A device and a method for separating components of a liquid mixture

Abstract

A device (10) for separating components of a liquid mixture, the device comprising a rotatable filtering basket (12), an outer basket (14) arranged outside the rotatable filtering basket (12), means for rotating the rotatable filtering basket (12) and preferably the outer basket (14) to provide centrifugal forces in the rotatable filtering basket (12), means (23) for cooling the liquid mixture and / or means (24, 24a) for cooling the device, means (22) for providing liquid mixture from the upper part of the device into the rotatable filtering basket (12), a liquid outlet (26) for liquid comprising the liquid component(s) of the cooled liquid mixture at a lower part (14a) of the outer basket (14), the liquid being arranged to be separated through apertures (18) of the rotatable filtering basket by the centrifugal forces, and a solid outlet (28) at the lower part (12a) of the rotatable filtering basket (12) for solids. A method for separating components of a liquid mixture with the device. Use of the device for separating components of a liquid mixture with the method.

Description

[0001] A device and a method for separating components of a liquid mixture

[0002] Field of the application

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a device for separating components of a liquid mixture, and to an industrial processing plant comprising one or more of the devices. The present disclosure also relates to a method for separating components of a liquid mixture, and to use of the device for separating components of a liquid mixture.

[0004] Background

[0005] It is often desired to process liquids comprising two or more components to separate the components, for example to purify the liquid or to concentrate one or more of the components. Methods such as distillation or extraction are slow and laborious, and for example use of solvents in the extraction provides a health risk and produce problematic waste. Many methods are not suitable for sensitive components, as for example distillation may destroy heat-sensitive components.

[0006] There is a need to find method and devices for separating components of a liquid. It is desired to find simple, fast and economical methods and devices, which can be used for processing a variety of liquids at a variety of targets and in industrial scale. It is also desired to find method and devices enabling separating desired components in undamaged form.

[0007] Summary

[0008] The present methods and devices enable overcoming drawbacks of prior art. The present devices and methods especially relate to controllable separation of components of a frozen liquid mixture.

[0009] The present disclosure provides a device for separating components of a liquid mixture, the device comprising

[0010] -a rotatable filtering basket,

[0011] -an outer basket arranged outside the rotatable filtering basket,

[0012] -means for rotating the rotatable filtering basket and preferably the outer basket to provide centrifugal forces in the rotatable filtering basket,

[0013] -means for cooling the liquid mixture and / or means for cooling the device,-means for providing liquid mixture, preferably cooled liquid mixture, from the upper part of the device into the rotatable filtering basket,

[0014] -a liquid outlet for liquid comprising the liquid component(s) of the cooled liquid mixture at a lower part of the outer basket, the liquid being arranged to be separated through apertures of the rotatable filtering basket by the centrifugal forces, and

[0015] -a solid outlet at the lower part of the rotatable filtering basket for solids.

[0016] The present disclosure provides an industrial processing plant comprising one or more of the devices connected to one or more other devices and / or liquid sources.

[0017] The present disclosure provides a method for separating components of a liquid mixture, the method comprising

[0018] -providing the device or the industrial processing plant,

[0019] -providing a liquid mixture comprising two or more components having different melting points,

[0020] -cooling the liquid mixture to a temperature causing one or more component(s) to solidify and allowing one or more component(s) to remain liquid,

[0021] -providing the cooled liquid mixture to the device, and operating the device to provide centrifugal forces to the cooled liquid mixture in the rotatable filter basket of the device,

[0022] -allowing the liquid component(s) of the cooled liquid mixture to separate through the apertures of the rotatable filtering basket by the centrifugal forces, and -recovering the separated liquid and / or recovering the separated solids.

[0023] The present disclosure provides use of the device for separating components of a liquid mixture with the method.

[0024] The present disclosure provides an alcoholic or a non-alcoholic beverage obtained by the method.

[0025] The main embodiments are characterized in the independent claims. Various embodiments are disclosed in the dependent claims. The embodiments and examples disclosed herein are mutually freely combinable unless otherwise explicitly stated. The embodiments and examples not in the scope of the claims may be considered as embodiments and examples useful for understanding the invention.In the present invention it was found out how to control flow and separation of cooled liquid in the process to facilitate the separation of components of the liquid mixture and to prevent blockage of the device by the cooled material, which has a tendency to form aggregates. The used temperatures are in many cases so low that hard ice not proceeding in the device could be formed unless the process conditions and / or structure of the device are carefully controlled.

[0026] The present method and device were found to enable efficient separation of components of different liquid mixtures. For example, the device can be implemented as portable and / or built in a variety of targets. As the device is relatively simple and inexpensive, it can be implemented at different targets to treat for example wastewaters, such as effluents and / or other streams of industrial processes, fermentation products, and the like. There is no need to transport large quantities of liquids to another location, but the liquids can be treated locally, which can enable solving problems in wastewater treatment, processing of industrial products and side streams and the like.

[0027] The present method and device can drastically decrease need for other separation methods and for example need to further process wastewaters in dedicated wastewater treatment plants or the like. Water can be purified and in most cases such pure water can be obtained that can be released to regular sewer system or even to environment. This can provide savings in money and time, and can facilitate operation of industrial processing plants or other operators, which generally produce large amounts of wastewaters that should be treated according to strict regulations.

[0028] Brief description of the figures

[0029] Figure 1 shows an example of the device comprising an inner basket, a filtering basket and an outer basket seen from above.

[0030] Figure 2 shows an example of the device comprising an inner basket, a filtering basket and an outer basket.

[0031] Figure 3 shows an example of the arrangement of the inner basket and the filtering basket.Figure 4 shows another example of the arrangement of the inner basket and the filtering basket.

[0032] Figure 5 shows a photo of an early prototype of a device.

[0033] Figure 6 shows a graph presenting results from treatment of liquid mixtures comprising PFAS compounds. Left bars (Unprocessed Reference) show concentration (ng / l) of each tested compound before treatment with the present method, and right bars (Clean Output) show the concentration after the treatment.

[0034] Figure 7 shows another graph presenting results from the same treatment of liquid mixtures comprising PFAS compounds. The results are presented as concentration relative to untreated reference, wherein samples with clean output are represented by left bars and samples with not-clean output are represented by right bars.

[0035] Figure 8 shows an example wherein the diameter of a frustoconical rotatable filtering basket increases towards lower end of the rotatable filtering basket, wherein also the diameter of a frustoconical outer basket increases towards lower end of the outer basket.

[0036] Figure 9 shows an example wherein the diameter of a frustoconical rotatable filtering basket increases towards lower end of the rotatable filtering basket, wherein also the diameter of a frustoconical outer basket increases towards lower end of the outer basket, and wherein the construction further comprises a cylindrical inner basket.

[0037] Figure 10 shows separation of liquid from the rotatable filtering basket towards the outer basket in one example of the cooled device.

[0038] Detailed description

[0039] In this disclosure, percentage values, unless specifically indicated otherwise, are based on weight (w / w, by weight, or wt%). In specific examples, the embodiments and examples specified with the open term “comprise” may be further limited with a closed term “consisting of”.The present disclosure relates to a device (10) for separating components of a liquid mixture, and use of the device in the methods disclosed herein, such as for separating components of various liquid mixtures and / or for purifying water. The present disclosure also relates to a system comprising one or more of the device(s). The system may comprise one or more additional parts, such as one or more storage and / or collecting containers, one or more power sources, one or more sources of cooled medium and / or means for cooling medium, and one or more parts such as pipes, pumps, valves, actuators, controlling means, sensors, and the like, which can be used for implementing and / or controlling the method and the system. The system may also comprise one or more structural parts supporting the device and / or installation thereof. The system may comprise two or more of the devices, which may be similar or different, and / or which can be run with same or different process conditions. In one example two or more devices are arranged in parallel, for example to increase treatment capacity. In another example two or more devices are arranged in series, for example to arrange further fractioning of components at different process conditions at each device and / or with different types of devices. The device is described herein in the position it has during use, so for example terms such as “upper” and “lower” refer to a device which is set up in a vertical position, such as shown in figures 2-4. The device comprises a first end (11) and a second end (13), which correspond to the upper end and the lower end of a vertical device, correspondingly. The inlet of the device may be substantially at the first end and the outlets may be substantially at the second end. In similar manner the baskets may be defined as having a first and a second end. In cases the device is implemented in a horizontal position, i.e. wherein the rotation axis is horizontal, the first end thereof corresponds to the upper end of the vertical device, and the second end corresponds to the lower end of the vertical device.

[0040] The liquid mixture refers to any suitable liquid comprising two or more components, which have different melting points. Preferably one or more of the components is in liquid state at ambient conditions, such as at room temperature. This may refer to initial and / or untreated liquid mixture, especially untreated with the present method and / or to liquid mixture (directly) obtained from a source of the liquid mixture. The components, or at least two of the components, such as at least the components to be separated with the present method and device, may be in liquid state. The mixture may also include one or more solid components, which may be one type of solid component only or a mixture of two or more solid components. The “component” may refer to a compound, an ion, a group ofcompounds and / or to larger substances, such as aggregates of compounds, cell organelles and other entities and / or combinations thereof. The terms “solid”, “solids”, “solid fractions, “solids fraction” and the like may be used interchangeably and may refer to the solid components and / or fraction comprising the solid components, and in general material which can be separated from the liquid and / or the liquid fraction with the present device and method.

[0041] Preferably the liquid mixture comprises only liquid components, or substantially only liquid components, including soluble compounds and / or components, and it may be desired to remove any or most solids, such as by filtering, decanting, or with the like method, at least larger particles, before applying to the present method and device. The initial liquid mixture, i.e. the liquid mixture before cooled and / or applied to the present process, may be a solution, which may be a homogenous solution, wherein the components form a single phase, or a heterogenous solution or mixture, wherein the components are of different phase. The liquid mixture may be an aqueous liquid mixture and / or it may comprise or contain one or more organic solvents, or polar and / or non-polar solvents. In one example the liquid mixture comprises an aqueous alcohol solution. The liquid mixture may also be a dispersion. If solid material is to be treated, it can be disintegrated, such as homogenised, and dispersed in water to obtain a dispersion. The material, such as the homogenised or otherwise disintegrated material, may be filtered to remove large particles and pieces, and this prefiltered material can be provided to the treatment. A dispersion is a system in which distributed particles of one material are dispersed in a continuous phase of another material. The two phases may be in the same or different states of matter. In one example the dispersion is a colloid, which is a heterogeneous mixture where the dispersed particles have at least in one direction a dimension about between 1 nm and 1 pm or that in a system discontinuities are found at distances of that order. In one example the dispersion is a suspension, which is a heterogeneous dispersion of larger particles in a medium. Unlike solutions and colloids, if left undisturbed for a prolonged period of time, the suspended particles will settle out of the mixture.

[0042] The present method is based on (partial) crystallization of liquid, which enables separating the initial liquid into two or more fractions. The liquid may be aqueous liquid, wherein the water as one component of the liquid mixture may be crystallized, i.e. solidified and / or frozen, in the method when temperature is lowered thus forming solids, solid phase and / or solids fraction. The liquid may bealso based on other solvent(s), such as organic solvent(s). Other component of the liquid mixture, which may not be crystallized at the used temperature, may be insoluble in the water ice, and can be separated as liquid, liquid phase and / or as a liquid fraction. On the other hand, in some cases other component(s) may be crystallized before water when temperature is lowered, and thus water can be separated as liquid. The components to be separated may exhibit a linear freezing or crystallizing behaviour, either alone and / or together. The components may be also separated at the eutectic point of a mixture of two components. A eutectic system or eutectic mixture is a type of a homogeneous mixture that has a melting point lower than those of the constituents (components). The lowest possible melting point over all of the mixing ratios of the constituents is called eutectic temperature.

[0043] The process in general results in concentration and / or separation of the components into separate fractions, wherein a fraction may be an end product or wherein an end product may be obtained from the fraction, such as wherein a fraction is an intermediate product, which may be subjected to another separation process, further processing and / or melting. In the process the components of the liquid mixture are not usually damaged, unlike for example in distillation, and thus the present method is especially suitable for heat-sensitive substances, or otherwise easily degradable substances, such as organic substances and / or biological substances, especially when in biological mixtures.

[0044] However, separating the solids and the liquid from the cooled, especially frozen, liquid mixture is challenging. In the present invention devices and methods were found which enable efficient separation of the components and control of the process. The present method can be carried out by using the device disclosed herein. Some details of the method and device were found especially advantageous for enhancing the separation of certain types of components.

[0045] The device comprises

[0046] -a rotatable basket, such as a rotatable filtering basket (12), and

[0047] -an outer basket (14) arranged outside the rotatable filtering basket (12).

