Synthetic fuel manufacturing facility

Abstract

To provide a synthetic fuel production device that can realize multiple processes in one unit when producing synthetic fuel by mixing oil and water. [Solution] To continuously perform the process of mixing and reacting water and oil, which have different specific gravities, and then separating the two liquids, the system is equipped with reaction / separation tanks T3 and T4, which have an inner reaction tank T3 and an outer separation tank T4. The inner reaction tank T3 reacts while stirring the mixed liquid fed by an agitation pump, and the mixed liquid is discharged into the outer separation tank T4 through a separation pipe 3, which takes the mixed liquid from the bottom of the reaction tank T3 and sends it to the top of the separation tank T4. The discharged mixed liquid is separated into two types based on the difference in specific gravities and discharged from an oil outlet 4a at the top of separation tank T4 and a water outlet 4c at the bottom of separation tank T4. Separation pipe 3 has a double-pipe structure in which the two pipes are movable relative to each other, and the height of the outlet to separation tank T4 can be adjusted according to the reaction time in reaction tank T3.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a manufacturing apparatus for adding water to a hydrocarbon-based fuel base oil to produce a hydrocarbon-based synthetic fuel equivalent to the base oil. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, attempts have been made to reduce the environmental burden by mixing water with fossil fuels to increase the amount of oil and reduce CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a production method including the steps of: irradiating water with ultrasound to produce activated water; adding a hydrocarbon fuel base oil to the activated water and stirring and mixing the water in a reactive environment; fusing the fuel base oil and the activated water in a reactive environment after the stirring and mixing step; and collecting the fuel oil obtained from the mixture that has undergone the fusion step as a primary product hydrocarbon fuel oil. The primary product hydrocarbon fuel is used as a secondary fuel base oil, and the stirring and mixing, fusing, and fuel oil collection steps are repeated to obtain a secondary product hydrocarbon fuel oil. Subsequently, the obtained hydrocarbon fuel oils are sequentially used as fuel base oils, and the above steps are repeated multiple times to produce multiple-product hydrocarbon fuel oils with a volume larger than that of the initial fuel base oil. The method discloses a technology in which, in the reactive environment of the stirring and mixing step, water to which catalase has been added is stirred while being irradiated with ultrasound. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6995373 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the above Patent Document 1, catalase is added as a reaction accelerator to a mixture of fuel oil and water to produce an emulsion fuel oil by simply mixing the fuel oil and water, and it does not produce a synthetic fuel in which the fuel oil and water are organically chemically bonded.

[0006] Furthermore, a large-scale manufacturing device is required that connects various equipment, such as a reaction tank for stirring and mixing the fuel oil and water to fuse them, a settling tank for temporarily storing the purified liquid after the fusion process, and a reaction promoter injection section for supplying a reaction promoter (catalase), which results in a drawback in that the manufacturing equipment space becomes large.

[0007] In view of the above, the present invention aims to provide a synthetic fuel production device that can perform multiple processes in a single unit when mixing oil and water to produce synthetic fuel, i.e., when artificially combining hydrogen (H2) and carbon (C) to produce hydrocarbons, by reacting the oil and water while stirring them and separating and discharging them in parallel. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention provides a synthetic fuel production apparatus for continuously performing the steps of mixing and reacting water and oil, which have different specific gravities, and then separating the two liquids, the apparatus comprising a reaction / separation tank having at least an inner reaction tank and an outer separation tank, the inner reaction tank reacting while stirring a mixed liquid that is fed into the inner reaction tank by a stirring pump, a separation pipe that removes the reacted mixed liquid from the bottom of the reaction tank and sends it to the top of the outer separation tank, the outer separation tank separating the mixed liquid discharged from the inner reaction tank into oil and water due to the difference in specific gravities, the separation pipe having a double pipe structure in which the two pipes are movable relative to each other, and the outlet height to the separation tank is adjustable.

[0009] In the above configuration, a reaction / separation tank having an inner reaction tank and an outer separation tank is used, and in the inner reaction tank, a reaction step in which a mixture of two liquids, water and oil, is reacted while being stirred by an agitation pump; a separation step in which the mixture reacted in the reaction step is discharged into the outer separation tank through a separation pipe that takes the mixture from the bottom of the reaction tank and sends it to the top of the separation tank, and the mixture discharged from the reaction tank is separated into oil and water due to the difference in specific gravity; an oil discharge step in which the oil separated in the separation step is discharged from the top of the separation tank; and a water discharge step in which the water separated in the separation step is discharged from the bottom of the separation tank. All of these steps can be continuously carried out in a single reaction / separation tank.

