Distillation apparatus and distillation method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a distillation apparatus comprising a body into which a substance to be distilled flows in from the top and a gas flows in from the bottom, a rotating shaft that rotates inside the body, a plurality of rotating cones provided on the outer surface of the rotating shaft, and a plurality of fixed cones provided on the inner surface of the body and positioned a predetermined distance from each of the rotating cones, wherein the spacing between the plurality of fixed cones is H1, and H2 is the shorter of the distance between the bottom surface of the body and the lower surface of the rotating cone closest to the bottom surface of the body, and the distance between the bottom surface of the body and the lower surface of the fixed cone closest to the bottom surface of the body, and H2 is greater than H1.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a distillation apparatus and a distillation method using the distillation apparatus, and more particularly to a distillation apparatus and a distillation method using the same that recovers high-purity products by separating volatile components from a substance to be distilled using thermal energy and centrifugal force. [Background technology]

[0002] A stripping column is a device that uses a gas (gas or steam) in a multi-stage distillation column to evaporate volatile components from a liquid substance to be distilled, allowing the recovery of a high-purity product.

[0003] In this case, the strip column requires high-temperature thermal energy to recover high-purity products from the distillation target material, which makes it difficult to separate and recover high-purity products from heat-sensitive materials such as foodstuffs and polymers.

[0004] The SSC (Spinning Cone Column) uses mechanical energy of centrifugal force together with thermal energy, and a related prior art document is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1995-022646.

[0005] The SSC recovers high-purity products from the distillation target substance using mechanical energy, i.e., centrifugal force, via the distillation target substance flowing in from the top and the gas (vapor) flowing in from the bottom. This shortens the contact time between the distillation target substance and thermal energy, making it possible to recover high-purity products at lower temperatures than in a strip column.

[0006] However, when the material to be stripped is in the form of PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) slurry or latex, heat or kinetic energy can destroy the colloidal stability of the latex particles, causing coagulation or foam formation, which can develop into scale and deteriorate the purity and physical properties of the product. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a distillation apparatus having a structure that improves latex stability and a distillation method using the same.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a distillation apparatus having a structure that allows for easy maintenance, and a distillation method using the same. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the distillation apparatus of the present invention comprises a body into which a substance to be distilled flows in from the top and a gas flows in from the bottom, a rotating shaft that rotates inside the body, a plurality of rotating cones provided on the outer surface of the rotating shaft, and a plurality of fixed cones provided on the inner surface of the body and positioned a predetermined distance from each of the rotating cones, wherein the spacing between the plurality of fixed cones is H1, and H2 is the shorter of the distance between the bottom surface of the body and the lower surface of the rotating cone closest to the bottom surface of the body, and the distance between the bottom surface of the body and the lower surface of the fixed cone closest to the bottom surface of the body, and H2 is larger than H1.

[0010] Here, the ratio of H2 to H1 may be in the range of 3 or more and 6 or less. A predetermined area of ​​the upper end of each of the plurality of rotating cones may be in the shape of a flat surface.

[0011] The substance to be distilled may also be a polymer produced by suspension polymerization or emulsion polymerization.

[0012] The body may also be provided with a hand hole or manhole for maintenance. In this case, the handhole or the manhole may be provided between each of the fixed cones.

[0013] The distillation method according to the present invention is a distillation method using a distillation apparatus including a body into which a substance to be distilled flows from the top and a gas flows from the bottom, a rotating shaft that rotates inside the body, a plurality of rotating cones provided on the outer surface of the rotating shaft, and a plurality of fixed cones that are provided on the inner surface of the body and are arranged at a predetermined distance from each of the rotating cones, the distillation method comprising the steps of: a) introducing the substance to be distilled into an inlet for the substance to be distilled provided on the upper side of the body, and introducing the gas into an inlet for the gas provided on the lower side of the body; and b) reacting the gas and the substance to be distilled inside the body, so that volatile substances are separated from the substance to be distilled. and c) recovering the target substance from which the volatile substances have been separated via a recovery section provided below the body section, wherein the spacing between each of the plurality of fixed cones is H1, and the shorter of the distance between the bottom surface of the body section and the lower surface of the rotating cone closest to the bottom surface of the body section and the distance between the bottom surface of the body section and the lower surface of the fixed cone closest to the bottom surface of the body section is H2, H2 is greater than H1, and step b) is characterized in that when the target substance and the gas come into contact to react with each other, the temperature of the gas is equal to or lower than the glass transition temperature Tg of the target substance.