[0048] The rotatable basket refers to a basket, which can be rotated around its axis of rotation, herein also “axis”. A rotating / rotatable basket may be a rotor. A non-rotating / non-rotatable basket may be a stator, i.e. a stationary / fixed part of a rotary system. When the rotatable basket is rotated, cooled liquid mixture provided insidethe rotatable basket, or liquid separated from the cooled / solid liquid mixture, will be forced by centrifugal forces first towards the inner wall of the rotatable basket, and will further move, by the effect of rotating and optionally gravity, out from the rotatable basket and optionally down towards the lower end of the rotatable basket, which may be open. This may depend on the shape and structure of the rotatable basket and / or device. The liquid may move out, i.e. may be separated, from the open lower end and / or through perforations, which may be present in the wall of the rotatable basket, and the separated liquid will hit the outer basket, which thus collects the separated liquid and allows it to flow downwards to be collected. Solids will remain in the rotatable basket and are purged at the lower end of the rotatable basket. The rotation, shape and / or the perforation of the rotatable basket can be arranged so that solids will not be substantially separated by the centrifugal forces, whereas liquid will be substantially separated. What is discussed in the following in respect of the composition of the device by using rotatable filtering basket as a preferred embodiment, may be apply to rotatable baskets in general, mutatis mutandis. The structure of the device may be open, such as the upper part or upper region of the device may be uncovered, or the structure may be closed or partly closed, such as comprising a lid or the like structure, for example for thermally isolating the interior of the device, at least partly.

[0049] Preferably the rotatable filtering basket is a rotatable perforated basket, wherein the perforation may be at the wall of the rotatable filtering basket, such as wherein the perforation covers 20% or more of the area of the wall, 30% or more, 50% or more, 70% or more, or 90% or more. The wall refers to the wall forming the rotatable filtering basket. In one embodiment the rotatable filtering basket (12) comprises a perforated wall, a wall comprising a filter cloth, a wall comprising a wired structure, and / or a wall comprising a membrane. For example, the filter cloth or other additional filter structure such as a mesh, the wired structure and / or the membrane may be additional parts or structures on or in suitable permeable portion(s) in the wall of the basket, such as on the inner surface and / or on the outer surface of the rotatable filtering basket.

[0050] The perforation may comprise a plurality of apertures, such as holes or pores (18), which terms may be used interchangeably, and / or elongated slots, of suitable size, such as having an average diameter and / or smallest diameter ranging from 0.05 mm to 10 mm, which may depend on the type of liquid to be processed, and / or processing conditions. The pore / aperture diameter may be selected according tothe liquid to be treated and / or according to process conditions. An average pore / aperture diameter and / or a smallest aperture diameter may be in a range of 0.05-5.0 mm, such as 0.1-2.0 mm, 0.5-2.0 mm, 0.1-1.0 mm, 0.2-1.0 mm, 0.1-0.5 mm, or any other pore diameter enabling efficient separation of solids and liquid. It is desired that the frozen liquid does not pass the apertures, pores or slots.

[0051] The rotatable filtering basket (12) may be vertical or tilted up to about 45° axis of rotation, i.e. the device or the rotatable filtering basket may have a vertical or tilted axis of rotation, such as up to 45°. Vertical rotation axis is preferred is most cases enabling stability even with high rotation speed. Also the separation of fractions is optimal in most cases with vertical axis. However, the rotatable filtering basket (12) may be also horizontal. In such case the device may be horizontal, which may be desired in certain cases, for example to enable implementing device arrangements with other devices, such as providing inlets and / or outlets from and / or to other devices, and / or wherein the device is implemented in an industrial system. The devices may be connected to each other with conveying means, such as comprising one or more of tubes, pipes, chutes and / or the like, and one or more pumps or the like flow means, which may be controllable. The present disclosure provides an industrial processing plant comprising one or more of the devices and one or more other devices, such as processing units; liquid sources; conveying means and the like parts, such as disclosed herein. The present device may be a processing unit of a system, which may include one or more other processing units.

[0052] The outer basket (14) may be a rotatable outer basket, and preferably it has the same axis of rotation as the rotatable filtering basket (12). Any further baskets disclosed herein may also be rotatable and they may have the same axis of rotation. The baskets may be placed to have a common centre point corresponding to the rotation axis when looked along the direction of the rotation axis (Figure 1). The baskets, or at least two of the baskets, may be arranged to be rotated at the same speed, such as the baskets may be attached to each other. The baskets may thus be rotatable to the same direction. In one embodiment the rotatable filtering basket (12), the outer basket (14) and preferably the inner basket (16), if present, are rotatable baskets.

[0053] The outer basket (14), and or other baskets excluding the rotatable filtering basket, may also fixed, i.e. non-rotating. The outer basket may have a length higher thanthe length of the rotatable filtering basket, and / or other inner basket(s), if present. Especially this may refer to the lower part or lower region of the outer basket, in case the filtering basket is separate from the outer basket. A longer lower part prevents liquid spun from the filtering basket from missing the outer basket. The height of the baskets, which may be measured along the rotation axis, such as the height of the outer basket, which may have the highest height / length, may be in the range of 10 centimetres up to meters, such as in the range of 20-300 cm, for example 30-300 cm, 30-200 cm, 50-300 cm, 50-200 cm or 30-100 cm, or any range between the endpoints. The height if the baskets, and correspondingly the height of the device, may correspond to the capacity of the device. The smallest devices, such as having a (basket) height less than 50 cm or less than 30 cm, may be laboratory devices or other small scale devices, whereas larger devices may be industrial scale devices. The present device is well scalable for different purposes. The present device may be provided in an industrial system, such as a device arrangement comprising one or more other devices, such as a device providing a source of the liquid mixture and / or a device for further processing a separated fraction.

[0054] The device comprises means for rotating the rotatable filtering basket (12) and preferably the outer basket (14) to provide centrifugal forces in the rotatable filtering basket (12). The means for rotating may comprise one or more motors and / or sources of mechanical energy, for example one or more electric motors, which may be connected to an axis (20) connected to the rotatable filtering basket (12). The axis may be connected to the filtering basket and optionally to any other basket, such as to one end of the basket, for example to a lower end, which enables leaving the upper part / region of the device more accessible / open. The axis may be below the basket(s) and / or above the basket(s), and / or it may traverse the baskets at the centre. The means for rotating may be also arranged to rotate any of the baskets from outer surface or one or both ends thereof. The means for rotating, such as rotating means, may be controllable, which enables controlling and / or adjusting rotation speed and preferably other properties of the device and / or method. If two or more rotating baskets are present, they may be arranged to rotate at the same speed or at one or more different speeds.

[0055] The device comprises means (23) for cooling the liquid mixture and / or means (24, 24a) for cooling the device. The liquid mixture may be cooled to form a subcooled liquid mixture. The cooled liquid mixture may be provided, such as injected and / or sprayed, to the device at the desired temperature, which can be maintained and / oradjusted in the device. The liquid mixture and / or the device may be cooled to a predetermined temperature, which may be same or different.

[0056] Preferably the means (23) for cooling the liquid mixture and / or the means (24, 24a) for cooling the device are arranged to cool the liquid mixture to a temperature causing one or more component(s) of the liquid mixture to solidify and allowing one or more component(s) to remain liquid, and / or to maintain this temperature. The means (23) for cooling the liquid mixture may be arranged to cool the liquid mixture in a container before the device and / or during conveying to the device.

[0057] In one embodiment the means (24) for cooling the device comprises one or more cooling elements (24a) and / or sources of cooled medium arranged outside or inside the rotatable filtering basket (12), inside the inner basket (16), outside or inside a separator basket, and / or outside the outer basket (14), which may be cooling targets or may comprise one or more cooling targets, such as zones or spots. However, the outer basket (14) may not need to be cooled separately, unless the whole device is cooled from outside. The cooled medium, such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide or cooled liquid, may be injected or sprayed to a cooling target with one or more nozzles. By arranging the cooling at specific locations and / or in a specific manner, such as by providing cooled zones in one or more of the baskets (12, 14, 16), it is possible to control and / or facilitate the flow of the cooled liquid and / or the separation of the components.

[0058] The cooling element (24a) may comprise one or more tubular cooling elements, such as in a form of straight elements or a spiral. The cooling element(s) may be arranged inside the rotatable filtering basket (12) and / or inside the inner basket (16). The cooling element(s), such as the spiral, may be arranged around the central axis and / or axis of rotation. The cooling elements may comprise circulating cooled medium (coolant) and / or they may be arranged to spray cooled medium to one or more targets, such as to one or more surfaces of one or more baskets.

[0059] The cooling element(s) may be arranged to cool at least the upper part / region of the system or a basket, preferably to cool the whole length of the system or the basket. In certain applications even cooling is necessary to maintain the separated liquid and solid fractions in same form along a whole or most basket surface, so local changes in the temperature are not desired. This is the case for example if it is desired to separated alcohol from other constituents of an alcoholic liquid,wherein it is desired to maintain the separated alcohol as a very thin layer along a basket surface to enhance selective separation of alcohol from other components.

[0060] The device comprises means (22) for providing liquid mixture, preferably cooled liquid mixture, from the upper part / upper region / first end (11) of the device to or into the rotatable filtering basket (12). “To or into the rotatable filtering basket” refers to any suitable location inside the rotatable filtering basket, such as any baskets or other parts inside the rotatable filtering basket. The means for providing liquid mixture, such as injecting or spraying means, are arranged at the upper part / upper region / first end of the device, which may be above the device and / or baskets. The liquid is provided to the upper part of the device, which may be also called as upper region. This enables initial flow of the cooled liquid from up to down in the device, which enables controlling the process for example by providing any of the structures of the device disclosed herein. For example, parts such as inner basket having a diameter increasing towards the lower part, the separator basket, the combination of inner basket and filtering basket disclosed herein, and other structures can be implemented in efficient way if the initial flow is from up to down. Also, the output of fractions can be arranged in a simple and straightforward manner thus simplifying the device and making the process more efficient. Also, other parts of the process can be implemented in more efficient way.

[0061] The diameter of a basket may refer to width of the basket, which may be the same along the length / height of the basket, or which may vary along the length / height of the basket, thus being higher at one end compared to the opposing end. The diameter may be in the range of 10-100 cm, for example, such as 20-50 cm, which may be the lowest diameter.

[0062] In one embodiment the means (22) for providing liquid mixture from the upper part, the upper region and / or the first end of the device into / inside the rotatable filtering basket (12) comprises one or more nozzles directed towards the rotatable filtering basket (12). The one or more nozzles may be directed towards an inner surface of the filtering basket and / or towards an outer surface of the inner basket (16), if present, or towards any other applicable part. The nozzles may be controllable, adjustable and / or replaceable, so suitable nozzle can be selected according to the type of liquid mixture and / or process conditions. The nozzles, and the injection / spray formed in / by the nozzle, can be directed / injected to a suitable location inside the filtering basket to obtain optimal flow of the cooled liquid mixtureand preferably also separation of the components. Depending on the structure of the device the spray can be directed also to the inner basket, or to any other parts of the device present at the upper part, the upper region and / or the first end of the device, wherefrom the cooled liquid can flow down. The spray may be implemented with two or more nozzles, such as three or more, or four or more, which are directed to different regions of the target, to obtain even cooling. In tests four nozzles were found to provide even cooling for example for selective separation of alcohol.

[0063] In one embodiment the means (22) for providing liquid mixture comprises means for providing pressurized liquid mixture. The means (22) for providing liquid mixture may comprise one or more means for pressurizing the liquid mixture, such as a compressor, a source of pressure and / or the like, and / or pressurized or pressurizable container for the liquid mixture, which may be an intermediate container, for example in case of a continuous process. The means (22) may be controllable, so that the pressure, flow rate and / or other properties can be controlled, for example by providing one or more controllable valves, actuators, nozzles and / or the like parts.

[0064] The device comprises a liquid outlet (26) for liquid, liquid phase and / or a liquid fraction comprising the liquid component(s), which may be called a first component, of the cooled liquid mixture at the lower part (14a) of the outer basket (14), the liquid (fraction) being arranged to be obtained, i.e. separated, through apertures (18) of the rotatable filtering basket by the centrifugal forces. The liquid may be conveyed to a suitable target, such as to a (first) container, and recovered. The liquid may flow to the liquid outlet by effect of gravity via the inner wall of the outer basket.