[0010] In the reaction process of two liquids, water and oil, the reaction time depends on the amount of the mixed liquid and the time it takes to discharge it from the reactor. If the height of the separation tube outlet is too low, the mixed liquid will be discharged before the reaction is complete, and the target yield will not be achieved. Conversely, if the height of the separation tube outlet is too high, the residence time in the reactor will be too long, causing a reverse reaction and resulting in the target yield not being achieved. Therefore, the height of the separation tube outlet was adjusted to ensure an appropriate reaction time for the mixed liquid and ensure the target yield.

[0011] In this case, the separation tube includes an outer tube and an inner tube fitted inside the outer tube, and both tubes are movable relative to each other in the tube length direction, making it possible to adjust the outlet height to the separation tank. With this configuration, the outlet height of the separation tube can be adjusted using a simple double-pipe configuration consisting of an outer tube and an inner tube.

[0012] The reaction / separation tank may further include a water tank outside the outer separation tank for storing and separating water discharged from the bottom of the separation tank, thereby allowing the reaction process, separation process, oil discharge process, and water discharge process to be carried out continuously in a single reaction / separation tank.

[0013] That is, this is a method for producing synthetic fuels by continuously mixing and reacting water and oil, which have different specific gravities, and then separating the two liquids. The method uses a reaction / separation tank having an inner reaction tank and an outer separation tank. In the inner reaction tank, a mixture of two liquids, water and fuel oil, is stirred and reacted using an agitation pump. The mixture reacted in the reaction step is discharged into the outer separation tank through a separation pipe that takes the mixture from the bottom of the reaction tank and sends it to the top of the separation tank, and the mixture discharged from the reaction tank is separated into oil and water due to the difference in specific gravities. An oil discharge step is performed to discharge the oil separated in the separation step from the top of the separation tank, and a water discharge step is performed to discharge the water separated in the separation step from the bottom of the separation tank. The reaction step, separation step, oil discharge step, and water discharge step are performed simultaneously and continuously in a single reaction / separation tank. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] In the manufacturing apparatus of Patent Document 1, the stirring step, reaction step, separation step, and discharge step are carried out in separate tanks, but in the present invention, the above four steps are carried out simultaneously in a reaction / separation tank, which has the excellent effect of completely separating oil and water. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a synthetic fuel production apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of the reaction / separation tank of the synthetic fuel production apparatus. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a reaction vessel among the reaction / separation vessels of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a separation tank among the reaction / separation tanks in FIG. 2. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a synthetic fuel production apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a synthetic fuel production apparatus according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the synthetic fuel production apparatus 1 includes an aeration tank T1, a photocatalytic device S1, a stirring tank T2, reaction / separation tanks T3 and T4, a water tank T5, a settling tank T6, an oil storage tank T7, and a filter F1, which are connected by piping.

[0017] That is, the synthetic fuel production apparatus 1 is equipped with an aeration tank T1 that mixes air into water to dissolve oxygen and carbon dioxide; a photocatalytic device S1 that irradiates water discharged from the aeration tank T1 using a pump P1 with sunlight or UV light to bring the water into contact with a photocatalyst and activate the water; a stirring tank T2 that stores the functional water and oil (kerosene, light oil, heavy oil, etc.) discharged from the photocatalytic device S1 while stirring the functional water and oil; a reaction tank T3 that continuously sucks and pours the oil and water stored in the stirring tank T2 using pump P2, where the oil and water are sufficiently stirred and chemically reacted; a separation tank T4 that automatically separates the oil and water discharged from the reaction tank T3; a water tank T5 that stores the water separated in the separation tank T4; a settling tank T6 that discharges the oil separated in the separation tank T4 and setstling it; an oil storage tank T7 that stores the oil discharged from the settling tank T6; and a filter F1 that further filters the oil in the oil storage tank T7.

[0018] The aeration tank 1 is a tank that is open at the top to mix air into water to dissolve oxygen (O) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Tap water is used as the water, but any of well water, groundwater, river water, lake water, marsh water, seawater, etc. can also be used.

[0019] The photocatalytic device S1 irradiates water delivered from an aeration tank T1 by a pump P1 with sunlight or ultraviolet (UV) light, bringing the water into contact with the photocatalyst contained therein and activating the water. As a photocatalyst, for example, a porous composite functional photocatalyst developed by the present inventors, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 5082034, can be used. Specifically, the composite functional photocatalyst is prepared by impregnating an inorganic porous material such as zeolite with a composite functional photocatalyst dispersion composed of titanium oxide, titanium oxide sol, oxidation catalyst, ceramic powder, and an aqueous binder, and supporting the composite functional photocatalyst thereon. This composite functional photocatalyst is then packed into a transparent column. Water is passed through the transparent column while being irradiated with sunlight or ultraviolet (UV) light on the porous composite functional photocatalyst within the column, activating the water and converting it into functional water.

