Systems and methods for processing liquids with non-compliant polypropylene materials

Abstract

A system and method of processing a liquid are disclosed. The method includes processing a liquid (e.g., demineralizing water). The method includes flowing a liquid into an ion exchange system comprising an ion exchange resin and unshaped polypropylene pellets located above the ion exchange resin in an ion exchange resin vessel.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] none. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention generally relates to processing liquids with off-specification polypropylene materials. More particularly, the present invention relates to demineralizing water with an ion exchange system including off-specification polypropylene materials. Background Art

[0004] In a chemical processing plant, it is inevitable that the final product will not meet the specifications established for the target product. In some cases, the non-compliant product is reprocessed or otherwise processed to meet the specifications. Another option is that the customer of the product will demand a discount and / or waive the requirement to meet all specifications, especially if the specification that was not met is not critical to the customer. Another option for solving the problem of non-compliant products is to discard the product. These different approaches to solving the problem of non-compliant products can be expensive.

[0005] Like most other industrial processes, the process of producing polypropylene often results in the production of off-specification products. However, in the case of polypropylene, off-specification products are generally not suitable for reprocessing or further processing to bring them up to specification. Therefore, there is a need to address the potential costs associated with off-specification polypropylene. Summary of the invention

[0006] The inventors have recognized that at least one or more of the problems associated with off-specification polypropylene can be solved in embodiments of the present invention by repurposing off-specification polypropylene from its intended use to a new use. According to embodiments of the present invention, off-specification polypropylene can be used in an ion exchange system to process liquids. Specifically, in embodiments of the present invention, off-specification polypropylene can be used in an ion exchange system to demineralize water. When the ion exchange system is located near or at a polypropylene processing plant, there is a benefit of low transportation costs, which is associated with using off-specification polypropylene for a purpose different from the original target.

[0007] Embodiments of the present invention include a method of processing a liquid. The method includes flowing the liquid into an ion exchange system, wherein the ion exchange system comprises an ion exchange resin and off-specification polypropylene pellets. The method further includes contacting the liquid with the ion exchange resin, and flowing the processed liquid out of the ion exchange system.

[0008] Embodiments of the present invention include a method of demineralizing an aqueous liquid. The method includes flowing the liquid into an ion exchange system, wherein the ion exchange system includes an anion exchange resin and / or a cation exchange resin, and off-specification polypropylene pellets. The method further includes contacting the liquid with the anion exchange resin and / or the cation exchange resin, and flowing the processed liquid from the ion exchange system.

[0009] Embodiments of the present invention include an ion exchange system. The ion exchange system comprises an ion exchange resin and off-specification polypropylene pellets.

[0010] Included below are definitions of various terms and phrases used throughout this specification.

[0011] The term "about" or "approximately" is defined as close as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. In a non-limiting embodiment, the term is defined as within 10%, preferably within 5%, more preferably within 1%, and most preferably within 0.5%.

[0012] For the purpose of the present invention, “X, Y and / or Z” may be interpreted as only X, only Y, only Z, or any combination of two or more items of X, Y and Z (e.g., XYZ, XY, XZ, YZ).

[0013] The terms "wt %, "vol %" or "mol %" refer to the weight percent, volume percent or mole percent of a component, respectively, based on the total weight, total volume or total moles of the material including the component. In a non-limiting example, 10 moles of a component in 100 moles of a material is 10 mol % of the component.

[0014] The term "substantially" and variations thereof are defined to include ranges within 10%, within 5%, within 1%, or within 0.5%.

[0015] When used in the claims and / or specification, the terms "inhibit" or "reduce" or "prevent" or "avoid" or any variation of these terms includes any measurable reduction or complete inhibition to achieve the desired result.

[0016] The term "effective" as used in the specification and / or claims means sufficient to achieve a desired, expected, or intended result.

[0017] When used in conjunction with the terms "comprising," "including," "containing," or "having" in the claims or the specification, the word "a" or "an" may mean "one," but it is also consistent with the meaning of "one or more," "at least one," and "one or more than one."

[0018] The words "comprising" (and any form of comprising, such as "comprising" and "including"), "having" (and any form of having, such as "having" and "having"), "including" (and any form of including, such as "including" and "including"), or "containing" (and any form of containing, such as "containing" and "containing") are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.