[0065] The device comprises a solid / solids outlet (28) at the lower part (12a) of the rotatable filtering basket (12) for solids, solid phase and / or a solid fraction, which terms may be used interchangeably, and which may comprise a second component, such as solid / solids component, of the liquid mixture. The solids may refer to material which is solid and / or solidified at least at the time of injecting / spraying and / or separating of the components in the device. After separation the solids may be allowed to warm and / or warmed to melt and / or solubilize components of the solids. The solids, or liquid obtained from melted solids, may be conveyed to a suitable target, such as to a (second) container and / or to further processing, and recovered. The device may comprise meltingmeans at the lower part of the device, such as at the lower part of the filtering basket, wherein the ice may melt. The melting means may include heating means, such as a source of increased temperature (compared to the cooling temperature), or merely lack of cooling and / or cooling means at the simplest. The melting means may use heat generated by another means of the system and / or heat from other source. For example, heat / warmth generated by cooling devices can be used as or in the melting means, for example by conveying liquid with increased temperature to the melting process. When warming the frozen solids, especially at the lower region of the system or device, it shall be confirmed that the heat does not rise in the device and disturb the carefully controlled cooling at an upper region. This can be achieved by controlling the air flow in the device, such as by providing one or more means for controlling air flow. The air flow direction shall be from the upper region to lower region.

[0066] In one embodiment the device comprises an inner basket (16) inside the rotatable filtering basket (12). The inner basket may be a rotatable inner basket, and it may have the same axis of rotation as the rotatable filtering basket (12). The inner basket may guide the incoming flow of liquid mixture from the upper part, the upper region and / or the first end of the inner basket towards the lower / lowest part, lower / lowest region and / or the second end of the inner basket. When the inner basket rotates, liquid is separated from the cooled liquid mixture by the effect of the centrifugal forces, and the separated liquid may hit the filtering basket, or any part between the inner basket and the filtering basket. The separation of the liquid fraction can be controlled and facilitated with the parts outside the inner basket.

[0067] In one embodiment the device comprises one or more protruding guiding elements (30) at an inner surface of the outer basket (14) for guiding the separated liquid fraction to the liquid outlet at the lower part of the outer basket. The guiding element may be or comprise any suitable form and / or structure, such as a spiral, for example a continuous spiral or a discontinuous spiral. The guiding element may have been designed, i.e. configured, to guide the separated liquid to desired direction, such as towards one or more outlets, such as the liquid outlet (26), and / or, in general, downwards or towards the lower part of the outer basket. The guiding element(s) may have been configured to facilitate fractioning of the liquid, for example in case the liquid can be separated into two or more fractions, for example by use of different temperatures or temperature zones arranged in the device, for example in the outer basket (14), in the rotating filtering basket (12) and / or in the inner basket (16).In one embodiment the guiding element (30) connects an outer surface of the rotatable filter basket (12) to an inner surface of the outer basket (14). In such case the rotatable filter basket (12) and the outer basket (14) are attached or fixed to each other and may form an integral structure.

[0068] The shapes of the rotatable filter basket (12) and the outer basket (14) may be substantially same or similar, for example to provide same or unchanged distance between the walls of rotatable filter basket (12) and the outer basket (14), preferably along more than half of the overlapping length of the baskets (12, 14). This may help controlling the separation and recovering of the liquid, and / or providing standard conditions between the rotatable filter basket (12) and the outer basket (14). Such same distance between the rotatable filter basket (12) and the outer basket (14) can be obtained fully when both baskets are cylindrical, i.e. in the form of a cylinder, such as shown in the structure of Figure 2, but also if both baskets have same other shape, such as frustoconical shape. In general, the rotatable filter basket (12), the outer basket (14) and the inner basket may have same or similar shape, such as shown in Figure 2, or the shape and / or orientation of one or more basket(s) may be different, such as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

[0069] In one embodiment the diameter of the rotatable filtering basket (12) increases towards lower end (12a) of the rotatable filtering basket, such as wherein the rotatable filtering basket comprises a frustoconical shape. In such case also the diameter of the outer basket (14) may increase towards lower end (14a) of the outer basket, as shown in Figure 8. Such basket types were found useful in many applications, such as in applications treating alcohol or glycol containing liquids.

[0070] In one embodiment the device further comprises an inner basket (16), which may be in a form of a cylinder, such as shown in Figure 9. Alternatively, the inner basket may be a frustoconical, and the diameter of the inner basket may increase or decrease towards lower end of the inner basket. The angle (a) of one or more, such as all, baskets in relation to the rotation axis (20) may be specified, and the angle may be same in two or more baskets, or it may be different. Figure 8 shows an example of the angle (a). The angle may facilitate controlling of the process or separation, and / or to enhance the separation. The angle however may be material and / or process-specific, and / or the effect of the angle also depends on other process parameters, such as temperature, flow speed, retention time, and the type of material to be treated. A higher angle may speed up the separation. Providing alower angle may enable better controlling the separation for example in case of organic solvents such as alcohols, by slowing down the separation thereof. The angle may be 1 degree or more, 2 degrees or more, 3 degrees or more, 4 degrees or more, 5 degrees or more, 8 degrees or more, 10 degrees or more, 15 degrees or more, 20 degrees or more, 25 degrees or more, or 30 degrees or more. For example, the angle (a) may be in the range of 1-60 degrees, 1-45 degrees, 1-30 degrees, or 1-20 degrees. In many cases a moderate angle is preferred, such as 1-10 degrees, for example 2-10 degrees, 3-10 degrees, 2-8 degrees, 1-5 degrees, 2-5 degrees, or 2-4 degrees in relation to the rotation axis. This angle could be suitable for separating alcohols and certain other organic substances. For separating inorganic substances such as PFAS a larger angle may be desired, such as 5 degrees or more, such as 5-60, 10-60, 5-45, 10-45, 5-30, 10-30, 5-20, 10-20, 5-15, 5-12, 5-10, 6-15, 6-12, 6-10, or 6-8 degrees. Any ranges between the disclosed values may be also applied. In some cases, the angle may be negative, so for example the frustoconical basket disclosed in Figure 8 may be arranged in opposite position, i.e. the larger diameter towards the upper end.

[0071] In one embodiment a lower end of the inner basket (16) is connected to a lower end (12a) of the rotatable filtering basket (12) to form a connecting area (34), wherein the connecting area includes one or more apertures (36) forming the solid outlet (28) for the solid fraction, i.e. for the solids (Figures 3 and 4). This can be implemented for example when the inner basket (16) has a conical or frustoconical shape.

[0072] Connecting the inner basket and the rotatable filtering basket can be implemented for example when the diameter of the inner basket (16) increases towards lower end (16a) of the inner basket (16) and / or when the diameter of the rotatable filtering basket (12) decreases towards lower end (12a) of the rotatable filtering basket.

[0073] The embodiments relating to changing diameter of a basket along the basket length enable providing a suitable angle of a basket wall in relation to the rotating axis, wherein the angle can be used for controlling the process, i.e. as a process parameter. The angle can be implemented in the inner basket and / or in the rotatable filtering basket, and also in the outer basket.

[0074] When the inner basket (16) and the filtering basket (12) are connected at the lower end forming an angled area in one or both of the basket walls, the angle has aneffect to the separation efficiency and / or speed of the components. As the liquid separating from the cooled liquid mixture provided onto the inner basket does not immediately hit the filtering basket, the liquid may be further cooled and / or proceed in the device thus enhancing the separation of the components. The liquid starts to separate already from the upper part / region and the material proceeds down while the baskets are rotating, and thus the separation continues until the remaining solids inevitably fall via the solid outlet (28). The angled wall enhances the separation of liquid from the proceeding mass, so the solids ending at the bottom of the combination of the baskets (12, 16) have been efficiently purified from the liquid component. This structure also enables the use of the separator basket (32). Such structures were found especially suitable for separating compounds such as PFAS, which are present in very low amounts and / or which are challenging to separate.

[0075] In one embodiment the device comprises a separator basket (32) above the connecting area (34) and / or between an inner basket (16) and the rotatable filtering basket (12). The separator basket can act as a separating wall between the inner basket and the rotatable filtering basket, so that the liquid separating from the cooled liquid mixture does not immediately hit the filtering basket, but the liquid may be further cooled and / or proceed in the device to enhance the separation of the components. The separator basket may be placed and / or adjusted to leave suitable space below the separator basket for the separated liquid to move to the rotatable filtering basket. The separator basket was found to enhance the separation efficiency and the purity of the separated components / fractions. Thus the separator basket may be shorter than the inner basket and / or the rotatable filtering basket, and / or it may cover a part of said baskets, for example in such way that the liquid mixture from the inner basket may proceed via the separator basket downwards and from the lower part / region of the separator basket proceed to the rotatable filtering basket, thus proceeding further downwards along the rotatable filtering basket while separating. Part of solids may fall down from the lower part / region of the separator basket thus enhancing the separation.

[0076] In such case, or also in other embodiments, the means (22) for providing liquid mixture from the upper part and / or the first end of the device into the rotatable filtering basket (12) may be arranged to direct / inject / spray the liquid mixture to the inner basket (16), more particularly to the upper part and / or the first end of the inner basket.The inner basket may act as a distributor of the cooled liquid enabling spreading of the liquid along the length of the device and / or the basket(s). The inner basket may also comprise one or more cooling means, which may be arranged inside and / or outside the inner basket, and / or one or more cooling means (24a) may be arranged to cool one or more portions, such as zones, of the outer surface and / or inner surface of the inner basket, such as shown in Figure 4. This can enable forming areas or zones in or on the inner basket having different temperatures, which can enable spreading and / or separation of the liquid mixture and / or fractioning of the components of the liquid mixture. Such variations in the temperature may also facilitate the proceeding of the solid / crystallized matter, in the device, so that the solid matter does not aggregate in the device in such way that the function and / or the efficiency of the device would be compromised. Similar zones can be formed in one or more other baskets as well.

[0077] In one embodiment the filtering basket (12) comprises an undulated wall portion (12c). Such an undulated portion may comprise one or more undulations, for example a plurality of undulations, which may be portions or zones having a varying width, such as periodic or sequential portions or zones having a varying width. Such portions or zones enable providing one or more areas, wherein the separated liquid may be hold for a short period of time, and / or wherein the speed of the liquid flow can be changed or slowed down, and / or wherein different conditions can be provided. For example, different temperatures or zones providing different temperatures can be provided, for example as cooling targets, such as cooled zones separated by uncooled zones in between. A cooled zone may have a height of few centimetres or tens of centimetres, and it may be separated with a non-cooled zone(s) and / or zone(s) with different temperature of similar or different height from another cooled zone(s). A plurality of zones can be arranged along a basket. The device may comprise one or more means (24) for cooling the device directed to cool one or more of the undulations or zones at outer surface of the filtering basket (12). For example, carbon dioxide, (liquid) nitrogen and / or cooled liquid may be directed, such as injected, towards portions or zones of the outer surface or inner surface of a basket. The apertures (18) may be also arranged as zones in the rotating filtering basket, for example between the cooled zones, which was found to enhance the separation of the liquid and the control of the flow of the cooled material.For cooling it is possible to utilize already existing low temperatures, which can be obtained for example from ambient conditions, such as cool air, cool water and / or snow and / or ice during wintertime, or cooled air, cooled liquid and / or snow and / or ice from an industrial process and / or other applicable process producing thereof. This can provide substantial savings in energy costs.

[0078] If no such existing low temperatures are available, the cooling can be implemented by providing one or more cooling devices and / or cool or cooled materials, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen and / or cooled liquid. The cooling devices may be any known cooling or freezing devices, such as devices comprising and / or based on one or more heat pumps. Such devices may produce also heat, wherein the heat may be conveyed and used as or in heating / warming means in other part of the process.

[0079] In one embodiment the means (23) for cooling the liquid mixture to be provided and / or the means (24) for cooling the device comprises and / or is connected to one or more sources of cool or cooled air, such as cool air obtained from a cooling device and / or from outside air; to a source of cool or cooled liquid, such as liquid obtained from a cooling device and / or from outside natural water source; to a source of snow and / or ice from outside; and / or to one or more sources of cooling agents, such as carbon dioxide and / or nitrogen. In such way any suitable and / or available cooling medium can be utilized in the device or the system. In locations with cold wintertime it is possible to run the device or the system with minimal costs, and also utilizing other already cooled medium can help providing savings, for example when the device or the system is installed at a location having a source of such cool or cooled medium.

[0080] In most cases cooling of the device is desired, as it is important to maintain the target temperature during the whole process and preferably in all parts that are in contact with the subcooled liquid mixture or components thereof. Nitrogen was found to be especially preferred (injectable / sprayable) cooling medium for most uses, but also carbon dioxide may be used, which however is more prone to warm during the process. The cooling medium is preferably directed at least to outer housing of the device and / or to one or more of the baskets. Alternatively, or in addition, circulating coolant as cooling medium may be used inside the device, such as in a jacket, for example glycol based medium or any other suitable medium. The device may comprise one or more jackets, envelopes, tubing and / or the like structure for containing coolant / cooling medium and preferably means forcirculating the coolant / cooling medium in the structure / device, such as one or more pumps.