[0014] Here, the ratio of H2 to H1 may be in the range of 3 or more and 6 or less. A predetermined area of ​​the upper end of each of the plurality of rotating cones may be in the shape of a flat surface.

[0015] The substance to be distilled may also be a polymer produced by suspension polymerization or emulsion polymerization.

[0016] The body may also be provided with a hand hole or manhole for maintenance. Also, the handhole or the manhole may be provided between each of the fixed cones. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] The distillation apparatus and distillation method according to the present invention can maintain latex stability by using a distillation apparatus having a structure that ensures a large space below the body.

[0018] Furthermore, the distillation apparatus and distillation method according to the present invention can facilitate maintenance by providing a maintenance manhole or hand hole between each fixed cone of the distillation apparatus. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a distillation apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing test results for Comparative Example 1 and Example 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a distillation apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] The distillation apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only to fully convey the technical concept of the present invention to those skilled in the art, and the present invention is not limited to the drawings presented below and may be embodied in various other forms.

[0021] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a distillation apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. Referring to FIG. 1, a distillation apparatus 1000 according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a body 100, a rotating shaft 200, a rotating cone 300, and a fixed cone 400.

[0022] The body part 100 is configured to house a rotating shaft 200, a rotating cone 300, and a fixed cone 400, and the substance to be distilled flows into the body part 100 from the top, and the gas (gas or vapor) flows into the body part 100 from the bottom.

[0023] More specifically, the body portion 100 includes an upper plate 110, a side plate 120, and a lower plate 130, where the side plate 120 is tubular and has a structure that connects the upper plate 110 and the lower plate 130 together.

[0024] The body portion 100 includes an inlet portion 123 for the material to be distilled, which is provided above the side plate 120 so that the material to be distilled can flow in from above and move downward by gravity.

[0025] The material to be distilled may be a polymer produced by suspension or emulsion polymerization.

[0026] Examples of polymers produced by suspension polymerization include poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and polystyrene (PS).

[0027] Examples of polymers produced by emulsion polymerization include poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA).

[0028] In one embodiment of the present invention, the distillation target material will be described using PVC as an example, but is not limited thereto. When the distillation target material is PVC, it is in the form of a PVC slurry or latex, and contains 10 to 60 wt% of PVC solid particles formed by suspension, micro-suspension, emulsion polymerization, etc. In this case, the PVC may be a single monomer product or a copolymer product.

[0029] The body 100 also includes a gas inlet 125 provided below the side plate 120 so that the gas can flow upward from the bottom, opposite to the direction of the inflow of the distillation target material.

[0030] Furthermore, a gas exhaust section 113 is provided on one side of the upper plate 110 to allow residual gas to be discharged to the outside, and a recovery section 133 is provided on one side of the lower plate 130 to recover a high-purity product in which volatile substances have been separated from the distillation target substance.

[0031] However, the inlet section 123 for the substance to be distilled, the gas inlet section 125, the gas outlet section 113, and the recovery section 133 can be arranged in various ways to suit the functional purpose, and are not limited to the above-mentioned arrangement structure.

[0032] The rotary shaft 200 is disposed vertically inside the body part 100 and can rotate about its axis. In this case, although not shown in FIG. 1, a rotary shaft control unit for supplying rotary power to the rotary shaft 200 may be provided in the body 100.

[0033] On the other hand, the rotating cone 300 is configured to be provided on the outer surface of the rotating shaft 200 . More specifically, the rotating cone 300 has a conical shape formed along the periphery of the outer surface of the rotating shaft 200, and has a shape in which the diameter becomes wider as it approaches the upper end of the rotating cone 300 (toward the upper part of the body part 100). A plurality of rotating cones 300 may be provided, and may rotate together with the rotating shaft 200 around the rotating shaft 200.

[0034] In this case, referring to FIG. 2, a predetermined region 310 at the upper end of the rotating cone 300 may have a flat surface shape. Here, the predetermined area 310 at the upper end of the rotating cone 300 refers to a predetermined area at one side end that does not contact the rotating shaft 200 .

[0035] In conventional distillation apparatuses, the upper end of the rotating cone 300 extends in an inclined plane with a certain inclination to the edge of the end portion. In this case, as the substance to be distilled spreads to the upper end of the rotating cone 300 due to centrifugal force, it is greatly affected by shear force at the edge of the upper end of the rotating cone 300, which destroys the latex stability.