[0020] The stirring tank T2 stores oil (kerosene, light oil, heavy oil, etc.) and mixes and stirs it with the functional water delivered from the photocatalyst device S1. It is desirable to store the oil in the stirring tank T2 in advance and then deliver the functional water to it. Here, the stirring action is performed by the water delivery pressure of the functional water, etc. or the pump pressure of the stirring pump P2, which will be described later. Alternatively, the stirring tank T2 may be provided with a stirring blade, and the mixed liquid may be stirred by its rotational drive.

[0021] Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the reaction / separation tanks T3 and T4, Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of the reaction tank T3 of the reaction / separation tanks T3 and T4, and Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of the separation tank T4 of the reaction / separation tanks T3 and T4. As shown in the figures, the reaction / separation tanks T3 and T4 comprise an inner reaction tank T3 and an outer separation tank T4. The inner reaction tank T3 reacts with a mixture of two liquids, water and oil, sent from the stirring tank T2 by the stirring pump P2 while stirring, and has multiple separation tubes 3 that discharge the reacted mixture from the bottom of the reaction tank T3 toward the separation tank T4.

[0022] The separation tube 3 is an L-shaped tube that protrudes laterally from the bottom of the reaction vessel T3, extends upward from its midpoint, and has an extraction outlet 3c at its tip. The L-shaped separation tube 3 includes an outer tube 3a and an inner tube 3b fitted within the outer tube 3a. Both tubes 3a and 3b are movable relative to each other along their length, allowing the height of the extraction outlet 3c to the separation vessel T4 to be adjusted. In this embodiment, the outer tube 3a is L-shaped and its base end is connected to the bottom of the reaction vessel T3. A straight inner tube 3b is connected to its upper end opening so that it can move up and down. Alternatively, the inner tube 3b may be L-shaped and connected to the bottom of the reaction vessel T3, with the straight outer tube 3a attached to the top end of the inner tube 3b. This double-tube structure of the outer tube 3a and inner tube 3b allows the height of the separation tube outlet 3c to be adjusted, thereby adjusting the reaction time of the mixed solution in the reaction vessel T3. The height of the separation tube 3 can be adjusted by manually moving both tubes 3a and 3b up and down (for example, by threading both tubes 3a and 3b together and adjusting the length depending on the degree of threading), by using a combination of a rack and pinion and a motor, or by using a physical driving means such as a fluid pressure cylinder.

[0023] The outer separation tank T4 separates the mixed liquid discharged from the inner reaction tank T3 into two liquids (oil and water) based on the difference in specific gravity, and has an oil outlet 4a at the top of the separation tank T4 and a water outlet 4b at the bottom. The water outlet 4b is located at the bottom of the separation tank T4 and can be opened and closed by a drain valve 4c.

[0024] The reaction / separation tanks T3 and T4 include a water tank T5 located outside the outer separation tank T4, which stores and separates the water discharged from the bottom of the separation tank T4. This allows the reaction process, separation process, oil discharge process, and water discharge process to be carried out continuously in a single tank T3, T4, and T5.

[0025] The settling tank T6 is divided into multiple settling chambers 6b by multiple partition walls 6a with communicating flow paths formed at one end so that the oil circulating within the tank flows in a serpentine manner in the vertical direction, and multiple drain holes 6c are formed at the bottom of the settling tank T6 corresponding to the settling chambers 6b.

[0026] The oil storage tank T7 temporarily stores the oil sent from the settling tank T6, where most of the impurities are removed to obtain refined oil. Further refined oil can then be supplied from this oil storage tank T7 via a filter F1.

[0027] An example of the manufacturing process of the synthetic fuel manufacturing apparatus 1 having the above configuration is shown below. Water (for example, tap water) is poured into the aeration tank T1 at a rate of 15 liters / minute. 3 Air is introduced at a rate of 15 liters per minute (15 liters per minute) to dissolve oxygen and carbon dioxide into the water. Water from this aeration tank T1 is pumped to the photocatalyst device S1 at a rate of 15 liters per minute by pump P1. At this time, oxygen is dissolved into the water at a rate of 25 to 35 milliliters per minute.