[0081] The device may be manufactured from suitable materials, which can tolerate the used temperatures and liquids. In most cases the baskets are made of metal, such as steel, aluminium or the like. For example, it may be desired that the parts of the device which are in contact with the liquid mixture, such as the baskets, are acid-tolerant, such as made of acid-tolerant steel or the like material. The parts may be coated with a suitable coating, which may be a protective coating and / or a coating providing non-stick properties and / or other properties affecting the binding of the cooled liquid or components thereof to the surface.

[0082] The cooling may be facilitated by providing a specific air flow inside the rotating basket(s). The air flow is preferably from up to down, so any possible heat used for melting ice at the bottom of the device cannot rise to the upper part / region and disturb the controlled cooling. The air flow, and means for controlling air flow, can be obtained and implemented by utilising the rotation of any of the rotating baskets. One or more vanes or the like blades can be attached to a rotatable basket, preferably at the lower part / region of the rotatable basket, and positioned to provide desired air flow to desired direction. In one embodiment the device comprises one or more vanes attached to the lower part / region of the rotatable filtering basket, the vanes being configured, when the rotatable filtering basket (12) rotates, to generate an air flow inside the rotatable filtering basket (12) in a direction from an upper part / region of the basket towards the lower part / region.

[0083] In some cases it is desired to process liquid mixtures including light fractions, such as light solid matter and / or light vegetable oils. However, the light matter may be problematic in the process, as it may float in the liquid, which interferes the process. Examples of such light matter is plant parts, such as leaves, bark, peanut oil and the like. It is not always possible to remove such material in pretreatment, but it is rather desired to treat the material in untreated form. It was found out that such material can be treated if a specific weight element is placed on top of the liquid mixture comprising such matter. The weight element may be designed to fit inside the rotatable filtering basket, such as in the form of a ring, especially when an inner basket is present in which was the ring is designed between the rotatable filtering basket and the inner basket. The weight of the weight element may be configured in such way that it remains on top of the cooled liquid in the device and keeps the light matter underneath during operation. The weight element may havea planar shape, and it may contain perforation or the like apertures, which may prevent solid matter to pass but enable liquid to pass. This embodiment is especially suitable for batch processes, and also in cases, wherein the distance of the rotatable filtering basket and the inner basket remains substantially same along the length thereof.

[0084] In the present device the freezing water is crystallized into hexagonal form, wherein other components may be efficiently separated from the crystal structure and / or do not form bonds with water. However, in some cases agents with interfacial tension may still form bonds with the water molecules and / or the bonds are not broken during freezing and may reform after the crystallized ice is turned back to liquid form. In such cases, for example with PFAS compounds, the liquid mixture may be pretreated and / or further treated with additional methods to lower the interfacial / surface tension and in the separation process water can be efficiently separated and / or purified. Additional agents such as surfactants may be provided, usually in small amounts. However, it may not be desired to add such agents, especially if it is desired to purify one or more components of the liquid mixture. Alternative methods may be used which do not involve adding any agents or involve other agents which may be needed and / or acceptable in certain cases.

[0085] The liquid mixture to be treated and / or a separated fraction and / or component(s) thereof can be further treated, or pretreated, with additional methods, such as with electrochemical methods, for example with electrolysis; with chemical oxidation and / or reduction, with photochemical degradation, with supercritical conditions, with plasma technology, for example treating with plasma, and / or with biochemical methods and / or agents. Such methods can be used for affecting to the issues discussed in previous, and / or for other purposes, such as to modify the component(s) of the liquid mixture. With such methods problematic compounds and / or components may be modified, such as digested or derivatized, into such compounds and / or components that may be better treated and / or separated in the present process. It may be possible to obtain new compounds from the process, which may be less harmful and / or which may have new and / or advantageous properties.

[0086] More particularly, one or more of the components, such as harmful and / or otherwise problematic component, can be degraded or modified into other component(s), which can facilitate the processing thereof and / or provide components which are less harmful and / or which can be better processed and / orseparated with the present method and device. The separation of the obtained new or modified component(s) may be easier than the original component(s).

[0087] In electrochemical methods the required electrodes anode and cathode can be implemented in the present device, for example one or more parts of the device can act as one or more of the electrodes. The electrodes are connected or connectable to a source of electricity, which may be controllable, for example by a control unit. Electrochemical reactions can be provided in the device or the system as needed, or for example continuously.

[0088] In one embodiment the device comprises electrodes connected or connectable to a source of external energy, such as power source and / or a source of electric current, the electrodes being arranged to be in contact with the liquid mixture, wherein the electrodes connected to the power source are arranged to provide electrolysis in the liquid mixture, preferably wherein the electrodes comprise one or more non-metallic electrodes. Also metal electrodes may be used, such as one or more of the parts of the device may act as an electrode, and / or additional electrode(s) may be provided.

[0089] In one embodiment the device comprises a separator basket (32) between an inner basket (16) and the rotatable filtering basket (12), wherein the separator basket is configured to act as first electrode, and preferably the inner basket (16) is configured to act as second electrode, the first and the second electrodes acting as an anode and a cathode.

[0090] The present device or a system comprising thereof may comprise one or more means (38) for providing or carrying out the additional methods, such as means for providing electrolysis; means for providing chemical oxidation and / or reduction, means for providing photochemical degradation, means for providing supercritical conditions, means for providing plasma, means for providing ultrasound, means for providing microwaves, and / or with means for providing biochemical methods and / or agents. The means may comprise one or more sources of the conditions or agents in question, or a reagent or other agent used therein, such as a source of one or more chemical oxidizing agent and / or reducing agent, a source of one or more supercritical agent, and / or a source of one or more biochemical agents. The means (38) may be directed to provide their action to the liquid mixture, for example before applying the liquid mixture to the device, and / or in the device, such as before and / or after the separation of components. The means forproviding or carrying out the additional methods may be thus integrated to the device or the system, or they may be separated, for example the liquid to be treated may be pretreated before conveying to the device or the system.

[0091] In embodiments the method comprises pretreating the liquid mixture with one or more of electrolysis, chemical oxidation and / or reduction, photochemical degradation, supercritical conditions, plasma, ultrasound, microwaves, and / or with biochemical methods and / or agents. Such methods are especially suitable for pretreating harmful compounds such as PFAS compounds, TFA compounds, TFMS compounds and the like.

[0092] The device and / or a system comprising the device, may include controlling means, which may be in a form of one or more control units. A control unit may include one or more processors, memory, user interface, display, keyboard, power connection, one or more physical connectors for connecting to external computerized devices, and / or network connection, such as wired or wireless connection. The control unit may contain a software configured to carry out one or more controlling actions, such as to control the devices connected to the control unit. The control unit may be connected to means for controlling and / or monitoring the cooling means, the actuator rotating the rotatable basket(s) such as an electric motor, one or more sources of pressure, one or more sources of liquid mixture, one or more source(s) of power / energy, one or more sensors included in the device, one or more mixer(s), one or more pump(s), one or more valve(s), one or more other actuator(s), and / or other device(s), which can be used for implementing the device or the system comprising thereof and parts disclosed herein. The control unit may be arranged to operatively control one or more of controllable devices, such as energy sources, actuators and / or any other applicable devices or parts which may be operated by the control unit, as a feedback to one or more detected and / or measured value(s) to maintain temperature, pH, pressure, flow rate, injecting / spraying, rotating speed, and / or other feature(s) at a desired level, such as at a predetermined range. The process parameters, such as the desired ranges, may be specified by a user, and / or they may be already programmed in the control unit, such as in the software. The control unit(s), device(s), sensor(s) and other electronic components may be connected by wiring and / or they may be wirelessly connected. The device and / or the system is connected to a power source, such as a to a battery or a power network, to provide power for the energy source(s), control unit(s), electronics, meter(s), sensor(s), actuator(s), electric motor(s), pump(s) and / or the like devicesand components. The device and / or the system may be arranged to automatically or semi-automatically carry out one or more of the methods or method steps disclosed herein.

[0093] The present disclosure provides a method for separating components of a liquid mixture, for example as shown in Figure 11 , the method comprising

[0094] -providing the device (10) or the industrial processing plant disclosed herein, -providing a liquid mixture (40) comprising two or more components having different melting points,

[0095] -cooling the liquid mixture to a temperature causing one or more component(s) of the liquid mixture to solidify and allowing one or more component(s) to remain liquid, i.e. lowering the temperature of the liquid mixture to solidify one or more component(s) and / or maintaining them in solid phase, and allowing one or more component(s) to remain liquid and / or in liquid phase, and / or maintaining the temperature of the liquid mixture at a range solidifying or maintaining the one or more component(s) as solid and / or in solid phase, and maintaining one or more component(s) as liquid and / or in liquid phase,

[0096] -providing the cooled liquid mixture to the device (10), and operating the device to provide centrifugal forces to the cooled liquid mixture in the rotatable filter basket (12) of the device,

[0097] -allowing the liquid component(s), and / or liquid phase, of the cooled liquid mixture to separate through the apertures of the rotatable filtering basket (12) by the centrifugal forces, and

[0098] -recovering the separated liquid (44) and / or one or more components thereof, and / or recovering the separated solids (46) and / or one or more components thereof. The liquid mixture (40) may be an aqueous liquid mixture. The separated liquid may be separated as one or more liquid fraction(s) and the separated solids may be separated as one or more solid(s) fraction(s).

[0099] Certain compounds, which may be present in minor amounts, for example in case of mixture of such compounds, such as metals, organic molecules, salts thereof, which may be impurities and / or small molecules, other impurities and / or the like may be separated either in liquid fraction or in solid fraction. This may depend on the substances, liquid type, pH, pretreatment and / or process parameters. Thus the method and device can be used to separate such compounds from each other.

[0100] The two or more components having different melting points may also refer to two or more components which behave differently at certain temperature, preferably atthe lowered temperature obtained when cooling the liquid and / or the device, and which components can be separated due to this behaviour. One or more components, which may be first component(s), may remain completely, substantially completely or mainly in a liquid phase and one or more components, which may be second component(s), may remain completely, substantially completely or mainly as solid and / or in solid / solids phase. Traces or a small amount of solids may be contained in the separated liquids, and vice versa.

[0101] The cooling of the liquid mixture can be carried out with the means for cooling the liquid mixture (23), and the cooling of the device to cool the liquids mixture and / or to maintain the liquid mixture at the cooled temperature can be carried out with the means for cooling the device (24, 24a). The method may optionally comprise one or more pretreating (42) of the liquid mixture (40).

[0102] The present process, and / or feeding of the liquid mixture, may be continuous. This is enabled by the efficiency of the separation in the device, which thus facilitates implementing the device and the process in industrial scale, as it is possible to obtain a high throughput. Thus, the method may comprise continuously providing, such as feeding, the liquid mixture comprising two or more components having different melting points to the device and / or to the cooling. The method may also comprise continuously recovering the separated liquid and / or one or more components thereof, and / or continuously recovering the separated solids and / or one or more components thereof. It is also possible to carry out the process or a part thereof as a batch process.

[0103] As discussed, the present devices and methods are controllable. The method may comprise controlling (48), such as monitoring and / or adjusting, one or more process parameters, such as temperature, (injection / spraying) pressure, inlet rate, outlet rate, rotation speed, treatment time, process time, such as retention time, basket angle and structure of the device, such as arrangement of one or more of the baskets. It is also possible to provide one or more selected parts to the device, such as a specific basket. For example, the device may be assembled for a specific use, such as to select one or more baskets with suitable basket wall angle, a combination thereof, and / or other device parts, such as one or more nozzles. The parts may be adjusted for a specific use, for example a nozzle can be directed to a specific target in a basket and / or other part of the device, and / or in a specific angle in relation to the basket or basket wall. One or more parts of a basket can be cooled. For example, two or more parts can be cooled separately todifferent temperatures, i.e. two or more different temperatures may be arranged to a basket to provide two or more zones with different properties / temperature, which can facilitate separation of two or more compounds, such as three or more compounds. Thus, two or more separate liquid fractions and / or two or more separate solid fractions can be obtained and separated from the same device.

[0104] A control unit may be configured to adjust one or more process parameters and / or maintain such parameter(s) at a predetermined range or value, for example as programmed and / or as feedback for one or more measured and / or monitored properties from the device, such as temperature, inlet rate, outlet rate and / or the like properties. The device may comprise one or more detecting means, such as sensors, for measuring and / or monitoring the properties, such as one or more temperature sensors, which may be configured to measure temperature from one or more points in the device, such as at one or more points on a basket and / or to measure the overall temperature in the device, for example inside an basket, such as the innermost basket, and / or at the outer wall of the device. The properties of the outcoming fractions can be also monitored with monitoring means and / or by taking samples, such as by monitoring absorbance, turbidity, pH, temperature, viscosity and / or the like.