[0036] Therefore, as in one embodiment of the present invention, by making a certain region 310 at the top of the rotating cone 300 flat and eliminating the inclined surface at the end portion of the top of the rotating cone 300, it is possible to increase the stability of the latex from excessive rotational kinetic energy.

[0037] Next, the fixed cone 400 is configured to be provided on the inner surface of the body part 100, and is formed in a conical shape along the periphery of the inner surface of the body part 100. More specifically, the fixed cone 400 may be provided along the periphery of the inner surface of the side plate 120 of the body part 100, and a plurality of fixed cones 400 may be provided. Similar to the rotating cone 300, the fixed cone 400 has a shape in which the diameter increases toward the upper end of the fixed cone 400 (toward the upper part of the body part 100), and is configured to be fixed to the inner surface of the side plate 120 without rotating.

[0038] Meanwhile, the fixed cones 400 are arranged at a predetermined distance from the rotating cone 300. More specifically, one fixed cone 400 is arranged at a predetermined distance above the upper surface of the rotating cone 300, and another fixed cone 400 is arranged at a predetermined distance below the lower surface of the rotating cone 300. In other words, the fixed cones 400 and the rotating cones 300 are arranged alternately in the vertical direction.

[0039] Here, the fixed cone 400 serves to guide the material to be distilled, which falls from the upper surface of the rotating cone 300 arranged above it, to the upper surface of the rotating cone 300 arranged below it. In this case, the upper surface of the fixed cone 400 is inclined toward the bottom of the body part 100. Due to this inclination, the material to be distilled, which falls from the upper rotating cone 300 of the fixed cone 400, can move along the inclination of the fixed cone 400 to the lower rotating cone 300 of the fixed cone 400.

[0040] A distillation process using the distillation apparatus 1000 according to one embodiment of the present invention is carried out as follows. When the material to be distilled flows in through the inlet 123 for the material to be distilled, it falls onto the rotating cone 300. As the rotating cone 300 rotates, centrifugal force causes the material to spread along the top surface of the rotating cone 300 to the end farthest from the rotation axis 200. The material to be distilled spread by centrifugal force falls onto the fixed cone 400 located below the rotating cone 300, slides along the slope of the top surface of the fixed cone 400, and then falls onto the rotating cone 300 located below the fixed cone 400. During this process, the material to be distilled reacts with the gas flowing up through the gas inlet 125, separating the volatile substances. The material then moves to the bottom of the body 100 and is collected via the collection section 133.

[0041] Meanwhile, as described above, the gas that reacts with the distillation target material flows into the gas inlet 125 provided at the bottom of the distillation apparatus. At this time, since the gas is at a higher temperature than the operating temperature, if the latex and the high-temperature gas come into contact with each other at a localized location at the bottom of the distillation apparatus, the stability of the latex may be destroyed.

[0042] Therefore, in the distillation apparatus 1000 according to one embodiment of the present invention, the distance from the inner bottom surface of the body part to the rotating cone or the fixed cone is made larger than the distance between the fixed cones 400, thereby making it possible to secure a larger space below the body part 100. In other words, the high-temperature gas is allowed to come into contact with the latex after a certain degree of heat exchange occurs due to the inner temperature of the body part 100.

[0043] That is, referring to Figure 2, H2 has a value greater than H1, where H1 is The vertical distance between the top ends of the adjacent rotating cones and the fixed cones H2 is the lower space of the distillation apparatus, which is the space between the bottom of the body 100 and ... lower end The distance between the bottom surface of the body 100 and the fixed cone closest to the bottom surface of the body 100 lower end It can be defined as the shortest distance between More specifically, H2 / H1>1, and preferably the ratio range of H2 to H1 (H2 / H1) is 3 or more and 6 or less.

[0044] In conventional distillation apparatuses, a lower space H2 is provided only at the short interval H1 between the fixed cones. In this case, the lower space occupies about 10% of the total height of the distillation apparatus, which is the height corresponding to the short interval H1.

[0045] The temperature of the overheated gas is reduced by heat exchange in the lower space inside the body 100, and when it comes into contact with the distillation target material, e.g., PVC, which has moved to the bottom, the temperature of the gas must be reduced to below the glass transition temperature Tg of PVC to prevent the destruction of latex stability. In order for the temperature of the gas to be reduced to below the glass transition temperature Tg of PVC through heat exchange, the lower space H2 must be at least three times the short interval H1, which corresponds to about 30% of the total height of the distillation apparatus.