[0019] The methods of the present invention may "comprise," "consist essentially of," or "consist of" specific ingredients, components, compositions, etc. disclosed throughout the specification.

[0020] The term "mainly" used in the specification and / or claims refers to any one of greater than 50 wt%, 50 mol%, and 50 vol%. For example, "mainly" can include 50.1 wt%-100 wt% and all values ​​and ranges therebetween, 50.1 mol%-100 mol% and all values ​​and ranges therebetween, or 50.1 vol%-100 vol% and all values ​​and ranges therebetween.

[0021] From the following drawings, specific embodiments and examples, other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent. However, it should be understood that although the drawings, specific embodiments and examples indicate specific embodiments of the present invention, they are only provided by way of illustration and are not intended to be limiting. In addition, it is expected that those skilled in the art will be aware of changes and modifications in the spirit and scope of the present invention from the specific embodiments. In other embodiments, features from specific embodiments can be combined with features from other embodiments. For example, features from an embodiment can be combined with features from any other embodiment. In other embodiments, additional features can be added to the specific embodiments described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] For a more complete understanding, reference will now be made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0023] Figure 1 shows an ion exchange system according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0024] Figure 2 A method of processing a liquid according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The present invention relates to processing liquids with an ion exchange system that includes off-specification polypropylene material. According to embodiments of the present invention, off-specification polypropylene material can be used as an inert material above anion and cation beds in a water demineralization device. In this way, according to embodiments of the present invention, the systems and methods described herein not only provide an inexpensive and viable alternative inert material for use in a water demineralization device, but also increase the value of the off-specification polypropylene material. In embodiments of the present invention, polypropylene is produced as pellets, and as previously described, the product process sometimes results in an off-specification product, in this case off-specification polypropylene pellets.

[0026] The term "off-specification polypropylene pellets" as used in the description and / or claims refers to pellets comprising at least 90 wt% polypropylene and having at least one of the following properties (Table 1) outside the range indicated for the property.

[0027] Table 1 Specifications of polypropylene pellets

[0028]

[0029] According to an embodiment of the present invention, "off-specification polypropylene pellets" may be defined as pellets containing at least 90 wt% polypropylene and having at least one of the subset of properties in Table 1 that is outside the range indicated for the property. In an embodiment of the present invention, the off-specification polypropylene pellets 102 are as described in Table 2.

[0030] Table 2

[0031] # illustrate IZ PP (non-standard material) 1. Brand Name PP5005P 2. Material Polypropylene 3. Appearance Beaded granules 4. Reactive Acid / Base Inertness 5. Particle size range 2-5mm 6. proportion 0.9-0.92 7. Shipping Weight <![CDATA[500kg / m 3 ]]> 8. Temperature Limits 80℃

[0032] Ion exchange system

[0033] Figure 1 An ion exchange system 10 is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 A method 20 of processing a liquid according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. In an embodiment of the present invention, the method 20 is implemented using an ion exchange system 10.

[0034] In an embodiment of the present invention, the ion exchange system 10 includes an ion exchange resin container 101, in which the non-standard polypropylene pellets 102 are located on the top of the ion exchange resin 103. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the ion exchange resin 103 includes an anion exchange resin and / or a cation exchange resin. The anion exchange resin can include a polyacrylic matrix, a polyacrylic-divinylbenzene matrix, or a styrene-divinylbenzene polymer matrix containing carboxylic acid or sulfonic acid functional groups, or a combination thereof in an embodiment of the present invention. The cation exchange resin can include a cross-linked acrylic matrix, a polyacrylic-divinylbenzene matrix, or a styrene-divinylbenzene polymer matrix containing dimethylethanolamine, dimethylamine or polyamines or primary or secondary or tertiary or quaternary amine functional groups or N+(CH3)3 groups (resins of type 1) or -N+CH3)2C2H4OH groups (resins of type 2), or a combination thereof.

