Method and installation for complex low-temperature processing of post-alcoholic distillerage based on an open-loop heat pump

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of processing waste from the alcohol industry, in particular to methods and installations for the complex low-temperature processing of post-alcohol stillage to obtain high-quality protein feed. The essence of the invention is that the method involves separating the distillery waste into a centrate and a cake, vacuum adiabatic evaporation of the centrate at a temperature of 27-31°C to produce a concentrate, multi-stage compression of the secondary vapor using a heat pump, and convective-contact drying of the homogenized mixture of the cake and concentrate. Drying is accomplished in a single vacuum circuit in a vortex fluidized bed using the tangential feed of external process vapor at a temperature of 80-90°C. This ensures a peripheral helical movement of the mixture upward until it reaches a humidity of 6-9% and inertial-gravitational sedimentation of the dried product in the central sedimentation chamber downwards, from where the exhaust steam is continuously sucked into the first compression stage of the heat pump. The setup for implementing this method includes an adiabatic evaporator, a three-stage screw compressor with interstage distillate injection, and a drying unit consisting of a vertical sealed column with a coaxial settling chamber equipped with double lock valves. The power supply system is a hybrid system with an array of solar photovoltaic panels. Technical result: reduction of specific energy consumption from the external network by 12-14 times (during peak daytime hours - by 6.36 times), prevention of protein denaturation due to low-temperature conditions and complete elimination of harmful emissions into the atmosphere.