[0046] However, if a lower space H2 exceeding six times the short interval H1 is provided (which corresponds to approximately 60% of the total height of the distillation apparatus), the gas has already reached the internal temperature conditions of the distillation apparatus, and further increasing the lower space H2 is not only ineffective, but also ineffective. In fact, an excessively large lower space will result in insufficient space for arranging the rotating cone 300 and the fixed cone 400, resulting in a decrease in distillation efficiency.

[0047] Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 3, test results for verifying the effectiveness of the distillation apparatus 1000 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described. <Comparative Example 1> A distillation apparatus having a lower space H2 corresponding to the short interval H1 was constructed, and stripping was performed. The material to be distilled was emulsion-like PVC latex, and the heat medium used was gas at 140°C, with the internal temperature of the distillation apparatus body being 60°C. Repeated operation was performed, and the maintenance time of latex stability was measured.

[0048] Example 1 A distillation apparatus having a lower space H2 three times the short interval H1 was constructed, and stripping was carried out. The substance to be distilled was emulsion-like PVC latex, as in Comparative Example 1, and the heat medium used was gas at 140°C, with the internal temperature of the body of the distillation apparatus being 60°C. Repeated operation was carried out, and the time for which the latex stability was maintained was measured.

[0049] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing test results for the above-mentioned Comparative Example 1 and Example 1. Referring to FIG. 3, when the stability maintenance time for each number of repeated runs was measured under the condition that the latex stability of the distillation target material can be maintained for about 50 minutes, it can be seen that when only the lower space H2 corresponding to the short interval H1 of the fixed cone is provided as in Comparative Example 1, i.e., when H1 = H2, the latex state maintenance time significantly decreases as the number of repeated runs of the distillation apparatus increases.

[0050] In contrast, when the lower space H2 is secured to be large as in Example 1, the latex stability is maintained despite repeated operation. Here, the repeated operation mentioned above means repeatedly operating the process of re-introducing the distillation target substance recovered via recovery section 133 into the distillation apparatus.

[0051] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a distillation apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, a distillation apparatus 1000 ′ according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a body portion 100 , a rotating shaft 200 , a rotating cone 300 , a fixed cone 400 , and a manhole or handhole 500 .

[0052] A distillation apparatus 1000' according to another embodiment of the present invention is similar to the distillation apparatus of Fig. 1, but differs in that it further includes a maintenance manhole or handhole. The body 100, the rotating shaft 200, the rotating cone 300, and the fixed cone 400 are similar to those of the distillation apparatus 1000 according to one embodiment of the present invention, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0053] Here, a manhole or handhole 500 is provided in the body part 100, and a person can enter and exit through the manhole to directly perform maintenance on each component of the distillation apparatus, or can insert their hand through the handhole to perform maintenance.

[0054] Preferably, manholes or handholes can be provided between each of the fixed cones 400 to allow for easier maintenance.

[0055] As described above, the distillation apparatus according to the present invention has a larger lower space in the body compared to the short interval between the fixed cones, thereby preventing the latex from coming into direct contact with high-temperature gas at the bottom of the distillation apparatus, thereby maintaining the stability of the latex. Also, the distillation apparatus according to the present invention has a maintenance manhole or hand hole between each fixed cone, which makes maintenance easy.

[0056] The distillation method according to the present invention will be described below. The distillation method according to one embodiment of the present invention can be performed using the distillation apparatus 1000 described above. In this case, the distillation method according to one embodiment of the present invention includes step a) in which the substance to be distilled flows in through the substance inlet 123 provided on the upper side of the body part 100 and gas flows in through the gas inlet 125 provided on the lower side of the body part 100, step b) in which the gas and the substance to be distilled react inside the body part 100 and volatile substances are separated from the substance to be distilled, and step c) in which the substance to be distilled from which the volatile substances have been separated is recovered through the recovery part 133 provided on the lower side of the body part 100.

[0057] In this case, the spacing between each of the multiple fixed cones 400 is H1, and H2 is the shorter of the distance between the bottom surface of the body portion 100 and the lower surface of the rotating cone 300 closest to the bottom surface of the body portion 100 and the distance between the bottom surface of the body portion 100 and the lower surface of the fixed cone 400 closest to the bottom surface of the body portion 100. Therefore, H2 / H1>1, and preferably the ratio range of H2 to H1 (H2 / H1) is 3 or more and 6 or less.