[0105] Also features such as one or more pretreatments (42), additional treatments (50) and / or post-treatments (52, 54) can be used for controlling the process and / or device, facilitating the separation of components and / or further processing the separated fractions (44, 46), such as preparing further products. The process parameters can be controlled by controlling means, where applicable, and / or by modifying the structure of the device. The controlling may result in obtaining one or more desired end products, such as fractions. The separation of two or more substances from the liquid mixture can be impacted by the controlling actions, such as by selecting, adjusting and / or maintaining suitable process parameters and / or device parts.

[0106] The liquid mixture comprising two or more components having different melting points may be provided from a source of liquid mixture, which may be a process, such as an industrial process, or another process forming and / or releasing such liquid that can be processed with the present method, and / or needs processing. The liquid may be directly obtained from the process, and / or it may be obtained and / or provided in original temperature and / or at ambient temperature, room temperature or other temperature, which is higher than temperature used in thepresent method and device. The liquid may be provided as unpretreated, or it may be provided as pretreated. The liquid may be pretreated with one or more pretreating methods disclosed herein, such as with pretreating means (38) in any suitable point of the device or the system.

[0107] The cooled liquid mixture may be provided to the rotatable filter basket (12). The cooled liquid mixture may be provided by injecting and / or spraying, such as with one or more injecting and / or spraying means, for example to outer surface of the inner basket (16), if present, to inner surface of the filtering basket, and / or to any suitable part, location or target between these.

[0108] In one embodiment the method comprises pressurizing the liquid and providing the cooled liquid as pressurized subcooled liquid. The liquid may be pressurized in a container for the liquid, and by controlling one or more sources of pressure arranged to provide pressure to the container. The method may comprise providing pressurized liquid, preferably from the container, to the means (22) for providing liquid mixture, such as injecting or spraying means. Preferably this is carried out in a controlled manner, for example controlled by the controlling means, to obtain a suitable flow, spraying and / or injecting rate, which may depend on the type of liquid, temperature, rotation speed and / or other process parameters. The output rate, such as output flow rate, is usually determined by the inflow rate.

[0109] The liquid mixtures that can be treated with the present method and device includes a wide variety of liquid mixtures, which may be obtained and / or derived from various sources, such as liquid mixtures comprising one or more of alcohols, glycols, harmful and / or permanent compounds such as organofluorine chemical compounds, lignin, acids, proteins, fatty acids and lipids, carbohydrates, chlorophyl, sulphates, fuels, other complex liquids, and / or the like. The liquid may be aqueous liquid, a liquid comprising organic solvent, or a mixture thereof. In some cases the liquid is crystallized in the used temperature, but in some cases one or more of the components in the liquid may be crystallized first. For example, PFAS compounds tend to crystallize in higher temperature than water, and in such cases they, or part thereof, can be separated as crystalline material, such as a precipitate, while water remains liquid.

[0110] The temperature used in the method and device, such as the temperature causing one or more component(s) to solidify and allowing one or more component(s) to remain liquid, the temperature of one or more of the cooled parts of the device,and / or the temperature of the cooled liquid, may depend on the liquid mixture, purpose of the process, and / or other process parameters, and may be for example in the range of -150°C to +10°C, 150°C to +0°C, s -130°C to +10°C, 130°C to +0°C or -30°C to 0°C. “To remain liquid” as used herein refers to remain in the liquid phase and / or fraction, preferably so that a compound remaining liquid can be separated in the liquid fraction.

[0111] The present disclosure provides use of the device disclosed herein for separating one or more components and / or compounds of a liquid mixture with the method disclosed herein, and / or for increasing or for reducing concentration of one or more compounds or components of a liquid mixture. The device may be provided at a target, which may be a location or a place wherein the liquid mixture is formed, stored, and / or provided. In such way problematic liquids or other liquids in need of treatment and / or fractionating can be treated in situ or at a suitable place. One or more of the separated components may be used in situ or they may be conveyed or transported to another location. For example, water can be purified and the purified water can be released, such as provided to a sewer system or the like.

[0112] The present method and device can be used for desalinating water, such as sea water. Because sodium chloride lowers the melting point of water, the salt in sea water tends to be forced out of pure water while freezing, and can thus be separated. One embodiment provides use of the device disclosed herein for desalinating water.

[0113] The present device may be implemented and / or provided as a transportable device, which can be transported to a site of use. The device may be for example implemented and provided in a vehicle, or implemented and provided as towable or otherwise movable, such as in a transportable container. In such way treatment of liquid can be implemented when needed, such as in case of emergency at a site of emergency, or at other site of sudden formation of liquid to be treated, for example when objects are washed irregularly with washing liquid, which needs to be treated.

[0114] The present device may be also implemented as fixed, for example in industrial processing plants or the like, at locations regularly producing liquid requiring treating, at waste processing plants, such as wastewater treatment plants, and / orthe like. The present device can be prepared and installed at an existing industrial processing plant or the like site.

[0115] The present disclosure also provides such industrial processing plants and the like, including waste processing plants, locations and the like comprising the present device, preferably arranged to carry out the present method or part thereof.

[0116] Products can be prepared from a variety of liquid mixtures with the present device and method, such as ones disclosed in the following. The present disclosure provides a method for preparing a product, and / or for purifying water, including desalinating water, with the present device and / or method. The method may be or comprise a method for removing one or more substances from the liquid mixture, such as substance(s) mentioned herein. The product may be one or more of the separated end products disclosed herein, including purified water. The industrial processing plant may be a plant for carrying out one or more of the processes disclosed herein, such as an industrial processing plant of alcohol industry, an industrial processing plant of food industry, an industrial processing plant of waste management industry, an industrial processing plant of glycol-treating industry, an industrial processing plant of pulping industry, an industrial processing plant of organofluorine chemical compounds treating industry, an industrial processing plant of acids and / or inorganics treating and / or producing industry, industrial processing plant of pharmaceutical industry, or an industrial processing plant of mining industry.

[0117] The present disclosure provides a product obtained by the method disclosed herein. The product may be a fraction obtained from the method, such as a solid fraction or a liquid fraction, or a product or fraction obtained from such fraction. For example, a solid fraction may be melted to obtain a liquid fraction or product. The product may comprise one or more substances of interest. The product may be provided for further processing, for example to produce a further product. The product may be isolated and / or provided in a container.

[0118] Treatment of liquid mixture comprising alcohol

[0119] Alcohol-containing liquids with increased alcohol content are usually prepared by distillation. The alcohol may be any suitable alcohol, such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, butanol, etc. or a combination thereof. However, onecommon alcohol is ethanol, such as in alcoholic drinks and beverages. Such ethanol-containing drinks and also other types of ethanol, such as technical ethanol and / or bioethanol, may be obtained from fermented liquid, which has an ethanol content obtained in anaerobic fermentation process by yeast or other applicable microbes. The ethanol content of such fermented liquids is usually relatively low, such as 10-15% by volume at the most. Therefore, to obtain stronger ethanol content the fermented liquid has been traditionally distilled. However distillation process can damage compounds present in the liquid, which can result in undesired final product. Freezing the fermented liquid has been used as an alternative to increase the alcohol content, but the efficiency, controllability and industrial applicability of the process need improving.

[0120] The present method and device enable overcoming drawbacks of prior art and enhance separation of alcohol from liquid mixtures, such as from fermented liquids, and increasing the alcohol content of a liquid. As no high temperatures are used, any heat-sensitive compounds are preserved. The present method may be carried out at an industrial processing plant for manufacturing and / or processing alcoholic products. The manufacturing plant may comprise a source of fermented liquid, for example a fermenting tank, which may be connected to the present device or wherein the fermented liquid is arranged to be conveyed and / or provided to the device. The processing plant may comprise a source of alcoholic product, such as beer, cider, wine such as red wine, white wine, rose wine, sparkling wine, liqueur and / or other strong alcoholic beverages.

[0121] In one embodiment the liquid mixture comprises one or more alcohols, such as ethanol. The liquid mixture may comprise or be fermented liquid, or it may have been obtained from fermented liquid, for example fermented alcoholic beverage or a preform thereof, or bioethanol. In such case the method may be a method for concentrating alcohol content of a liquid, such as alcoholic beverage and / or a fermented liquid. The source of the liquid mixture may be fermentation process and / or production of bioethanol.

[0122] Beverages in general, as used herein, refer to a drinkable liquid intended for human consumption. It covers both alcoholic drinks such as beer, wine, cider, spirits, liqueurs, mixed drinks; and non-alcoholic drinks such as juices, soft drinks, non-alcoholic beer / wine, etc. The terms “drink” and “beverage” may be used interchangeably herein.When alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks or beverages are prepared with the present method and device, the compounds providing flavour, aroma, colour and / or appearance in the starting liquid can be preserved. Drinks having even better flavour and / or aroma than corresponding products prepared by distilling can be obtained.

[0123] Further, the alcohol content of the liquid can be increased or decreased in a simple process and in substantially shorter time than for example using distilling methods. As the process can be carried out in continuous manner, even large amounts of liquid can be processed without interruptions.

[0124] The temperature at which water ice starts to precipitate depends on the alcohol concentration. Consequently, at a given temperature and alcohol concentration, the freezing process will reach an equilibrium at a specific ratio of water ice and enriched alcohol solution with a specific alcohol concentration. The temperatures and mixing ratios of these phase equilibria can be read from the phase diagram of alcohol and water. For example, the maximum enrichment of ethanol in the liquid phase is reached at the eutectic point of ethanol and water, approximately 92.4 weight-% ethanol at -123°C. In tests with the present devices it was however found out that already temperature of -34°C was enough to efficiently separate and / or concentrate ethanol. However, a lower temperature may be used, such as -40°C or lower, or -45°C or lower.

[0125] One embodiment provides use of the device disclosed herein for separating one or more alcohols and / or components comprising thereof from a liquid mixture, and / or for increasing the alcohol content of a liquid or a liquid mixture.

[0126] In similar manner also liquids with lowered alcoholic content can be prepared in a simple and fast process. It may be desired to obtain for example non-alcoholic beer or wine, or even other alcoholic drinks such as liqueur, or to obtain corresponding alcoholic drinks or beverages having a lowered alcoholic content, without compromising the flavour (taste), aroma and / or colour of the product. For example, in some jurisdictions the allowable maximum alcoholic content of drinks sold in food markets is restricted, so the present device and process enable converting wines into form which fulfil the requirements and can be sold in a variety of shops. In tests wines with alcohol content in the range of 7-8% by volume could be prepared from regular wines having alcohol content of about 15% by volume in a very short time, such as less than 20 second, and the obtained low-alcohol wine maintained the original flavour, aroma and colour / appearance. It was also noticed that wine stone can be separated with the present process, which can improve the taste of the wine.

[0127] The result of the process, i.e. whether most of the flavour and / or coloured compounds would remain in the solid fraction or in the liquid fraction, can be controlled with the process parameters disclosed herein, such as process speed / rate, temperature, rotating speed and basket wall angle. For example it may be desired to control the separation speed, for example by controlling feed (flow) rate, rotation speed, basket wall angle, or combination of any controllable properties / parameters.

[0128] A problem with separating ethanol from alcoholic liquids, such as drinks or beverages, is in the ability of the ethanol to dissolve agents from the liquid. When ethanol is removed with method such as distillation or otherwise using higher temperatures than in the present process, a part of agents contributing to flavours, amora and / or colour are usually removed with the ethanol thus resulting in an alcohol-deprived liquid with significantly different flavour, amora and / or colour. One example is a long drink originally prepared by mixing gin and grapefruit beverage. When ethanol was removed from the drink, the resulting alcohol-free drink still contained the gin aroma. Identical drink cannot be prepared by simply mixing artificial gin aroma and grapefruit beverage, especially when it is desired to present the new drink to a target group already familiar with the original long drink.

[0129] When a selective separation of ethanol was desired, temperature in the range of -40— 50°C was used. This was found to decrease the amount of other components separated in the ethanol fraction and the ethanol was separated in substantially pure form without agents contributing to flavours, amora and / or colour. This is especially important when aiming to prepare alcoholic drinks or beverages with lowered alcoholic content, but having uncompromised other properties, including the flavour, the amora and / or the colour. Thus, the effect of ethanol removal to the other properties of the original liquid can be kept minimal. In the tests it was found out that for example beers or wines with lowered alcohol contents obtained with the present method had a very good flavour and aroma, sometimes even better than in the original drink.

[0130] By controlling the process parameters, such as rotation speed, flow rate, retention time, basket angle and the like it was possible to obtain separation of ethanol as athin layer on the surface of the basket. This significantly reduced the amount of components that are usually prone to dissolve in the ethanol and to be separated with the ethanol. In such process the basket angle was preferable 5 degrees or less, such as 2-4 degrees. This however may depend on other process parameters as well.