[0035] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the ion exchange system 10 is suitable for processing a liquid 100 to produce a processed liquid 104. In an embodiment of the present invention, the liquid 100 is a liquid that mainly contains water. The ion exchange system 10 is used to demineralize the liquid 100 to produce a processed liquid 104, which includes less impurities (purified water) than the liquid 100. In an embodiment of the present invention, the ion exchange system comprises a plurality of ion exchange resin containers, which can be any combination of cation exchange resin containers and anion exchange resin containers.

[0036] Methods of processing liquids

[0037] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method 20 includes, at box 200, flowing a liquid 100 into an ion exchange system 10. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the ion exchange system 10 includes an ion exchange resin container 101 in which off-specification polypropylene pellets 102 (used as an inert material in the method) are arranged on top of an ion exchange resin 103. In an embodiment of the present invention, the polypropylene inert material used to make the off-specification polypropylene pellets 102 is highly wear-resistant and does not react with acids or bases during the regeneration cycle. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the inert polypropylene material of the off-specification polypropylene pellets 102 has a specific gravity lower than that of water and is therefore able to float just above the ion exchange bed of the ion exchange resin 103. In this way, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the off-specification polypropylene pellets 102 are used as an upper layer in the ion exchange system 10. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the ion exchange system 10 can be a countercurrent regeneration type filling system, a partial filling system, or a fluidized bed ion exchange system.

[0038] According to an embodiment of the present invention, an inert polypropylene material (off-spec polypropylene pellets 102) is used as a compression bed above the resin bed (ion exchange resin 103). This arrangement prevents the finer ion exchange resin from reaching the filter nozzles (not shown) located at the bottom of the ion exchange resin container 101, thereby avoiding their clogging. The off-spec polypropylene pellets 102 allow any insoluble material trapped in the resin bed during the loading cycle to be discharged during the regeneration process. According to an embodiment of the present invention, another benefit of the off-spec polypropylene pellets 102 is that it improves the distribution of water and the collection of spent regenerants in the top of the ion exchange resin container 101.

[0039] At box 201, according to an embodiment of the present invention, method 20 includes contacting liquid 100 with ion exchange resin 103, which occurs when liquid 100 flows through off-specification polypropylene pellets 102 and then flows through ion exchange resin 103. In this way, ion exchange resin 103 removes specific materials from liquid 100 via ion exchange. For example, the ion exchange resin can include one or more of the following anion exchange resins: a polyacrylic matrix, a polyacrylic-divinylbenzene matrix, or a styrene-divinylbenzene polymer matrix containing carboxylic acid or sulfonic acid functional groups. Alternatively or in addition, the ion exchange resin can include one or more of the following cation exchange resins: a cross-linked acrylic matrix, a polyacrylic-divinylbenzene matrix, or a styrene-divinylbenzene polymer matrix containing dimethylethanolamine, dimethylamine or polyamine or primary amine or secondary amine or tertiary amine or quaternary amine functional groups or N+(CH3)3 groups (type 1 resins) or -N+(CH3)2C2H4OH groups (type 2 resins). At block 202, method 20 includes flowing processed liquid from ion exchange system 10. In an embodiment of the present invention, method 20 involves demineralizing aqueous liquid by flowing water through ion exchange system 10.

[0040] Example

[0041] (Test to show the effect of using off-specification polypropylene pellets in the ion exchange system of a demineralizer)

[0042] The present invention will be described in more detail by specific embodiment.The following embodiment is provided only for illustrative purposes, and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way.Those skilled in the art will easily recognize that various non-critical parameters that can be changed or modified to produce substantially the same result.

[0043] Testing was conducted in a demineralization plant to determine the effect of using off-specification polypropylene pellets in the ion exchange system of the demineralization plant. The ion exchange system included ion exchange resin before the test, but did not contain off-specification polypropylene pellets. The ion exchange system included ion exchange resin and off-specification polypropylene pellets during the test. The test results are shown in Table 3. As shown in Table 3, there was no resin breakthrough when the off-specification polypropylene pellets were used in the ion exchange system. In this particular test, the fact that there was no resin breakthrough was the most critical improvement.

[0044] Table 3

[0045]

[0046] Although referenced Figure 2 The embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to the block diagram, but it should be understood that the operation of the present invention is not limited to Figure 2 Therefore, embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in the same manner as Figure 2 In different orders, different blocks are used to provide the functions described herein.

