A centrifugal extractor with annular gap type high shear and coalescer synergistic reinforcement

Abstract

This invention relates to a centrifugal extractor with synergistic enhancement of annular high-shear and coalescing elements in the field of extraction equipment technology. It includes a shell and a rotating drum and shaft coaxially disposed within the shell. A drive device is located at the top of the shell, driving the rotating shaft to rotate the drum within the shell. The drum separates the heavy and light phases. An annular feed chamber is provided between the shell and the drum. A guide hole communicating with the annular feed chamber is provided at the bottom of the drum. Feed inlets communicating with the annular feed chamber are correspondingly provided on the side walls of the shell. A coalescer is fixed at the bottom of the drum. High-shear components are provided in the annular feed chambers on both sides of the drum. This invention has a simple structure and is easy to operate. It enables integrated synergistic enhancement of mixing, mass transfer, coalescence, and separation of immiscible liquid-liquid phases, improving the equipment's adaptability to complex systems and its overall processing efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of extraction apparatus technology, and more specifically, to a centrifugal extractor with synergistic enhancement of annular high shear and coalescing. Background Technology

[0002] Centrifugal extractors, with their rapid mixing and separation characteristics under high-speed centrifugal force, are widely used in chemical, pharmaceutical, and environmental protection fields. Among them, the annular gap centrifugal extractor, with its mixing chamber located in the annular gap between the drum and the outer shell, has a compact structure and can form highly efficient turbulent mixing, making it an important type of equipment for liquid-liquid separation. Its working principle is that after two-phase liquids enter the annular gap, they generate vortex mixing under the drive of the drum, and then achieve phase separation through centrifugal force. It has advantages such as small size and low feed volume.

[0003] However, existing annular gap centrifugal extractors have significant shortcomings when processing high-viscosity, easily emulsified systems (such as polytetrafluoroethylene emulsions and organic wastewater): on the one hand, the shear force generated by natural mixing in the annular gap is limited, making it difficult to refine droplets to the ideal mass transfer scale, resulting in low mass transfer efficiency; on the other hand, the tiny droplets formed after mixing are prone to aggregation or emulsification, and the two-phase entrainment problem easily occurs during phase separation, affecting the separation purity. Although some technologies have attempted to enhance separation by increasing the rotation speed, this easily exacerbates energy consumption and equipment wear, and cannot fundamentally solve the synergistic contradiction between insufficient mixing and the difficulty of emulsification and phase separation.

[0004] Furthermore, existing coalescence enhancement technologies are mostly independent units, not effectively integrated with annular centrifugal extraction structures, making it difficult to achieve integrated synergistic enhancement of mixing-mass transfer-coalescence-separation. This limits the equipment's adaptability to complex systems and its overall processing efficiency. Therefore, developing annular centrifugal extractors that can synergistically leverage the advantages of high-shear enhanced mixing and coalescence enhanced phase separation has become a key requirement for improving the extraction and separation performance of complex systems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to propose a centrifugal extractor with synergistic enhancement of annular high-shear and coalescing. Immiscible liquid-liquid two phases enter the annular feed chambers on both sides of the rotating drum through two feed inlets. Then, the high-shear components in the annular feed chambers shear and disperse the materials to further enhance mass transfer. The two-phase solution is then accelerated to the rotating shaft speed by a coalescing device located at the bottom of the drum. At the same time, under the action of the coalescing device, the micron-sized liquid-liquid two-phase droplets are agglomerated into millimeter-sized droplets, which is beneficial for subsequent phase separation. In addition, the baffle plate further extends the mass transfer time of the two phases, thereby realizing the integrated synergistic enhancement of mixing-mass transfer-coalescence-separation, improving the equipment's adaptability to complex systems and its overall processing efficiency.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: A centrifugal extractor with synergistic enhancement of annular high shear and coalescing features includes a shell and a rotating drum and shaft coaxially disposed within the shell. A drive device is located at the top of the shell and is connected to the rotating shaft to drive the rotating drum to rotate within the shell. The bottom of the rotating shaft is rotatably connected to the inner bottom wall of the shell. The rotating drum separates the heavy and light phases, which are discharged through heavy phase outlets and light phase outlets respectively located on the shell. An annular feed chamber is provided between the shell and the rotating drum, and a guide hole communicating with the annular feed chamber is located at the bottom of the rotating drum. The outer shell has feed ports on its two side walls that are connected to the annular feed chamber. The immiscible liquid-liquid phases enter the annular feed chamber from the two feed ports respectively. A coalescer is fixed at the bottom of the inner side of the rotating drum. The coalescer is correspondingly located at the top of the guide hole. High shear components are provided in the annular feed chambers on both sides of the rotating drum. The high shear components are located below the corresponding side feed ports and include at least one set of rotor and stator. The stator is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the outer shell and the rotor is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the rotating drum. The stator and rotor are configured with a clearance fit.