[0131] It was noted that non-alcoholic beers could be easily prepared from regular beers having alcohol content in the range of 4-5.5% by volume. There is no need to prepare a specific beer as a starting material having enhanced flavour or aroma, but the original flavour and aroma were preserved in the beer. Thus inexpensive and existing starting material can be used and the process can be kept simple.

[0132] It was also noted that non-alcoholic drinks could be made from strong alcoholic beverages, such as from whiskey or cognac. These contained the original flavour and aroma, but lacked alcohol, or the alcohol content was very low. In general, a low alcoholic beverage with alcohol content of 1% by volume or less, or 0.5% by volume or less, could be easily achieved in a very short time.

[0133] Further, the separated alcohol fraction could be used for preparing other types of alcoholic beverages. For example, ethanol separated from wines or beers with process conditions allowing some agents to be removed together with the ethanol can be used for making whiskey-types of alcoholic drinks, for example when applied in suitable wooden barrels or the like. These drinks may have completely new types of flavours and aroma.

[0134] Thus, the alcoholic and non-alcoholic, or alcohol-free, drinks or beverages obtained from fractions from the present process may represent completely new types of drinks or beverages, which cannot be obtained with any other known method or process. According to certain definitions, alcohol-free means 0.05% by volume or less, or 0.1% by volume or less, and non-alcoholic means 0.5% by volume or less.

[0135] Disclosed is a method for separating components of a liquid mixture comprising alcohol, such as ethanol and / or one or more alcohols, the method comprising -providing the device or the industrial processing plant,

[0136] -providing a liquid mixture comprising alcohol and water, i.e. an aqueous liquid comprising alcohol,-cooling the liquid mixture to a temperature causing one or more component(s) of the liquid mixture, including water, to solidify and allowing one or more component(s), including alcohol, to remain liquid,

[0137] -providing the cooled liquid mixture to the device (10), preferably to the rotatable filter basket (12), such as by injecting to outer surface of the inner basket (16), if present, and operating the device to provide centrifugal forces to the cooled liquid mixture in the rotatable filter basket (12) of the device,

[0138] -allowing the liquid component(s) comprising alcohol of the cooled liquid mixture to separate through the apertures of the rotatable filtering basket (12) by the centrifugal forces, and

[0139] -recovering the separated liquid comprising alcohol and / or recovering the separated solids comprising water.

[0140] Depending on the intended use, the desired fraction may be either one of the recovered fractions, or both. The method may be a method for increasing alcohol content of a liquid mixture comprising alcohol, such as the fermented liquid, alcoholic beverage or drink, or other liquid disclosed herein. The method may also be a method for lowering alcohol content of a liquid comprising alcohol, such as wine, beer, liqueur and / or other alcoholic product. The method may also be or comprise fractioning a liquid mixture comprising alcohol, wherein two or more of the fractions may be recovered.

[0141] The device and method may be also used for purifying liquid comprising one or more alcohols, such as ethanol and one or more undesired alcohols, such as methanol, which may be formed in a process of producing alcoholic beverages. Thus, it is possible to separate the different alcohols to different fractions and thus get rid of the undesired alcohol, usually methanol.

[0142] The present disclosure provides an alcoholic or a non-alcoholic beverage obtained by the method. The obtained beverage can be identified by analysing the content of the beverage and / or comparing properties of the beverage, such as flavour, aroma and / or colour, to a corresponding product obtained with a different process, such as by distilling. The difference is substantial, as distillation will destroy agents having impact to these properties, and in comparison tests the present beverages were found to exhibit superior sensory properties compared to similar beverages obtained by distilling.

[0143] Treatment of other drinkable liquid mixturesThe present device and method can be also used for treating other drinkable liquids (beverages) and liquid bases for preparing edible products, which liquids may be non-alcoholic, and which may contain one or more substances that should be separated, i.e. the amount of which should be increased and / or decreased. One such substance may be simply water. The same principle as discussed for alcoholic beverages can be applied also for such liquids and substances, and it usually depends on the substances and process parameters whether the substance is separated in the liquid fraction or in the solid fraction. For example, a juice or other beverage can be concentrated with the present device and method to obtain a concentrate and / or a deeper flavour, aroma and / or colour. Colour of the liquid can be enhanced, decreased or changed, such as one or more coloured components may be removed and / or concentrated. Similarly, flavour, aroma and / or taste can be changed by removing and / or concentrating one or more components related to one or more of these properties. These principles can also be applied to the alcoholic beverages and drinks. Also, edible products can be prepared from such liquids.

[0144] Treatment of liquid mixture comprising glycols

[0145] Liquids containing glycols are formed in several processes. Glycols are aliphatic diols, which are used in a variety of technical fields, such as for forming polymers and in antifreeze formulations. Glycols include for example ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, diethylene glycol and propylene glycol.

[0146] Ethylene glycol is a representative example of glycols. It is toxic in high concentrations, so for example waste liquids comprising ethylene glycol, as well as other liquids, cannot be released to environment but they must be stored and / or treated. This poses problems especially in cases where large amounts of glycol-containing wastewaters or the like are formed, such as wastewaters containing ethylene glycol. One specific source of such wastewater is antifreeze treatment of aeroplanes or other objects by spraying with glycol-containing de-icing fluid. Thus at airports or the like treatment areas, or targets, the formed wastewaters must be collected before it flows to environment, and further processing thereof must be arranged. Currently there are no proper methods or equipment to treat such wastewaters locally or in situ, so in many cases large volumes of the wastewaters must be transported to another location for further treatment, usually by a different operator. This generates continuous expenses and is laborious as transportcapacity must be arranged and used. The present method may be carried out at an industrial processing plant for treating glycol-containing liquid. The plant may be a wastewater processing plant.

[0147] The present method and device enable overcoming drawbacks of prior art and enable treating glycol-containing wastewaters or other liquids to purify water and / or to recover the glycol. The present device can be implemented locally to the site wherein the glycol-containing liquids are formed and / or provided. Thus there may not be need to collect and transport wastewater to another location, or at least the volume of liquid in need of treatment can be drastically lowered. The treatment of the wastewater can be carried out by the same operator that uses the original liquid forming the wastewater.

[0148] In one embodiment the liquid mixture comprises one or more glycols, such as propylene glycol and / or ethylene glycol. The liquid mixture may comprise aircraft de-icing fluid. The source of the liquid mixture may be (used) washing water of aircraft.

[0149] Disclosed is a method for separating components of a liquid mixture comprising one or more glycols, the method comprising

[0150] -providing the device or the industrial processing plant,

[0151] -providing a liquid mixture comprising one or more glycols and water, i.e. an aqueous liquid comprising one or more glycols,

[0152] -cooling the liquid mixture to a temperature causing one or more component(s) of the liquid mixture, including water, to solidify and allowing one or more glycols, to remain liquid,

[0153] -providing the cooled liquid mixture to the device (10), preferably to the rotatable filter basket (12), such as by injecting to outer surface of the inner basket (16), if present, and operating the device to provide centrifugal forces to the cooled liquid mixture in the rotatable filter basket (12) of the device,

[0154] -allowing the liquid component(s) comprising one or more glycols of the cooled liquid mixture to separate through the apertures of the rotatable filtering basket (12) by the centrifugal forces, and

[0155] -recovering the separated liquid comprising one or more glycols and / or recovering the separated solids comprising water.

[0156] One embodiment provides use of the device disclosed herein for separating one or more glycols and / or components comprising thereof from a liquid mixture.In one embodiment the method is a method for treating used de-icing fluid, such as aircraft de-icing fluid.

[0157] Treatment of liquid mixture comprising organofluorine chemical compound

[0158] There exist a large number of synthetic compounds, especially organic compounds, which are harmful to living organisms and environment, and / or which may be permanent or have a very long half-life. Such compounds may be considered as persistent organic pollutants, and sometimes they are called as "forever chemicals". The organic compounds may be compounds with fluorine, chloride or the like, and are considered causing health and environmental concerns.

[0159] One such group of synthetic compounds are more organofluorine chemical compounds, also called as organofluorine compounds. One example of organofluorine chemical compounds comprises per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are a large class of thousands of synthetic chemicals that are used throughout society. They all contain carbon-fluorine bonds, which are one of the strongest chemical bonds in organic chemistry. This means that they resist degradation when used and also in the environment. Most PFAS are also easily transported in the environment covering long distances away from the source of their release.

[0160] PFAS have been frequently observed to contaminate groundwater, surface water and soil. Cleaning up polluted sites is technically difficult and costly. If releases continue, they will continue to accumulate in the environment, drinking water and food.

[0161] It was found that PFAS compounds could be removed from water with the present method and by using the present device. Problematic water could be purified even to such degree that the water fulfilled regulations in respect of the PFAS content.

[0162] The PFAS compounds can be also removed from organic material, such as plant material. Examples of such material include plants grown in contaminated soil or ground, which plant accumulates contaminants from the soil or ground. In this manner PFAS compounds can be removed from the soil by using growing plants as collecting means. The plants can be harvested and ground and / orhomogenised for treating with the present method to separate and recover PFAS compounds. The plant material may be dispersed in water, and the obtained dispersion is then treated with the present method.

[0163] In one embodiment the liquid mixture comprises one or more organofluorine chemical compounds. The organofluorine chemical compounds may represent one or more of the components of the liquid mixture, i.e. a component may refer to one type of such compounds or to a group of the compounds, such as organofluorine chemical compounds in general, or to a subgroup thereof.

[0164] The present method may be carried out at an industrial processing plant for treating liquid mixture comprising one or more organofluorine chemical compounds. The plant may be a wastewater processing plant.

[0165] In one embodiment the liquid mixture comprises one or more per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. In one embodiment the liquid mixture comprises one or more derivatives of the organofluorine chemical compounds, which may be originated from a pretreatment degrading and / or derivatising thereof. In such case the method may comprise pretreating the liquid mixture with one or more suitable pretreatment method

[0166] Disclosed is a method for separating components of a liquid mixture comprising one or more organofluorine chemical compounds, derivatives thereof and / or components comprising thereof, the method comprising

[0167] -providing the device or the industrial processing plant,

[0168] -providing a liquid mixture comprising one or more organofluorine chemical compounds, derivatives thereof and / or components comprising thereof, and water, i.e. an aqueous liquid comprising one or more organofluorine chemical compounds, derivatives thereof and / or components comprising thereof, -cooling the liquid mixture to a temperature causing one or more organofluorine chemical compounds, derivatives thereof and / or components comprising thereof to solidify and allowing water to remain liquid,

[0169] -providing the cooled liquid mixture to the device (10), preferably to the rotatable filter basket (12), such as by injecting to outer surface of the inner basket (16), if present, and operating the device to provide centrifugal forces to the cooled liquid mixture in the rotatable filter basket (12) of the device,-allowing the liquid component(s) comprising water of the cooled liquid mixture to separate through the apertures of the rotatable filtering basket (12) by the centrifugal forces, and

[0170] -recovering the separated liquid comprising water and / or recovering the separated solids comprising organofluorine chemical compounds, derivatives thereof and / or components comprising thereof.

[0171] One embodiment provides use of the device disclosed herein for separating one or more organofluorine chemical compounds, derivatives thereof and / or components comprising thereof from a liquid mixture.

[0172] A number of PFAS are on the REACH Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHC), for example PFOA, perfluorinated carboxylic acids (C9-14 PFCAs) and PFHxS. Three groups of PFAS have been identified as SVHCs: 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoro-2-(heptafluoropropoxy)propionic acid, its salts and its acyl halides (HFPO-DA); perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) and its salts, a replacement of PFOS; and perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA) and its salts.

[0173] Other examples of organofluorine compounds include trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TFMS).

[0174] In some tests it was found (Figures 6 and 7) that PFAS compounds that could be efficiently purified with the present method and device included especially perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA, PFUdA), perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoDA, PFUdA), perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA), perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTeDA), perfluorohexadecanoic acid (PFHxDA), perfluorooctadecanoic acid (PFODA), perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorodecanesulfonic acid (PFDS), perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFSOA), and / V-ethylperfluorooctanesulfonamide ( / V-EtFOSA). However other PFAS compounds may be purified with other process conditions, from different initial liquid, and / or by further treating the liquid for example with the pretreatment methods disclosed herein.

[0175] The liquid mixture comprising one or more organofluorine chemical compounds can be pretreated, for example to degrade the compounds and / or to break the surface activity of the compounds. Derivatives of the organofluorine chemical compounds are obtained. Such a pretreatment would prevent rebinding of thecompounds, which would disturb the process. This will facilitate the present process and enable separating the treated compounds and / or the liquid mixture comprising thereof more efficiently.

[0176] Suitable pretreatment methods include electrolysis, such as electrolysis with altering current (AC), preferably by using one or more frequencies, such as with altering frequency. Different frequencies of the current could affect different bonds in the molecules, thus breaking PFAS chains, such as F-C bonds. Also ion exchange may be utilised as a pretreatment to remove one or more types of compounds.