[0058] Furthermore, step b) is characterized in that when the substance to be distilled and the gas come into contact with each other to react, the temperature of the gas is equal to or lower than the glass transition temperature Tg of the substance to be distilled. For example, when the substance to be distilled is PVC, the temperature of the gas coming into contact with PVC must be reduced to equal to or lower than the glass transition temperature Tg of PVC.

[0059] Other detailed descriptions of the distillation method according to one embodiment of the present invention can be substituted for the description of the distillation apparatus 1000 described above.

[0060] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to limited embodiments and drawings, the embodiment given as an example for explaining the present invention is merely one embodiment in which the present invention is embodied, and various combinations can be made to realize the gist of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and as claimed in the following claims, it can be said that the technical features of the present invention are within the scope of various modifications that can be made by anyone skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Claims

1. a body portion into which the substance to be distilled flows from the top and into which gas flows from the bottom; a rotation shaft that rotates inside the body portion; a plurality of rotating cones provided on an outer surface of the rotating shaft; a plurality of fixed cones provided on an inner surface of the body portion and spaced a predetermined distance from each of the rotating cones; Including, When the vertical distance between the adjacent upper ends of the rotating cone and the fixed cone is H1, and the shorter of the distance between the bottom surface of the body portion and the lower end of the rotating cone closest to the bottom surface of the body portion and the distance between the bottom surface of the body portion and the lower end of the fixed cone closest to the bottom surface of the body portion is H2, H2 is larger than H1, The ratio of H2 to H1 is in the range of 3 to 6, and the H2 secured in the lower part of the body exchanges heat with the gas flowing in from the lower part of the body at the internal temperature of the body, thereby reducing the temperature of the gas to the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the substance to be distilled, and the H2 is about 30% to 60% of the total height of the distillation apparatus. A distillation apparatus characterized by:

2. 2. The distillation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a predetermined area of ​​the upper end of each of the plurality of rotating cones is in the form of a flat surface.

3. 2. The distillation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the material to be distilled is a polymer produced by suspension polymerization or emulsion polymerization.

4. The distillation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the body portion is provided with a hand hole or manhole for maintenance.

5. The distillation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the handhole or the manhole is provided between each of the fixed cones.

6. A distillation method using a distillation apparatus including: a body into which a substance to be distilled flows from an upper portion and into which a gas flows from a lower portion; a rotating shaft that rotates inside the body; a plurality of rotating cones provided on an outer surface of the rotating shaft; and a plurality of fixed cones provided on an inner surface of the body and disposed at a predetermined distance from each of the rotating cones, a) a step in which the substance to be distilled flows into an inlet for the substance to be distilled provided on the upper side of the body portion, and the gas flows into an inlet for the gas provided on the lower side of the body portion; b) a step in which the gas and the substance to be distilled react inside the body portion to separate volatile substances from the substance to be distilled; Step c) of recovering the distillation target substance from which the volatile substances have been separated through a recovery section provided below the body section; Including, When the vertical distance between the adjacent upper ends of the rotating cone and the fixed cone is H1, and the shorter of the distance between the bottom surface of the body portion and the lower end of the rotating cone closest to the bottom surface of the body portion and the distance between the bottom surface of the body portion and the lower end of the fixed cone closest to the bottom surface of the body portion is H2, H2 is larger than H1, In the step b), when the substance to be distilled and the gas come into contact with each other to react with each other, the temperature of the gas is equal to or lower than the glass transition temperature Tg of the substance to be distilled, The ratio of H2 to H1 is in the range of 3 to 6, and the H2 secured in the lower part of the body exchanges heat with the gas flowing in from the lower part of the body at the internal temperature of the body, thereby reducing the temperature of the gas to the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the substance to be distilled, and the H2 is about 30% to 60% of the total height of the distillation apparatus. A distillation method characterized by:

7. The distillation method according to claim 6, wherein a predetermined region of the upper end of each of the plurality of rotating cones has a flat surface shape.

8. 7. The distillation method according to claim 6, wherein the material to be distilled is a polymer produced by suspension polymerization or emulsion polymerization.

9. The distillation method according to claim 6, wherein the body portion is provided with a hand hole or manhole for maintenance.

10. The distillation method according to claim 9, wherein the handhole or the manhole is provided between each of the fixed cones.

Images