[0007] Preferably, the coalescer is at least one of a plate coalescer, a packing coalescer, or a filter cartridge coalescer, used to coalesce micron-sized liquid-liquid two-phase droplets into millimeter-sized large droplets, so as to facilitate subsequent phase separation.

[0008] Preferably, the meshing gap between the stator and rotor in the high-shear assembly is 0.1~3.0mm to achieve sufficient shearing and dispersion of the material.

[0009] Preferably, multiple sets of high-shear components are symmetrically arranged from top to bottom in the annular feeding chambers on both sides of the rotating drum, and each set of high-shear components on both sides of the rotating drum includes a set of vertically arranged rotors and stators to achieve more thorough shearing and dispersion of materials.

[0010] Preferably, multiple sets of high-shear components are symmetrically arranged along the rotation axis in the annular feeding chamber below the rotary drum, and each set of high-shear components below the rotary drum includes multiple sets of rotors and stators arranged vertically and in a staggered manner, which is beneficial to improving shearing efficiency and ensuring shearing effect.

[0011] More preferably, each high-shear assembly below the drum includes three sets of rotors and stators, which helps to further improve shearing efficiency and ensure shearing effect.

[0012] Preferably, the drive device is a variable frequency motor, and the output shaft of the variable frequency motor is connected to the rotating shaft through a coupling. This configuration allows the variable frequency motor to drive the rotating shaft to rotate at a set speed.

[0013] Preferably, a baffle plate is provided inside the rotating drum. The baffle plate is fixedly connected to the lower part of the rotating shaft and is correspondingly disposed at the top of the coalescer. This arrangement is used to block the upward flow velocity of the two-phase solution, thereby further prolonging the mass transfer time between the two phases and accelerating the two-phase solution to the rotating shaft speed.

[0014] Preferably, the rotating drum has a heavy phase outlet at its top center and a light phase guide port on its upper side wall. The inner side wall of the rotating drum has a light phase guide box connected to the light phase guide port. A heavy phase outlet channel is provided between the outer side wall of the light phase guide box and the inner wall of the rotating drum. The top of the light phase guide box is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft, and the bottom of the light phase guide box has a light phase outlet coaxial with the rotating shaft. This configuration allows the rotating drum to rotate via the rotating shaft. After centrifugal separation, the denser liquid phase adheres tightly to the rotating drum and is sequentially led out through the heavy phase outlet channel and then through the heavy phase outlet to the heavy phase outlet for discharge. The lighter liquid phase, located near the rotating shaft, enters the light phase guide box through the light phase outlet and then through the light phase guide port to the light phase outlet for discharge.

[0015] Preferably, the upper end of the inner side of the outer shell is provided with a first guide cone and a second guide cone from top to bottom. The top end of the first guide cone is rotatably and sealingly connected to the outer wall of the top end of the rotating cylinder, and the bottom end of the first guide cone is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the outer shell. A heavy phase collection chamber is formed between the first guide cone and the outer shell, and the heavy phase outlet is connected to the bottom of the heavy phase collection chamber. The upper end of the second guide cone is correspondingly arranged to the lower edge of the light phase guide port, and the upper end of the second guide cone is rotatably and sealingly connected to the outer wall of the rotating cylinder. The lower end of the second guide cone is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the outer shell, and a light phase collection chamber is formed between the second guide cone and the outer shell. The light phase outlet is connected to the bottom of the light phase collection chamber. This arrangement is used to guide the heavy phase from the heavy phase inlet to the heavy phase outlet, and to guide the light phase from the light phase guide port to the light phase outlet.