[0047] In the context of the present invention, at least the following 15 embodiments are described. Embodiment 1 is a method for processing a liquid. The method includes flowing the liquid into an ion exchange system, wherein the ion exchange system comprises an ion exchange resin and off-specification polypropylene pellets. The method further includes contacting the liquid with the ion exchange resin. The method still further includes flowing the processed liquid out of the ion exchange system. Embodiment 2 is the method of embodiment 1, wherein the off-specification polypropylene pellets contain at least one of the following: less than 3.2 wt% or more than 3.8 wt% of xylene solubles, more than 3.0 mg / kg of titanium, more than 120 mg / kg of aluminum, more than 3.0 mg / kg of iron, more than 75 mg / kg of chlorides, and more than 20% of fines. Embodiment 3 is the method of embodiment 1, wherein the processing includes demineralizing the aqueous liquid. Embodiment 4 is the method of any of embodiments 1-3, wherein the ion exchange resin comprises an anion exchange resin and / or a cation exchange resin. Embodiment 5 is the method of embodiment 4, wherein the ion exchange resin comprises an anion exchange resin, and further wherein the anion exchange resin comprises a polyacrylic matrix, a polyacrylic-divinylbenzene matrix, or a styrene-divinylbenzene polymer matrix containing carboxylic acid or sulfonic acid functional groups, or a combination thereof. Embodiment 6 is the method of embodiment 4, wherein the ion exchange resin comprises a cation exchange resin, and further wherein the cation exchange resin comprises a cross-linked acrylic matrix, a polyacrylic-divinylbenzene matrix, or a styrene-divinylbenzene polymer matrix containing dimethylethanolamine, dimethylamine or polyamine or primary or secondary or tertiary or quaternary amine functional groups or N+(CH3)3 groups (type 1 resins) or -N+(CH3)2C2H4OH groups (type 2 resins), or a combination thereof. Embodiment 7 is the method of any of embodiments 1-6, wherein the off-specification polypropylene pellets are located above the ion exchange resin in the ion exchange resin container.

[0048] Embodiment 8 is an ion exchange system. The ion exchange system comprises an ion exchange resin and off-specification polypropylene pellets. Embodiment 9 is the ion exchange system of embodiment 8, wherein the off-specification polypropylene pellets contain at least one of the following: less than 3.2 wt% or greater than 3.8 wt% xylene solubles, greater than 3.0 mg / kg titanium, greater than 120 mg / kg aluminum, greater than 3.0 mg / kg iron, greater than 75 mg / kg chloride and greater than 20% fines. Embodiment 10 is the ion exchange system of embodiment 8, wherein the ion exchange system is suitable for demineralizing aqueous liquids. Embodiment 11 is the ion exchange system of any of embodiments 8-10, wherein the ion exchange resin comprises an anion exchange resin and / or a cation exchange resin. Embodiment 12 is the ion exchange system of embodiment 11, wherein the ion exchange resin comprises an anion exchange resin, and further wherein the anion exchange resin comprises a polyacrylic matrix, a polyacrylic-divinylbenzene matrix, or a styrene-divinylbenzene polymer matrix containing carboxylic acid or sulfonic acid functional groups, or a combination thereof. Embodiment 13 is the ion exchange system of embodiment 11, wherein the ion exchange resin comprises an anion exchange resin, and further wherein the anion exchange resin comprises a cross-linked acrylic matrix, a polyacrylic-divinylbenzene matrix, or a styrene-divinylbenzene polymer matrix containing dimethylethanolamine, dimethylamine or polyamine or primary or secondary or tertiary or quaternary amine functional groups or N+(CH3)3 groups (type 1 resins) or -N+(CH3)2C2H4OH groups (type 2 resins), or a combination thereof. Embodiment 14 is the ion exchange system of any of embodiments 8-13, wherein the off-specification polypropylene pellets are located above the ion exchange resin in the ion exchange resin container. Embodiment 15 is the ion exchange system of any of embodiments 8-13, wherein the ion exchange system comprises a plurality of cation exchange resin containers and / or a plurality of anion exchange resin containers.