[0028] Meanwhile, oil (kerosene, diesel, heavy oil A) is pumped into the mixing tank T2 (at 25 to 35 liters per minute) and 60 liters is stored in the mixing tank T2. Functional water is poured into the mixing tank T2 storing the oil from the photocatalytic device S1 at a rate of 10 to 20 liters per minute. This process is carried out continuously.

[0029] Oil and water stored in mixing tank T2 are continuously sucked into pump P2 and fed into reaction tank T3. The oil and water fed into reaction tank T3 are thoroughly mixed, causing a chemical reaction. All of the reacted oil and water are sent to separation tank T4. In separation tank T4, the oil and water are automatically separated due to the difference in specific gravity, and the oil separated on top is sent to settling tank T6, while the water separated on the bottom is sent to water tank T5.

[0030] The oil sent to settling tank T6 snakes up and down, further separating the water and sending only the oil to oil storage tank T7. The oil in oil storage tank T7 is further filtered through precision filter F1 to complete the purification process. Meanwhile, the water in water tank T5 is filtered and recycled. Experiments by the inventors have shown that simply mixing catalytic water with oil and stirring it can reduce sulfur oxides (SOx) to 0 ppm and NOx in the oil from 1200-1400 ppm to 400 ppm.

[0031] In this way, by using the reaction / separation tanks T3, T4 having an inner reaction tank T3 and an outer separation tank T4, the following steps can be continuously carried out in the inner reaction tank T3: a reaction step in which the two liquids of water and oil are mixed and discharged by the stirring pump P2 and reacted while being stirred; a separation step in which the mixed liquid that has undergone a chemical reaction in the reaction step is discharged into the outer separation tank T4 and the mixed liquid discharged from the reaction tank T3 is separated into two types of liquid based on the difference in specific gravity; an oil discharge step in which the oil separated in the separation step is discharged from the top of the separation tank T4; and a water discharge step in which the water separated in the separation step is discharged from the bottom of the separation tank T4.

[0032] A separation tube 3 is provided to extract the mixed solution reacted in the reaction step from the bottom of the reaction tank T3 and deliver it to the top of the separation tank T4. The height of the outlet 3c of the separation tube 3 affects the reaction process of the two liquids (water and oil) in the reaction tank T3. In other words, if the height of the outlet 3c of the separation tube 3 is too low, the mixed solution will be discharged from the reaction tank T3 before the reaction in the reaction tank T3 is completed, and the target yield will not be obtained. Conversely, if the height of the outlet 3c of the separation tube 3 is too high, the mixed solution will undergo a reverse reaction as a secondary reaction in the reaction tank T3, and the target yield will not be obtained. Therefore, the height of the outlet 3c of the separation tube 3 is an important factor. Therefore, in this embodiment, the height of the outlet 3c of the separation tube 3 is adjusted according to the amount of mixed solution and reaction time in the reaction tank T3, ensuring an appropriate reaction time for the mixed solution and ensuring the target yield.

[0033] Figure 5 is a configuration diagram of a synthetic fuel production apparatus according to a second embodiment. This synthetic fuel production apparatus 1 differs from the first embodiment shown in Figure 1 in the following respects: a cooling tower K1 is provided between the aeration tank T1 and the photocatalytic device S1; the water tank T5 and the settling tank T6 are not provided outside the reaction / separation tanks T3 and T4; oil from the reaction / separation tanks T3 and T4 is sent to the oil storage tank T7 by a pump P5; and water from the separation tank T4 is returned to the aeration tank T1 by a pump P6.

[0034] The reaction tank T3 is equipped with a separation pipe 3 at its bottom, and a discharge valve 3d is provided at the bottom of the tank in an openable and closable manner so that the mixed liquid from the reaction tank T3 is discharged into the separation tank T4 when the discharge valve 3d is opened. A drain valve 4c is provided at the bottom of the separation tank T4 in an openable and closable manner so that when the drain valve 4c is opened, water is returned to the aeration tank T1 via the pump P6 and the filter F2. The remaining configuration is the same as in the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0035] An example of the manufacturing process of the synthetic fuel manufacturing apparatus 1 configured as described above is shown below. 100 liters of tap water is stored in the aeration tank T1 (20 liters / minute). The tap water stored in the aeration tank T1 is sent to the 100-liter cooling tower K1 at 20 liters / minute using pump P1, and the water is cooled to lower its temperature by, for example, 5 degrees.

[0036] Water cooled in the cooling tower K1 is passed through the photocatalytic device S1 by the pump P3 (20 liters / minute). The passed water (activated water, catalytic water) is poured into the stirring tank T2 (50 liters).