[0016] The present invention also includes other components that enable its normal use, all of which are conventional means in the art. In addition, devices or components not limited in the present invention, such as variable frequency motors, coalescing devices, and rotating drums, all adopt existing technologies in the art.

[0017] The working principle of this invention is as follows: immiscible liquid-liquid two phases enter the annular feeding chamber through two feed inlets, undergo sufficient and efficient shearing and mass transfer by a high-shear component, and then pass through a coalescer at the bottom of the rotating drum to accelerate the two-phase solution to the rotational speed of the shaft. At the same time, under the action of the coalescer, the micron-sized liquid-liquid two-phase droplets are agglomerated into millimeter-sized large droplets, which is conducive to subsequent phase separation. Subsequently, the material enters the rotating drum to achieve centrifugal phase separation. The denser liquid phase adheres tightly to the side wall of the rotating drum and is guided to the heavy phase outlet for discharge, while the lighter liquid phase is located near the shaft and is guided to the light phase outlet for discharge.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following beneficial effects: The invention has a simple structure and is easy to operate. It can achieve integrated synergistic enhancement of mixing, mass transfer, coalescence and separation of immiscible liquid-liquid two phases, thereby improving the equipment's adaptability to complex systems and its overall processing efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0019] The invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention in Embodiment 1.

[0020] Figure 2 This is a top view of the connection structure between the light phase guide box and the rotating cylinder in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the connection structure between the first guide cone, the second guide cone, and the rotating cylinder in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4 for Figure 1 Enlarged schematic diagram of part A in the diagram. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The invention will now be clearly described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. This description is merely for illustrative purposes and is not intended to limit the invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, or improvements made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without inventive effort to obtain all other embodiments should be included within the scope of protection of the invention.

[0024] Example 1 like Figure 1 , Figure 4As shown, this embodiment provides a centrifugal extractor with synergistic enhancement of annular high shear and coalescer, including a housing 2, a rotating drum 3 and a rotating shaft 4 coaxially disposed within the housing, a driving device 5 disposed at the top of the housing, the driving device being connected to the rotating shaft for driving the rotating shaft to rotate the rotating drum within the housing, the bottom of the rotating shaft being rotatably connected to the inner bottom wall of the housing, the rotating drum being used to separate the heavy phase and the light phase, and the separated heavy phase and light phase being discharged externally through a heavy phase outlet 6 and a light phase outlet 7 disposed on the housing, respectively, an annular feed chamber 8 being provided between the housing and the rotating drum, and the bottom of the rotating drum being provided with a connection to the annular feed chamber. The guide hole 9 is provided, and the two side walls of the outer shell are respectively provided with inlet ports 10 that are connected to the annular gap feeding chamber. The immiscible liquid-liquid two phases enter the annular gap feeding chamber from the two inlet ports respectively. A coalescer 1 is fixed at the bottom of the inner wall of the rotating drum. The coalescer is correspondingly provided at the top of the guide hole. High shear components 23 are provided in the annular gap feeding chambers on both sides of the rotating drum. The high shear components are located below the corresponding side inlet ports. The high shear components include a rotor 23-1 and a stator 23-2. The stator is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the outer shell, and the rotor is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the rotating drum. The stator and rotor are configured with a clearance fit.

[0025] In this embodiment, the coalescer is a plate coalescer, which is used to coalesce micron-sized liquid-liquid two-phase droplets into millimeter-sized large droplets to facilitate subsequent phase separation.

[0026] Specifically, please refer to Figure 1 The meshing gap between the stator and rotor in the high-shear assembly is 0.1~3.0mm to achieve sufficient shearing and dispersion of materials.

[0027] Continuing with the above embodiment, three sets of high-shear components are symmetrically arranged from top to bottom in the annular feeding chambers on both sides of the rotary drum, and each set of high-shear components on both sides of the rotary drum includes a set of vertically arranged rotors and stators; two sets of high-shear components are symmetrically arranged along the rotation axis in the annular feeding chamber below the rotary drum, and each set of high-shear components below the rotary drum includes three sets of rotors and stators arranged vertically in a staggered manner, which is beneficial to improve shearing efficiency and ensure shearing effect.