[0049] The systems and methods described herein may also include various devices not shown and known to those skilled in the art of chemical processing. For example, some controllers, pipelines, computers, valves, pumps, heaters, thermocouples, pressure indicators, mixers, heat exchangers, etc. may not be shown. Unless explicitly excluded, all embodiments described above and herein may be combined in any manner.

[0050] Although the embodiments of the application and their advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that, without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments defined by the appended claims, various changes, substitutions and variations can be made herein. In addition, the scope of the application is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, material composition, device, method and step described in the specification. As those of ordinary skill in the art will easily realize from the above disclosure, it is possible to utilize the current existence or later development of the process, machine, manufacture, material composition, device, method or step that performs the function substantially the same as the corresponding embodiment described herein or realizes substantially the same result. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to include such process, machine, manufacture, material composition, device, method or step in their scope.

Claims

1. A method for processing a liquid, the method comprising: The liquid is passed into an ion exchange system, wherein the ion exchange system comprises: Ion exchange resins; and Non-standard polypropylene pellets; contacting the liquid with the ion exchange resin; and Processed liquid is discharged from the ion exchange system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the off-specification polypropylene pellets comprise at least one of: Less than 3.2 wt% or more than 3.8 wt% of xylene solubles; Titanium greater than 3.0 mg / kg; Aluminum greater than 120 mg / kg; Greater than 3.0 mg / kg of iron; greater than 75 mg / kg of chloride; and Greater than 20% fines.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the processing comprises demineralizing the aqueous liquid.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the ion exchange resin comprises an anion exchange resin and / or a cation exchange resin.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the ion exchange resin comprises the anion exchange resin, and further wherein the anion exchange resin comprises a polyacrylic matrix, a polyacrylic-divinylbenzene matrix, or a styrene-divinylbenzene polymer matrix containing carboxylic acid or sulfonic acid functional groups, or a combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the ion exchange resin comprises the cation exchange resin, and further wherein the cation exchange resin comprises a cross-linked acrylic matrix, a polyacrylic-divinylbenzene matrix, or a styrene-divinylbenzene polymer matrix containing dimethylethanolamine, dimethylamine or polyamine or primary amine or secondary amine or tertiary amine or quaternary amine functional groups or N+(CH3)3 groups (type 1 resins) or -N+(CH3)2C2H4OH groups (type 2 resins), or a combination thereof.

7. The method of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the off-specification polypropylene pellets are located above the ion exchange resin in the ion exchange resin vessel.

8. An ion exchange system comprising: ion exchange resins; and Non-standard polypropylene pellets.

9. The ion exchange system of claim 8, wherein the off-specification polypropylene pellets comprise at least one of: Less than 3.2 wt% or more than 3.8 wt% of xylene solubles; Titanium greater than 3.0 mg / kg; Aluminum greater than 120 mg / kg; Greater than 3.0 mg / kg of iron; greater than 75 mg / kg of chloride; and Greater than 20% fines.

10. The ion exchange system of claim 8, wherein the ion exchange system is used to demineralize an aqueous liquid.

11. The ion exchange system according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the ion exchange resin comprises an anion exchange resin and / or a cation exchange resin.

12. The ion exchange system of claim 11, wherein the ion exchange resin comprises the anion exchange resin, and further wherein the anion exchange resin comprises a polyacrylic matrix, a polyacrylic-divinylbenzene matrix, or a styrene-divinylbenzene polymer matrix containing carboxylic acid or sulfonic acid functional groups, or a combination thereof.

13. The ion exchange system of claim 11, wherein the ion exchange resin comprises the anion exchange resin, and further wherein the anion exchange resin comprises a cross-linked acrylic matrix, a polyacrylic-divinylbenzene matrix, or a styrene-divinylbenzene polymer matrix containing dimethylethanolamine, dimethylamine or polyamine or primary or secondary or tertiary or quaternary amine functional groups or N+(CH3)3 groups (type 1 resins) or -N+(CH3)2C2H4OH groups (type 2 resins), or combinations thereof.

14. The ion exchange system of any one of claims 8-13, wherein the off-specification polypropylene pellets are located above the ion exchange resin in the ion exchange resin vessel.

15. The ion exchange system according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein the ion exchange system comprises a plurality of cation exchange resin containers and / or a plurality of anion exchange resin containers.

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