[0177] Treatment of liquid mixture comprising lignin

[0178] In one embodiment the liquid mixture comprises lignin. The lignin may be obtained from black liquor of a pulping plant, such as from a Kraft process. With the present method and device it is possible to separate inorganic chemicals, lignin, hemicellulose and / or other organic compounds derived from lignocellulosic material from black liquor or a liquid derived from black liquor. The other organic compounds may comprise one or more of organic acids.

[0179] The present method may be carried out at an industrial processing plant producing and / or treating lignin, such as a processing plant of pulping industry, for example a pulp mill. The processing plant may comprise one or more processing units producing lignin, which may be a source of lignin, or the source may be a different source. The source may be (directly) connected to the present device or wherein lignin-containing liquid is arranged to be conveyed and / or provided to the device. The plant may comprise or be a wastewater processing plant.

[0180] The lignin may be pretreated before applying to the present process / device. The pretreatment may be carried out in an aqueous liquid comprising the lignin, such as an aqueous dispersion. Alternatively the lignin may be applied as untreated, i.e. not pretreated, after obtaining from the source.

[0181] Disclosed is a method for separating components of a liquid mixture comprising one or more lignins, the method comprising

[0182] -providing the device or the industrial processing plant,

[0183] -providing a liquid mixture of lignin and water, i.e. an aqueous liquid comprising lignin,-cooling the liquid mixture to a temperature causing the lignin to solidify and allowing water to remain liquid,

[0184] -providing the cooled liquid mixture to the device (10), preferably to the rotatable filter basket (12), such as by injecting to outer surface of the inner basket (16), if present, and operating the device to provide centrifugal forces to the cooled liquid mixture in the rotatable filter basket (12) of the device,

[0185] -allowing the liquid component(s) comprising water of the cooled liquid mixture to separate through the apertures of the rotatable filtering basket (12) by the centrifugal forces, and

[0186] -recovering the separated liquid comprising water and / or recovering the separated solids comprising lignin.

[0187] One embodiment provides use of the device disclosed herein for separating one or more organic components from a liquid mixture, such as one or more of lignin, hemicellulose and other organic compounds.

[0188] Treatment of liquid mixture comprising acids and / or biological material

[0189] In one embodiment the liquid mixture comprises one or more organic acids and / or inorganic acids. Liquid mixtures comprising acids may be obtained from a variety of sources, such as biological sources, for example plant, animal and / or microbial sources, and / or from industrial sources, such as from a source of chemical industry. Similar sources can be used for separating other compounds and / or components as well, such as discussed herein, for example in the following. The present method and device are especially advantageous for treating and / or fractioning biological material, which is prone to damage in processing.

[0190] Suitable plant-based material, which may be called plant material, may comprise parts of one or more plants, or whole plant(s). Analogously, suitable animal-based material may comprise parts of one or more animals, such as meat, organ, blood, cells, and the like, or a whole animal. The material may be disintegrated, such as homogenized, but it was also found out that the present cooling could break the cells of the biological material thus facilitating release of substances from the material. The disintegrated material may be dispersed in water, and the obtained dispersion is then treated with the present method.

[0191] One or more components or compounds may be separated and / or recovered from the material with the present method. For example, nutritionally or biologicallyvaluable compounds or components may be separated, such as fish oil from fish, or cod liver oil from fish liver, vegetable oil from plants of parts thereof, scientifically valuable isolated components or compounds, such as bioactive compounds, may be separated from cells or tissue, or the like. It is also possible to separate and remove harmful or other non-desired compounds or components from the material, such as heavy metals, PFAS compounds or other toxic or harmful substances.

[0192] In one example plants grown in contaminated soil or ground, which plant accumulates contaminants from the soil or ground, can be harvested and treated to separate and remove the contaminants. This will purify the soil or ground from the contaminants. Examples of such contaminants include PFAS, heavy metals and other harmful or toxic compounds disclosed herein. The plant may be seeded to the contaminated soil or ground, allowed to grow and accumulate contaminants, and subsequently harvested and treated. Examples of suitable plants include nettle and sugar beet, which grow fast and can efficiently accumulate contaminants from the soil. The separate contaminant-depleted fraction may be used for example for producing bioethanol, which can be further treated with the present method to further purify the material. In one embodiment the liquid mixture comprises one or more oils and / or fatty acids. These may be vegetable oils and / or fatty acids. The oils and / or fatty acids may be derived from plant material, which may be suspended or dispersed to water or other solvent, preferably ground, homogenised, filtered and / or otherwise pretreated to remove large solids, and provided to the present device. If necessary, the weight element designed to fit inside the rotatable filtering basket may be provided to facilitate treatment of plantbased material. Other components and / or compounds of plant or other living / biological material may be separated with the present method and device as well, such as lignin, proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, chlorophyl, vitamins, bioactive molecules and the like.

[0193] The present method may be carried out at an industrial processing plant producing and / or treating such acids and / or biological material. The plant may comprise or be a wastewater processing plant.

[0194] One embodiment provides use of the device disclosed herein for separating one or more organic acids and / or inorganic acids or components comprising thereof from a liquid mixture.Treatment of liquid mixture comprising pharmaceutical compounds

[0195] In one embodiment the liquid mixture comprises one or more pharmaceutical compounds. Such compounds may be originated from one or more processes of pharmaceutical industry, such as manufacturing of pharmaceuticals / drugs, and / or from processes of treating waste waters comprising one or more pharmaceutical compounds. The process and device disclosed herein may be applied in analogous manner, and it usually depends on the substances and process parameters whether the substance is separated in the liquid fraction or in the solid fraction.

[0196] The present method may be carried out at an industrial processing plant producing and / or treating such pharmaceutical compounds. The plant may comprise or be a wastewater processing plant.

[0197] Treatment of liquid mixture comprising fuel

[0198] It is possible to process fuels with the present method, for example to reduce gel point of a fuel, for example biodiesel or other diesel fuels, such as alternative diesel fuels. Esters of higher gel point can be removed from esters of lower gel point through cold filtering, or other methods to reduce the subsequent alternative fuel gel point of the fuel blend. This process employs fuel stratification whereby components in the fuel blend develop a higher specific gravity as they approach their respective gel points and thus sink. This behaviour can be utilized with the present device, as the fraction with a higher specific gravity can be separated at the lower part of the device.

[0199] In one embodiment the liquid mixture comprises one or more fuels. In general fuels can be refined by separating one or more compounds of the fuel with the present method.

[0200] The present method may be carried out at an industrial processing plant producing and / or processing fuel or a precursor thereof.

[0201] One embodiment provides use of the device disclosed herein for separating one or more fuels and / or components comprising thereof from a liquid mixture, and / or for refining fuel.Treatment of liquid mixture comprising inorganic compounds and / or acids

[0202] In one embodiment the liquid mixture comprises one or more inorganic compounds and / or acids, which may be originated from an industrial process producing thereof. One such industrial process is a process of mining industry. The liquid mixture may comprise process water, effluent and / or wastewater of mining industry, such as mining process. Also other applicable industrial waters such as effluents and other wastewaters may be treated. Even though many industrial waters are very acidic, such as mining waters, for example process water from mining industry, they can be treated with the present device and process without problems. However, it may be desired that the parts of the device which are in contact with the liquid mixture are acid-tolerant.

[0203] The present method may be carried out at an industrial processing plant of mining industry. The plant may comprise or be a wastewater processing plant.

[0204] The inorganic compounds may include one or more of phosphorus, phosphorus pentoxide, sulphuric acid, iron, heavy metals such as zinc and cadmium, and the like. Some of the compounds are separated in the liquid fraction and some in the solids fraction.

[0205] Disclosed is a method for separating components of a liquid mixture from an industrial process, preferably comprising one or more inorganic compounds and / or acids, the method comprising

[0206] -providing the device or the industrial processing plant,

[0207] -providing an aqueous liquid mixture of from an industrial process,

[0208] -cooling the liquid mixture to a temperature causing one or more compounds of the mixture to solidify and allowing one or more compounds to remain liquid, -providing the cooled liquid mixture to the device (10), preferably to the rotatable filter basket (12), such as by injecting to outer surface of the inner basket (16), if present, and operating the device to provide centrifugal forces to the cooled liquid mixture in the rotatable filter basket (12) of the device,

[0209] -allowing the liquid component(s) of the cooled liquid mixture to separate through the apertures of the rotatable filtering basket (12) by the centrifugal forces, and -recovering the separated liquid and / or recovering the separated solids. The liquid may comprise one or more of the compounds from the industrial process, and the solids may comprise one or more of the compounds from the industrial processOther compounds and / or components of a liquid discussed herein can be separated, concentrated, refined and / or processed in analogous manner as discussed in previous, and analogous uses can be provided.

[0210] Examples

[0211] Example 1

[0212] Different prototypes of devices were prepared and tested. Figure 5 shows one early prototype of a cooled device as opened. A large amount of ice from alcohol-containing liquid can be seen in the rotatable basket, and on the wall of the transparent outer basket drops of separated alcohol-containing liquid can be seen. Most of the separated alcohol-containing liquid has been already flown down to the bottom of the outer basket and has been recovered. However, as can be seen, the accumulation of ice was problematic in this prototype. Further improved prototypes were developed, manufactured and used in the tests.

[0213] A device comprising a rotatable filtering basket (12) and an outer basket (14) arranged outside the rotatable filtering basket was manufactured. The rotatable filtering basket and the outer basket were substantially cylindrical baskets, wherein the wall of the rotatable filtering basket was perforated. The filtering basket was attached to a central axis connected to an electric motor for rotating the rotatable filtering basket and to provide centrifugal forces in the rotatable filtering basket.

[0214] The device also included cooling element for cooling the liquid mixture and a cooling element for cooling the device. The liquid mixture to be treated was provided as pressurized from the upper part / region and / or the first end of the device and sprayed inside the rotatable filtering basket.

[0215] At the bottom, i.e. a lower part (14a), of the outer basket there was a liquid outlet (26) for liquid comprising the liquid component(s) of the cooled liquid mixture. When the filtering basket was rotated, the component(s) of the liquid mixture remaining in liquid form was / were separated through apertures (18) of the rotatable filtering basket by the centrifugal forces, and frozen component(s) remained inside the filtering basket and moved towards the bottom, i.e. the lower part (12a), of the filtering basket. The bottom contained a solid outlet (28) for solids to be purged from the device.Figure 10 shows an example of separation of non-alcoholic beer as a liquid fraction from the rotatable filtering basket towards the outer basket in one example of a cooled device, which was designed for treating alcoholic beverages. Alcohol-containing beer (4.5 vol%) was used as starting material. The overall construction of the basket system includes a cylindrical inner basket, a frustoconical filtering basket and an outer basket providing a basket wall angle. Accumulation of ice was less problematic, and even though the separated liquid fraction is partly frozen in the photo taken during testing of the lower limit for the temperature (temperatures below -30°C were tested), it could be efficiently separated and recovered when the temperature and other conditions were set to more optimal.

[0216] The devices were used for treating a variety of liquid mixtures, and in each case components of the liquid mixture could be efficiently separated and recovered.

[0217] Example 2

[0218] In general the process included:

[0219] 1) Cooling the aqueous base liquid to required temperature, usually below 0°C in case of aqueous liquid. In some examples this was done with a closed-circuit carbon dioxide based system. In some examples this was done by using heat pump, which saves 2 / 3 of the cooling costs compared to direct electricity. In some examples this was done by injecting nitrogen gas to one or more points of the baskets. Injecting cooling medium to baskets enabled controlling the temperature of the system, while the liquid mixture could be already cooled before injecting to the device.

[0220] 2) Injecting supercooled liquid under pressure to the rotatable filtering basket. In examples this was done by injecting onto an inner basket.

[0221] 3) Subjecting the injected mass to brutal force of about 30 G’s by rotating the cylinders with a controllable electric motor. The duration of the process was only minutes. The frozen water remained solid and the processed substance(s) that were still in liquid form were separated from the mass through the filtering part of the filtering basket.

[0222] 4) Directing the separated liquid out from the device, wherein it was ready for use or for further processing.Example 3

[0223] The device was used for concentrating alcoholic beverages. A variety of different alcoholic beverages with low ethanol content were provided as starting material. For example, apple cider was concentrated to yield calvados-like strong alcoholic drink. The initial liquid was cooled to -34°C. The alcohol concentration could be easily increased up to about 80% by volume in a very short time.

[0224] During savouring it was noted that the original flavours were extremely well preserved in the process, and the obtained drink had no such unpleasant flavours that are typical for distilled alcoholic drinks.