[0028] Following the above embodiments, please refer to Figure 1 The drive device uses a variable frequency motor, and the output shaft of the variable frequency motor is connected to the rotating shaft through a coupling. This configuration allows the variable frequency motor to drive the rotating shaft to rotate at a set speed.

[0029] In this embodiment, please refer to Figure 1A baffle plate 22 is provided inside the rotating drum. The baffle plate is fixedly connected to the lower part of the rotating shaft and is correspondingly positioned at the top of the coalescer. This arrangement is used to block the upward flow velocity of the two-phase solution, thereby further prolonging the two-phase mass transfer time and accelerating the two-phase solution to the rotating shaft speed.

[0030] Specifically, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the top center of the rotating drum is provided with a heavy phase outlet 11, and the upper side wall of the rotating drum is provided with a light phase guide port 12. The inner side wall of the rotating drum is provided with a light phase guide box 13 that communicates with the light phase guide port. A heavy phase outlet channel 14 is left between the outer side wall of the light phase guide box and the inner wall of the rotating drum. The top of the light phase guide box is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft, and the bottom of the light phase guide box is provided with a light phase outlet 15 that is coaxial with the rotating shaft. This configuration can drive the rotating drum to rotate through the rotating shaft, so that after the two phases of material in the rotating drum are separated by centrifugation, the denser liquid phase adheres tightly to the rotating drum and is led out through the heavy phase outlet channel and heavy phase outlet to the heavy phase outlet for discharge. The less dense liquid phase is located near the rotating shaft, enters the light phase guide box through the light phase outlet, and is then led out through the light phase guide port to the light phase outlet for discharge.

[0031] More specifically, such as Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the upper part of the inner side of the outer shell is provided with a first guide cone 16 and a second guide cone 17 from top to bottom. The top end of the first guide cone is rotatably and sealingly connected to the outer wall of the top end of the rotating cylinder through an O-ring rubber seal 18, and the bottom end of the first guide cone is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the outer shell. A heavy phase collection chamber 19 is formed between the first guide cone and the outer shell, and the heavy phase outlet is connected to the bottom of the heavy phase collection chamber. The upper end of the second guide cone is correspondingly arranged to the lower edge of the light phase guide port, and the upper end of the second guide cone is rotatably and sealingly connected to the outer wall of the rotating cylinder through an O-ring rubber seal 20. The lower end of the second guide cone is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the outer shell, and a light phase collection chamber 21 is formed between the second guide cone and the outer shell, and the light phase outlet is connected to the bottom of the light phase collection chamber. This arrangement is used to guide the heavy phase from the heavy phase inlet to the heavy phase outlet, and to guide the light phase from the light phase guide port to the light phase outlet.

[0032] The working principle of this invention is as follows: immiscible liquid-liquid two phases enter the annular feeding chamber through two feed inlets, undergo sufficient and efficient shearing and mass transfer by a high-shear component, and then pass through a coalescer at the bottom of the rotating drum to accelerate the two-phase solution to the rotational speed of the shaft. At the same time, under the action of the coalescer, the micron-sized liquid-liquid two-phase droplets are agglomerated into millimeter-sized large droplets, which is conducive to subsequent phase separation. Subsequently, the material enters the rotating drum to achieve centrifugal phase separation. The denser liquid phase adheres tightly to the side wall of the rotating drum and is guided to the heavy phase outlet for discharge, while the lighter liquid phase is located near the shaft and is guided to the light phase outlet for discharge.

[0033] Example 2 The only difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 is that the coalescer is a packed coalescer, which is used to coalesce micron-sized liquid-liquid two-phase droplets into millimeter-sized large droplets to facilitate subsequent phase separation.

[0034] Example 3 The only difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 is that the coalescer is a filter-type coalescer, which is used to coalesce micron-sized liquid-liquid two-phase droplets into millimeter-sized large droplets to facilitate subsequent phase separation.

[0035] Through the above embodiments 1-3, it is possible to achieve integrated and synergistic enhancement of mixing, mass transfer, coalescence and separation of immiscible liquid-liquid two phases, thereby improving the equipment's adaptability to complex systems and its overall processing efficiency.

[0036] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments.