[0037] Before the activated water and catalyst water are poured from the photocatalytic device K2 into the stirring tank T2, a certain amount (30 liters) of oil is first pumped in advance by pump P4 at 30 liters / minute. At the same time as the water pumped from the photocatalytic device K2 enters the stirring tank T2, it is sucked in by plunger pump P3 (50 liters / minute) and sent to the reaction / separation tanks T3 and T4. At this time, the water and oil are mixed and stirred at a mixing ratio of water:oil = 2:3.

[0038] The water and oil mixture sent to reaction / separation tanks T3 and T4 is poured into the inner reaction tank (15 liters). At this time, the mixed liquid sent rises from the bottom of the tank through separation pipe 3 to outlet 3c near the oil / water surface and is released into separation tank T4.

[0039] The discharged mixed liquid separates into water and oil in separation tank T4, with the water falling to the bottom and the oil floating on the surface. The oil that floats to the top of the tank is removed from outlet 4a and returned to oil storage tank T7 via pump P5 and filter F1. The water that falls in separation tank T4 is removed from drain outlet 4c at the bottom and returned to aeration tank T1 via filter F2. This series of operations is repeated to produce an increased amount of synthetic fuel.

[0040] As is clear from the above description, the above embodiment is a method for producing synthetic fuel that continuously performs the steps of mixing and reacting water and oil, which have different specific gravities, and then separating these two liquids. The method uses reaction / separation tanks T3 and T4, each having an inner reaction tank and an outer separation tank. The reaction / separation tanks T3 and T4 include a reaction step in which the two liquids, water and oil, are mixed and fed into the inner reaction tank T3 using an agitation pump, and the resulting mixture is stirred while being reacted; a separation step in which the mixture reacted in the reaction step is discharged from the bottom of the reaction tank T3 to the top of the separation tank via separation pipe 3, which delivers the discharged mixture to the outer separation tank T4, and the discharged mixture is separated into two liquids based on their difference in specific gravities; an oil discharge step in which the oil separated in the separation step is discharged from the top of the separation tank; and a water discharge step in which the water separated in the separation step is discharged from the bottom of the separation tank. The series of operations of the reaction step, separation step, oil discharge step, and water discharge step are continuously performed in a single reaction / separation tank.

[0041] Therefore, not only does it reduce the installation space for synthetic fuel production equipment, but it also significantly increases the amount of synthetic fuel produced. Furthermore, producing new fuel oil using carbon dioxide in the air as a raw material leads to decarbonization and makes it possible to achieve a carbon-free society. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1 Synthetic fuel production equipment 3 Separation tube 3a outer tube 3b Inner tube 3c exit T1 Aeration Tank T2 Mixing Tank T3 Reactor T4 separation tank T5 Aquarium T6 sedimentation tank T7 oil storage tank S1 Photocatalyst device F1 Filter P1~P6 pumps

Claims

1. A synthetic fuel production apparatus that continuously performs the steps of mixing and reacting water and oil, which have different specific gravities, and then separating the two types of liquid, The system comprises an aeration tank that mixes air into water to dissolve oxygen and carbon dioxide, a photocatalytic device that irradiates the water discharged from the aeration tank with sunlight or UV light to bring the water into contact with a photocatalyst and activate the water, a stirring tank that mixes and stirs the water and oil discharged from the photocatalytic device, a reaction tank that reacts the mixed liquid introduced from the stirring tank while stirring and discharges the reacted mixed liquid from the bottom, a separation tank that separates the mixed liquid reacted in the reaction tank into two types of liquid based on the difference in specific gravity, and an oil storage tank that stores the oil discharged from the separation tank, a separation tank provided outside the reaction tank, the separation tank having an oil outlet at its top and a water outlet at its bottom; a separation tube provided inside the separation tank for discharging the mixed liquid reacted in the reaction tank from the bottom of the reaction tank to the separation tank side; the separation tube having a double-tube structure in which the two tubes are movable relative to each other; and an outlet height of the separation tube being adjustable.

2. 2. The synthetic fuel production apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a water tank outside the separation tank for storing water discharged from the water outlet of the separation tank, a settling tank for separating the oil discharged from the oil outlet of the separation tank by allowing the oil to circulate in a serpentine manner in an up-and-down direction, and the oil storage tank for storing the oil discharged from the settling tank.

3. 2. The synthetic fuel production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein water discharged from the water outlet of the separation tank is returned to the aeration tank by a pump, and oil discharged from the oil outlet of the separation tank is sent to the oil storage tank by a pump through a filter.

4. 4. The synthetic fuel production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the separation tube comprises an outer tube and an inner tube fitted inside the outer tube, and both tubes are movable relative to each other in the tube length direction.

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