[0225] Example 4

[0226] The device was used also for lowering alcohol content of alcoholic beverages. A variety of different alcoholic beverages were provided as starting material, such as beer and wine. Alcohol was separated by operating the device as discussed, and as a result non-alcoholic beverage such as beer, or wine with lowered alcohol content, were obtained in a very short time of tens of second or minutes. Temperatures of -40°C and below were used, down to -50°C in most cases. The alcohol (ethanol) was selectively separated from the frozen mass as a very thin layer on the inner basket, when present, and on the rotatable filtering basket. A basket angle of 4 degrees was found preferred for maintaining even and thin ethanol layer. The separation time was very short, such as 17-20 seconds, and the separation and selectivity could be optimised by adjusting at least flow rate and temperature.

[0227] During savouring it was noted that the original flavours were extremely well preserved in the process, and the dealcoholized beverages and drinks were similar in this respect to the original alcohol-containing counterparts. The alcohol fraction obtained in the process could be used for preparing other types of alcoholic drinks.

[0228] In Examples 2-4 in general it was in most cases desired to control where the flavouring and coloured compounds would remain in the separated fractions, as these are usually desired in the consumable fraction. In all cases this could beachieved by controlling process parameters, such as process speed / rate, pressure, temperature, rotating speed and basket wall angle.

[0229] Example 5

[0230] The device was used for treating a liquid sample comprising PFAS compounds. Samples of the purified water were analysed at a laboratory of Finnish Environment Institute. The samples were analysed with SYKEVahva 21-224 PFAS water analysis method, which method follows SFS-EN ISO / IEC 17025 standard.

[0231] Concentration of individual PFAS in a river water sample was adjusted to approximately 30 ng / l by spiking standard mixture into the sample. Sample was divided by weighting into two parts of approximately equal volume, the “unprocessed reference” and the sample provided for treatment with the present method and device. The samples were treated immediately. In the process PFAS compounds were precipitated in water when cooled, and could be thus separated as solids. The initial liquid was cooled to -34°C. In addition, samples were collected from the treated samples as “clean output” and “not-clean output”. The samples were analysed next day.

[0232] In tests it was noted that for separating PFAS compounds a larger basket wall angle could enhance the separation and allow better control of the separation in most cases. The angle may be 5 degrees or more, such as 6-10 degrees or more. The structure presented in Figure 3 was found suitable for PFAS separation.

[0233] Both approximate absolute measured concentration (ng / l) and relative concentration (%) if each PFAS were calculated. Relative concentrations were calculated relative to the “unprocessed reference”. Measure absolute concentration and calculated relative concentration (Concentration relative to untreated reference) are shown in Figures 6 and 7.

[0234] PFOA concentration is higher in both clean and not-clean output than in the reference. Root cause for this is unknown. Based on the quality control, it is not due to the sample analysis. However, it is noted that PFAS compounds with more than 10 carbon atoms (C11-C18 PFCA) may adsorb on the surface of the sample container when water sample is stored in the container. This can affect the accuracy of the results.It can be also noted that based on Drinking Water Directive (DWD) (Ell) 2020 / 2184 [1-2] drinking water PFAS concentration has to be below 100 ng / l in Ell member states from 2026 for 20 individual PFAS compounds, 15 of them being included in the present study.

[0235] As presented in Figures 6 and 7, the samples were tested for perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA, PFUdA), perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoDA, PFUdA), perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA), perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTeDA), perfluorohexadecanoic acid (PFHxDA), perfluorooctadecanoic acid (PFODA), perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorodecanesulfonic acid (PFDS). Also perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFSOA) and / V-ethylperfluorooctanesulfonamide ( / V-EtFOSA) were tested and found to be efficiently removed.

[0236] Example 6

[0237] The device was also used for fractioning liquid mixtures comprising biological mixtures, such as plant material homogenized and suspended in water. It was possible to separate components containing plant oils, proteins, carbohydrates, biological substances such as chlorophyl and the like. The separated compounds, including the cell organelles and other large substances, were well preserved in the process and could be efficiently separated and / or fractionated indicating that the present process involving the method and device is well suitable for a variety of starting material and for separating a variety of substances.

[0238] Example 7

[0239] Mining waters from different sources (S1-S4) were treated with the present device. The concentrations of compound of interest are shown in (A) water and (B) separated solids fraction. The %-columns show the removal efficiency of a compound of interest.

[0240] Table 1. Treatment of mining waters

[0241]

Claims

Claims1. A device (10) for separating components of a liquid mixture, the device comprising-a rotatable filtering basket (12),-an outer basket (14) arranged outside the rotatable filtering basket (12), -means for rotating the rotatable filtering basket (12) and optionally the outer basket (14) to provide centrifugal forces in the rotatable filtering basket (12), preferably connected to an axis (20) connected to the rotatable filtering basket (12),-means (23) for cooling the liquid mixture, and / or means (24, 24a) for cooling the device, arranged to cool the liquid mixture to a temperature causing one or more component(s) of the liquid mixture to solidify and allowing one or more component(s) to remain liquid,-means (22) for providing liquid mixture, preferably cooled liquid mixture, from the upper part of the device into the rotatable filtering basket (12),-a liquid outlet (26) for liquid comprising the liquid component(s) of the cooled liquid mixture at a lower part (14a) of the outer basket (14), the liquid being arranged to be separated through apertures (18) of the rotatable filtering basket by the centrifugal forces, and-a solid outlet (28) at the lower part (12a) of the rotatable filtering basket (12) for solids, such as solids or a solid fraction comprising a second component of the liquid mixture.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the means (22) for providing liquid mixture comprise means for pressurizing the liquid mixture and / or means for providing pressurized liquid mixture,3. The device of claim 1 or 2, comprising an inner basket (16) inside the rotatable filtering basket (12), such as a rotatable inner basket having the same axis of rotation as the rotatable filtering basket (12).

4. The device of any of preceding claims, wherein the rotatable filtering basket (12), the outer basket (14) and preferably the inner basket (16), if present, are rotatable baskets, preferably having the same axis of rotation as the rotatable filtering basket (12).

5. The device of any of preceding claims, wherein the rotatable filtering basket (12) comprises a perforated wall, a wall comprising a filter cloth, a wall comprising a wired structure, and / or a wall comprising a membrane.

6. The device of any of preceding claims, wherein the means (22) for providing liquid mixture from the upper part of the device into the rotatable filtering basket (12) comprises one or more nozzles directed towards the rotatable filtering basket (12) and / or towards an outer surface of the inner basket (16), if present.

7. The device of any of preceding claims, comprising one or more protruding guiding elements (30) at an inner surface of the outer basket (14) for guiding the separated liquid fraction to the liquid outlet at the lower part of the outer basket, such as wherein the guiding element comprises a spiral, for example a continuous spiral or a discontinuous spiral, such as wherein the guiding element (30) connects an outer surface of the rotatable filter basket (12) to an inner surface of the outer basket (14).

8. The device of any of preceding claims, wherein the diameter of the rotatable filtering basket (12) increases towards lower end (12a) of the rotatable filtering basket, such as wherein the rotatable filtering basket comprises a frustoconical shape, preferably wherein also the diameter of the outer basket (14) increases towards lower end (14a) of the outer basket.

9. The device of any of claims 3-8, wherein a lower end of the inner basket (16) is connected to a lower end (12a) of the rotatable filtering basket (12) to form a connecting area (34), wherein the connecting area includes one or more apertures (36) forming the solid outlet (28) for the solids.

10. The device of any of claims 3-9, wherein the diameter of the inner basket (16) increases towards lower end (16a) of the inner basket (16), preferably wherein the inner basket (16) has a conical or frustoconical shape.

11. The device of any of claims 3-7 or 9-10, wherein the diameter of the rotatable filtering basket (12) decreases towards lower end (12a) of the rotatable filtering basket.

12. The device of any of claims 9-11 , comprising a separator basket (32) above the connecting area (34) and / or between an inner basket (16) and therotatable filtering basket (12), wherein the means (22) for providing liquid mixture from the upper part of the device into the rotatable filtering basket (12) are arranged to direct the liquid mixture to the inner basket (16).

13. The device of any of preceding claims, wherein the filtering basket (12) comprises an undulated wall portion (12c), preferably the device comprising one or more means (24) for cooling the device directed to cool one or more of the undulations at outer surface of the filtering basket (12).

14. The device of any of preceding claims, wherein the means (24) for cooling the device comprises one or more cooling elements and / or sources of cooled medium arranged inside the rotatable filtering basket (12), inside the inner basket (16) and / or outside the outer basket (14).

15. The device of any of preceding claims, wherein the means (23) for cooling the liquid mixture to be provided and / or the means (24) for cooling the device comprises and / or is connected to one or more sources of cool air, such as cool air obtained from a cooling device and / or from outside air; to a source of cooled liquid, such as liquid obtained from a cooling device and / or from outside natural water source; to a source of snow from outside; and / or to one or more sources of cooling agents, such as carbon dioxide and / or nitrogen.

16. The device of any of preceding claims, comprising one or more vanes attached to the lower part of the rotatable filtering basket (12), the vanes being configured, when the rotatable filtering basket (12) rotates, to generate an air flow inside the rotatable filtering basket in a direction from an upper region of the basket towards the lower region.

17. The device of any of preceding claims, comprising electrodes connected or connectable to a source of electric current, the electrodes being arranged to be in contact with the liquid mixture, wherein the electrodes connected to the electric current are arranged to provide electrolysis in the liquid mixture, preferably wherein the electrodes comprise one or more non-metallic electrodes, such as wherein the device comprises a separator basket (32) between an inner basket (16) and the rotatable filtering basket (12), wherein the separator basket is configured to act as first electrode, and preferably the inner basket (16) is configured to act as second electrode, the first and the second electrodes acting as an anode and a cathode.

18. An industrial processing plant comprising one or more of the devices of any of preceding claims connected to one or more other devices and / or liquid sources.

19. A method for separating components of a liquid mixture, the method comprising-providing the device (10) of any of claims 1-6 or the industrial processing plant of claim 18,-providing a liquid mixture (40) comprising two or more components having different melting points,-cooling the liquid mixture to a temperature causing one or more component(s) to solidify and allowing one or more component(s) to remain liquid,-providing the cooled liquid mixture to the device (10), preferably to the rotatable filter basket (12), such as by injecting to outer surface of the inner basket (16), if present, and operating the device to provide centrifugal forces to the cooled liquid mixture in the rotatable filter basket (12) of the device,-allowing the liquid component(s) of the cooled liquid mixture to separate through the apertures of the rotatable filtering basket (12) by the centrifugal forces, and -recovering the separated liquid (44) and / or recovering the separated solids (46).

20. The method of claim 19, comprising pressurizing the liquid and providing the cooled liquid as pressurized subcooled liquid.

21. The method of claim 19 or 20, comprising controlling (48) the separation of the two or more components by controlling one or more process parameters, including at least temperature, pressure, inlet rate, outlet rate, rotation speed, treatment time, process time, such as retention time, basket angle and structure of the device.

22. The method of any of claims 19-21, comprising pretreating (42) the liquid mixture with one or more of electrolysis, chemical oxidation and / or reduction, photochemical degradation, supercritical conditions, plasma, ultrasound, microwaves, and / or with biochemical methods and / or agents.

23. The method of any of claims 19-22, wherein the liquid mixture comprises ethanol, such as wherein the liquid mixture comprises fermented liquid, for example fermented alcoholic beverage or a preform thereof, or bioethanol;and / or wherein the method is a method for concentrating alcohol content of a liquid comprising alcohol or wherein the method is a method for lowering alcohol content of a liquid comprising alcohol, such as alcoholic beverage and / or a fermented liquid.

24. The method of any of claims 19-22, wherein the liquid mixture comprises one or more glycols, such as propylene glycol and / or ethylene glycol, for example wherein the liquid mixture comprises de-icing fluid, such as aircraft de-icing fluid; and / or wherein the method is a method for treating used de-icing fluid, such as aircraft de-icing fluid.

25. The method of any of claims 19-22, wherein the liquid mixture comprises one or more per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)The method of any of claims 19-22, wherein the liquid mixture comprises lignin.

27. The method of any of claims 19-22, wherein the liquid mixture comprises one or more organic acids and / or inorganic acids.

28. The method of any of claims 19-22, wherein the liquid mixture comprises one or more oils and / or fatty acids.

29. The method of any of claims 19-22, wherein the liquid mixture comprises process water from mining industry.

30. The method of any of claims 19-22, wherein the liquid mixture comprises one or more pharmaceutical compounds.

31. The method of any of claims 19-30, wherein the process and / or feeding of the liquid mixture is continuous.

32. Use of the device of any of claims 1-17 or the industrial processing plant of claim 18 for separating components of a liquid mixture with the method of any of claims 19-31.

33. An alcoholic or a non-alcoholic beverage obtained by the method of claim 23.

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