Claims

1. A centrifugal extractor with synergistic enhancement of annular high shear and coalescing, comprising a shell and a rotating drum and a rotating shaft coaxially disposed within the shell, a driving device disposed at the top of the shell, the driving device being tractively connected to the rotating shaft for driving the rotating shaft to rotate the rotating drum within the shell, the bottom of the rotating shaft being rotatably connected to the inner bottom wall of the shell, the rotating drum being used to separate the heavy phase and the light phase, and the separated heavy phase and light phase being discharged externally through a heavy phase outlet and a light phase outlet respectively disposed on the shell, characterized in that: An annular feeding chamber is provided between the outer shell and the rotating drum. The bottom of the rotating drum is provided with a guide hole communicating with the annular feeding chamber. The two side walls of the outer shell are respectively provided with feed inlets communicating with the annular feeding chamber. Immiscible liquid-liquid phases enter the annular feeding chamber from the two feed inlets. A coalescer is fixed at the bottom of the rotating drum and is correspondingly provided at the top of the guide hole. High shear components are provided in the annular feeding chambers on both sides of the rotating drum. The high shear components are located below the corresponding side feed inlets and include at least one set of rotor and stator. The stator is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the outer shell and the rotor is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the rotating drum. The stator and rotor are provided with a clearance fit.

2. The centrifugal extractor with synergistic enhancement of annular high shear and coalescer as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The fitting clearance between the stator and rotor in the high-shear assembly is 0.1~3.0 mm.

3. The centrifugal extractor with synergistic enhancement of annular high shear and coalescer as described in claim 2, characterized in that: Multiple sets of high-shear components are symmetrically arranged from top to bottom in the annular feeding chambers on both sides of the rotating drum, and each set of high-shear components on both sides of the rotating drum includes a set of vertically arranged rotor and stator.

4. The centrifugal extractor with synergistic enhancement of annular high shear and coalescer as described in claim 3, characterized in that: Multiple sets of high-shear components are symmetrically arranged along the rotation axis in the annular feeding chamber below the rotating drum, and each set of high-shear components below the rotating drum includes multiple sets of rotors and stators arranged vertically and in a staggered manner.

5. The centrifugal extractor with synergistic enhancement of annular high shear and coalescer as described in claim 4, characterized in that: Each high-shear assembly below the rotating drum includes three sets of rotors and stators.

6. The centrifugal extractor with synergistic enhancement of annular high shear and coalescer as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The coalescer is at least one of a plate coalescer, a packing coalescer, or a cartridge coalescer.

7. The centrifugal extractor with synergistic enhancement of annular high shear and coalescer as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The drive device uses a variable frequency motor, and the output shaft of the variable frequency motor is connected to the rotating shaft through a coupling.

8. The centrifugal extractor with synergistic enhancement of annular high shear and coalescer as described in claim 1, characterized in that: A baffle plate is provided inside the rotating drum. The baffle plate is fixedly connected to the lower part of the rotating shaft and is correspondingly located at the top of the coalescer.

9. A centrifugal extractor with synergistic enhancement of annular high shear and coalescer according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The top center of the rotating drum is provided with a heavy phase outlet, and the upper side wall of the rotating drum is provided with a light phase guide port. The inner side wall of the rotating drum is provided with a light phase guide box that communicates with the light phase guide port. A heavy phase outlet channel is left between the outer side wall of the light phase guide box and the inner wall of the rotating drum. The top of the light phase guide box is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft, and the bottom of the light phase guide box is provided with a light phase outlet that is coaxial with the rotating shaft.

10. A centrifugal extractor with synergistic enhancement of annular high shear and coalescer as described in claim 9, characterized in that: The upper part of the inner side of the outer shell is provided with a first guide cone and a second guide cone from top to bottom. The top end of the first guide cone is rotatably and sealingly connected to the outer wall of the top end of the rotating cylinder, and the bottom end of the first guide cone is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the outer shell. The first guide cone and the outer shell form a heavy phase collection chamber. The heavy phase outlet is connected to the bottom of the heavy phase collection chamber. The upper end of the second guide cone is correspondingly set to the lower edge of the light phase guide port. The upper end of the second guide cone is rotatably and sealingly connected to the outer wall of the rotating cylinder. The lower end of the second guide cone is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the outer shell. The second guide cone and the outer shell form a light phase collection chamber. The light phase outlet is connected to the bottom of the light phase collection chamber.

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