedly connected by an aeration disc bracket 7-3. A nitrogen inlet pipe 7-5, which supplies nitrogen to the nitrogen aeration discs 7-4, is fixed to the nitrogen aeration discs 7-4. The top of the aeration disc bracket 7-3 is welded and fixed to the upper flange 7-1. The upper flange 7-1 connects to three material pipelines: a nitrogen inlet pipeline with a nitrogen inlet valve 1, a... The desulfurizing agent pipeline of the sulfur agent feeding pump 3 and the desulfurizing agent feeding ball valve 2, and the crude ester pipeline of the crude ester feeding pump 5 and the crude ester feeding ball valve 4; the outlet pipeline of the conical liquid collecting hopper 7-8 is connected to the top of the crude ester settling tank 10 after being connected in sequence to the bottom ball valve 6 of the mixer, the crude ester discharge feeding pump 8, and the crude ester settling tank feeding ball valve 9. The lower side of the crude ester settling tank 10 is connected to the upper discharge pipe with the upper discharge ball valve 11, and the bottom is connected to the bottom discharge pipe with the bottom discharge ball valve 12.
[0020] In the biodiesel production process described above, the material mixing device for crude ester desulfurization uses nitrogen aeration to isolate oxygen, protecting the crude ester and desulfurizing agent. Crude biodiesel ester is prone to oxidation and deterioration, and some desulfurizing agents (such as certain reducing desulfurizing components) may also react with oxygen and become ineffective. The inertness of nitrogen can isolate air, preventing the crude ester from oxidizing and becoming rancid, and avoiding a decrease in the activity of the desulfurizing agent, thus ensuring the efficiency of the desulfurization reaction and the quality of the final product from the source. Nitrogen is odorless and free of impurities, and will not introduce new pollutants into the crude ester system during aeration, meeting the requirements for material cleanliness in subsequent desulfurization and purification, and reducing the interference of impurities on the desulfurization reaction.
[0021] Crude esters are mostly high-viscosity liquids. Nitrogen aeration, through the convective disturbance formed by the rising bubbles, can achieve uniform mixing and avoid localized excessive shearing or mixing dead zones that may be caused by mechanical stirring. At the same time, the intensity of disturbance can be controlled by adjusting the aeration rate to adapt to the mixing needs of crude esters with different viscosities.
[0022] During aeration, nitrogen bubbles can carry volatile impurities dissolved in the crude ester (such as some sulfur-containing small molecules), helping the desulfurizing agent to react more fully with the sulfur components in the crude ester, indirectly improving desulfurization efficiency and reducing the processing pressure of subsequent processes.
[0023] The absence of mechanical stirring components reduces equipment wear (lowering maintenance costs) and avoids the problem of impeller jamming caused by high-viscosity materials. At the same time, nitrogen can dilute any flammable and explosive gases that may be present in the system (such as light components remaining in crude ester), reducing production safety hazards, which is crucial for safe production.
[0024] During operation, before starting the machine, first open the crude ester settling tank feed ball valve 9, the mixer bottom ball valve 6, and the crude ester feed ball valve 4. Then open the desulfurizing agent feed ball valve 2 and the nitrogen inlet ball valve 1. Next, start the crude ester feed pump 5, the desulfurizing agent feed pump 3, and the crude ester discharge pump 8. The crude ester and desulfurizing agent materials from the feed pumps enter the crude ester desulfurization material mixer 7. The nitrogen aeration discs 7-4, acting as gas distribution elements, will evenly disperse the introduced nitrogen into a large number of tiny bubbles. These dispersed tiny nitrogen bubbles will float upwards in the crude ester, and as the bubbles rise, they will... The surrounding crude ester liquid flows upwards, while the desulfurizing agent material below fills the gap, forming an "up-down circulation convection" of materials, achieving overall macroscopic mixing. Simultaneously, the relative motion between the rising bubbles and the surrounding liquid creates localized shear force, breaking up any desulfurizing agent agglomerates that may exist in the crude ester, allowing the desulfurizing agent particles or liquid to be more evenly dispersed within the crude ester, achieving microscopic mixing. The mixed reactants are received by the conical collecting hopper 7-8 and then piped into the crude ester settling tank 10 via the crude ester discharge pump 8. When shutdown is required, first turn off the three discharge pumps, then close all ball valves sequentially.
[0025] This utility model relates to a material mixing device for crude ester desulfurization in biodiesel production. On one hand, it breaks down interfacial resistance between materials during crude ester desulfurization, allowing the desulfurizing agent to be evenly dispersed in the crude ester, increasing the contact area between the two, and making the desulfurization reaction more complete. This reduces the occurrence of "incomplete local reactions," ensuring that all sulfur impurities in the crude ester can effectively interact with the desulfurizing agent, ultimately achieving overall sulfur content compliance in the product and avoiding local over-standard levels. On the other hand, because the thorough mixing and reaction are more complete, it shortens the desulfurization reaction time, increases the equipment's throughput per unit time, and indirectly reduces production energy consumption and costs.
Claims
1. A material mixing device for crude ester desulfurization in biodiesel production, characterized in that: It includes a nitrogen inlet ball valve (1), a desulfurizing agent inlet ball valve (2), a desulfurizing agent feed pump (3), a crude ester inlet ball valve (4), a crude ester inlet feed pump (5), a mixer bottom ball valve (6), a crude ester desulfurization material mixer (7), a crude ester outlet feed pump (8), a crude ester settling tank inlet ball valve (9), a crude ester settling tank (10), an upper outlet ball valve (11), and a bottom outlet ball valve (12); the crude ester desulfurization material mixer (7) is arranged vertically, and it includes a barrel (7-2). The upper end of the barrel is connected to an upper large flange (7-1), and the lower end is connected to a lower large flange (7-7). The other side of the lower large flange (7-7) is connected to a conical liquid collecting hopper (7-8). Inside the barrel (7-2), three sets of nitrogen aeration discs (7-4) with multiple evenly distributed small holes are evenly arranged. Each set of nitrogen aeration discs (7-4) is formed by two pairs of connecting small flanges (7-6) connecting half of the nitrogen aeration disc, which facilitates maintenance, disassembly, and cleaning of the inside of the nitrogen aeration discs (7-4). The three sets of nitrogen aeration discs (7-4) are fixedly connected by an aeration disc bracket (7-3); a nitrogen inlet pipe (7-5) that supplies nitrogen to the nitrogen aeration discs (7-4) is fixed on the nitrogen aeration discs (7-4); the top of the aeration disc bracket (7-3) is welded and fixed to the upper flange (7-1); the upper flange (7-1) connects to three material pipelines, namely a nitrogen inlet pipeline with a nitrogen inlet ball valve (1), a desulfurizing agent feeding pump (3), and a desulfurizing agent feeding ball valve (2). The desulfurizing agent pipeline, the crude ester pipeline with crude ester feed pump (5) and crude ester feed ball valve (4); the outlet pipeline of the conical collecting hopper (7-8) is connected to the top of the crude ester settling tank (10) after being connected in sequence to the bottom ball valve (6) of the mixer, the crude ester discharge pump (8) and the crude ester settling tank feed ball valve (9). The lower side of the crude ester settling tank (10) is connected to the upper discharge pipe with the upper discharge ball valve (11), and the bottom is connected to the bottom discharge pipe with the bottom discharge ball valve (12).
2. The material mixing device for crude ester desulfurization in biodiesel production as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The inner wall of the barrel (7-2) is provided with a reinforcing ring near the upper and lower ends to ensure the overall mechanical strength of the barrel.